This is not going to do anything good for the civilian/cop relationship. http://gizmodo.com/cops-pose-as-road-workers-to-catch-drivers-checking-the-1721148554
Why would they knowingly fabricate a story when they know the incident was filmed? I would guess that the guy did appear to be dragged. He was reaching into the car and moving forward as the car began to move. It had obviously been put into gear and the accelerator pressed. I don't think he meant to kill the guy but the guy's actions likely put him on edge, and with the lunge forward and the attempt to take off, a survival instinct took hold. Unfortunately that survival instinct was "shoot" instead of "dive for cover". Now, because of the political and media climate, what should be an unfortunate outcome from the interaction of two idiots will instead become "another poor innocent black man murdered by an evil white cop", which will only widen the gap between these two groups and make similar or worse incidents even more likely to occur.
If he was being dragged the camera POV would show him as stationary compared to the video. I'm curious what the cruisers dash cam shows.
It wouldn't have been but for a few feet, if at all. Maybe he only feared that he'd be dragged. If he hadn't shot and fallen backward, maybe the guy would have grabbed him. Dash cam will help, but in the end you really only have the officers testimony regarding his decision process. If he honestly feared for his life and felt his only option was deadly force, then he is technically justified because at that proximity, a car is a deadly weapon (he could have cranked the wheel to the left and run over the cop with the back tires).
Given your logic, any cop standing next to a motor vehicle would be justified in using deadly force if he felt threatened. Do you really want to go down that road? Many things can be deadly weapons.
The cop's camera shows that the car didn't move until after he shot the guy. He wasn't dragged at all. No reason to fire his gun.
Are you that dense? The car was in motion and they were physically struggling with each other. It is concievable that this could have easily resulted in the cop's death.
Is this really a case of civilian/cop relationship or just convenient to blame the cops? I say this because I would see this more as a civilian/politician deals. The latter are 'crack' addicts. The 'crack' being revenue. To this effect, the cop shields the politician. This is why so often complaints about policing fall on deaf ears.
If you are you going to start shooting people before they can turn the steering wheel your way, should you allow any potential but unrealized threat to be met with deadly force? Perhaps you should check your own density, Captain Obtuse.
Except it doesn't, not in any of the videos I've seen. The whole time the cop is interacting with the driver you can see the drivers hands. There was no reason for him to even have his gun unholstered. The cop is a stupid trigger happy jerkoff, plain and simple.
How is it a straw man? It's a direct comparison to using the car as a deadly weapon. As soon as the guy attempts to use the car to combat the policeman, it becomes assault with a deadly weapon.
I'd be interested to find out just what was going on with the guy that made him so non-compliant. Was he drunk/high? Did he have a suspended license or a warrant? Was there something illegal in the car? If not, why not just be respectful and follow the policeman's directions?
Easy, the cop was standing next to the car. This cop was stupid and I don't feel bad for what is coming his way.