BART officer shot and killed by friendly fire

[fan_since79]

Unbelievable. The suspect was already in custody when they went to his empty apartment to search for stolen property. 

 

http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_24962934/bart-police-sergeant-shot-and-killed-by-fellow

 

 

[mp170.6]

Rest assured, the other officer who shot him will get a 100% "disability" pension and be living on a yacht in the near future. 

[Hollyw00d]

The police force is so ass backwards its almost comical. Its just like "the Wire" where the f*** ups get promoted and the real good police get the shaft by the idiots/politicians in charge

[yk9001]

From the article:

 

The last time a police officer in Alameda County was killed by another officer was in January 2001, when two Oakland police officers shot and killed an undercover detective.

 

Good work, detective Fifes.

[CaliAngel]

In before Nate comes in to defend the cops.

[mtangelsfan]

Why did they even have their guns drawn if the suspect was already in custody?  I'm not getting this at all.  That is just sad. 

[nate]

Why did they even have their guns drawn if the suspect was already in custody?  I'm not getting this at all.  That is just sad. 

 

Maybe there was a possibility that the rest of the house wasn't cleared yet?

[CaliAngel]

What's sad is the amount of resources wasted and taxpayer dollars spent on the funeral for such a stupid set of circumstances.

[fan_since79]

Why did they even have their guns drawn if the suspect was already in custody?  I'm not getting this at all.  That is just sad. 

 

The door was ajar so they probably thought someone else might be in there. 

[gotbeer]

I wonder how trained a BART officer is in searching houses.  Well, judging from the outcome, probably not very well.  My other question is why is a BART officer searching a residence.  You would think that would be crossing jurisdictions over into the regular PD.  

[yk9001]

I wonder how trained a BART officer is in searching houses.  Well, judging from the outcome, probably not very well.  My other question is why is a BART officer searching a residence.  You would think that would be crossing jurisdictions over into the regular PD.  

 

 

How trained are the Torrance police?

They are shooting at white surfer dudes when spooked out of their panties about Chris Dorner.

 

And then resolved of all responsibility.

[HaloMagic]

I wonder how trained a BART officer is in searching houses. Well, judging from the outcome, probably not very well. My other question is why is a BART officer searching a residence. You would think that would be crossing jurisdictions over into the regular PD.

It's a legitimate police force. They receive the same basic training as every other force. It wasn't a drug bust. They didn't need SWAT tactics. Clearly one of them got a little jumpy, though.

[Socaliente]

I'll enlighten the keyboard warriors on here who just look for an excuse to bad mouth police.

 

BART officers have jurisdiction statewide. They will serve warrants and do more than just act as security guards. They are Sworn Peace Officers. While details are still coming out, it sounds like this was a joint effort with dublin pd and they came across an open door on a house of a suspect already in custody. 

 

I find it disgusting for those on here to be mocking and degrading a man who lost his life just doing his job protecting the public. BART officers work some of the most dangerous areas in the state. Anyone who has actually made a trip at night will know this to be true.  

[HaloMagic]

I find it disgusting for those on here to be mocking and degrading a man who lost his life just doing his job protecting the public.

This literally never happened. Not in this thread, at least. Not sure where you saw people mocking him.

Also, BART really isn't that dangerous. Certainly the BART police have a hand in making that the case but as someone who rode BART everyday for years I can assure you it's anything but scary to people who are daily riders. Only people who ride it sporadically get scared. Practically nothing happens on BART. I'd see maybe one argument a month and in all my years I've only seen one fight. And it was broken up by fellow BART riders.

Edited January 22, 2014 by HaloMagic

[fan_since79]

The only time BART is dangerous is when it goes through West Oakland, and you look out the window at the hood below.

[Amazing Larry]

The door was ajar so they probably thought someone else might be in there. 

 

It was?

 

The officers began their search by knocking twice on the door. Each knock went unanswered, but the door was unlocked, so several of them stepped inside, Nelson said.

 

Sounds to me like they opened the door and entered the house without a warrant. Who the hell in East Bay leaves their front door open?

[fan_since79]

Yeah, I didn't read that exactly right. Thanks for the clarification.

[HaloMagic]

It was?

The officers began their search by knocking twice on the door. Each knock went unanswered, but the door was unlocked, so several of them stepped inside, Nelson said.

Sounds to me like they opened the door and entered the house without a warrant. Who the hell in East Bay leaves their front door open?

The East Bay is loaded with extremely nice and completely safe neighborhoods. Dublin is one of them.

[Amazing Larry]

The East Bay is loaded with extremely nice and completely safe neighborhoods. Dublin is one of them.

 

I used to work in Dublin and while it is safe I still wouldn't leave my front door open for the whole world to see.

[HaloMagic]

I won't leave my front door open in my gated community. Who leaves the front door open if they have neighbors? That's true anywhere.

[Amazing Larry]

I won't leave my front door open in my gated community. Who leaves the front door open if they have neighbors? That's true anywhere.

 

That's the point. I highly doubt the dude's front door was wide open. Unless the BART cops had a warrant there was no reason for them to be in the house in the first place.

[HaloMagic]

Possibly. We don't have the facts. The could have been given permission by the suspect. Or they could have believe a crime was in progress. We really don't know what happened. Hard to make the claim that they shouldn't have been inside without knowing what happened.

Also, an open front door isn't an invitation to come in.

Edited January 22, 2014 by HaloMagic

[fan_since79]

That's the point. I highly doubt the dude's front door was wide open. Unless the BART cops had a warrant there was no reason for them to be in the house in the first place.

 

The suspect was already in custody for a probation violation. The police didn't need a warrant. They can go in anytime they want.

 

But why send EIGHT officers into a tiny one-bedroom apartment with guns drawn?? I don't get that part of the story.

[mancini79]

BART officers were involved since the suspect stole items and was driving a stolen vehicle while on BART property. The BART officer was in the apartment confiscating a laptop and other stolen items. He was there lawfully and with good reason.

 

But the bigger picture is why was anyone shot that obviously didn't pose a threat. I read the BART detective was in plain clothes when he was killed so this really could have happened to anyone. It looks like they Bay Area lost a really good cop. The officer's wife is head of the BART K-9 unit and also has 2 brothers in Bay Area law enforcement. I've been critical of police activity, but this one is a heart breaker.

[Amazing Larry]

The suspect was already in custody for a probation violation. The police didn't need a warrant. They can go in anytime they want.

 

But why send EIGHT officers into a tiny one-bedroom apartment with guns drawn?? I don't get that part of the story.

 

Missed that part of the story. It makes sense now.