• Welcome to OGBoards 10.0, keep in mind that we will be making LOTS of changes to smooth out the experience here and make it as close as possible functionally to the old software, but feel free to drop suggestions or requests in the Tech Support subforum!

Police Officer accidentally shoots 70 yr old man at traffic stop on NC-SC border

D

DeaconOEF/OIFvet

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 12, 2011
Messages
1,804
Reaction score
151
Charlotte, NC: A South Carolina deputy wept with remorse after mistakenly shooting a 70-year-old man during a traffic stop because he thought the man's cane was a shotgun, a grim new video shows.

York County Deputy Terrance Knox fired several shots at elderly motorist Bobby Canipe during a traffic stop on Feb. 25 after the old-timer got out of his truck to retrieve his cane from the flatbed.

In video released by York County Sheriff Bruce Bryant Wednesday, Knox yells "sir" and then "hey" several times before opening fire.

Canipe was hit once and taken to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte after the shooting.

In the video, Knox can be heard sobbing to another officer who arrived a few minutes after the shooting.

"He pulled the cane out, it looked like as shotgun, man," the three-year vet says through tears.

As the other cop consoles him, Knox sobs, "I promise to God it looked like a shotgun."

Bryant defended his deputy at the news conference Wednesday, saying he couldn't have known the long, slender object Canipe pulled from the truck wasn't a weapon.

"I would have had to take the same action he did," Bryant told reporters.

"You can't wait to see a muzzle flash before you take action because when you see the muzzle flash, it's too late," he said.

The shooting happened at around 7:30 p.m. on North Main Street in Clover, S.C.

Knox pulled Canipe's truck over because his license plates were expired.

Canipe had been watching the Daytona 500 race in Florida and was driving with a female friend back to his home in Lincolnton, a small city north of Charlotte.

As he sat slumped against the truck after being shot, Canipe told the distraught deputy he would be all right. His female friend, meanwhile, can be heard praying for his life.
"I'm disabled and I was trying to get my cane out," he says on the video.




http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...stop-thought-cane-gun-video-article-1.1721404

I know this is an accident, but it's events like these that make me all the more wary of the continuing militarization of our police forces.
 
Not blaming the victim here but I wonder why he got out of the car in the first place.
 
Why did the man get out of his car during a traffic stop? Why did he need a cane? Honestly, here you can't blame the cop for thinking that a long object in the back of a truck was a gun, especially from that far away. Thankfully it wasn't a fatal shot.
 
bmoneydeac said:
Not blaming the victim here but I wonder why he got out of the car in the first place.
Click to expand...

That was my first thought upon watching the video. You NEVER get out of the car during a traffic stop unless instructed to by the cop. I can't blame the cop one bit here. It is suspicious to get out of the car, and twice as suspicious to pull out a long object (insert cock jokes here).
 
I think the militarization of our police forces is getting out of hand . . . but this isn't a very good example of that.
 
I don't think it was an accident. He really did mean to shoot this old fart Butthead.
 
I've been one of the biggest critics of over-reaction by police lately, but in this case, I'm pretty neutral. The man never should have gotten out of his truck. When he starts reaching into the bed of his truck, you can't help but assume the worst. When you see the end of a longish object being pulled out, a gun is your first assumption. The cop waited until that point to fire.
 
DeaconOEF/OIFvet said:

I know this is an accident, but it's events like these that make me all the more wary of the continuing militarization of our police forces.
Click to expand...


p4thers makes a good point but the militarization of the police may also be rooted in the fact that law enforcement is a field with a lot of ex- or retired military. Comes with the territory.
 
94Deac said:
p4thers makes a good point but the militarization of the police may also be rooted in the fact that law enforcement is a field with a lot of ex- or retired military. Comes with the territory.
Click to expand...

There's a lot of local law enforcement that has no military experience, as well. My main point is that this seems to be an honest mistake, that thankfully did not end in the loss of life. I see no reason for everyday Police Officers to be carrying M-4's on hand in their cruisers, as it has been discussed in other threads.
 
94Deac said:
p4thers makes a good point but the militarization of the police may also be rooted in the fact that law enforcement is a field with a lot of ex- or retired military. Comes with the territory.
Click to expand...

I think it's more rooted in the fact that defense contractors need to keep selling these weapons to someone after the US military winds down in the Middle East.
 
BeachBumDeac said:
I think it's more rooted in the fact that defense contractors need to keep selling these weapons to someone after the US military winds down in the Middle East.
Click to expand...

I think it's pretty clear that many suburbs could use this sort of police vehicle.

homeland-security-navistar-mrap-vehicle.jpg
 
RacerDeac said:
I've been one of the biggest critics of over-reaction by police lately, but in this case, I'm pretty neutral. The man never should have gotten out of his truck. When he starts reaching into the bed of his truck, you can't help but assume the worst. When you see the end of a longish object being pulled out, a gun is your first assumption. The cop waited until that point to fire.
Click to expand...

I think another point that is relevant here is that some of this is due to the general culture and availability of guns in America. Probably in Germany or other places where guns are rare, the cop would have thought "the addled old coot is just getting his cane". In America, the cop naturally, and justifiably, thought "that crazy old coot is getting his shotgun". When a cop is living in an environment that is swamped with guns and people who like to shoot them, the cop's default settings are different.
 
Deacon923 said:
I think another point that is relevant here is that some of this is due to the general culture and availability of guns in America. Probably in Germany or other places where guns are rare, the cop would have thought "the addled old coot is just getting his cane". In America, the cop naturally, and justifiably, thought "that crazy old coot is getting his shotgun". When a cop is living in an environment that is swamped with guns and people who like to shoot them, the cop's default settings are different.
Click to expand...

Excellent point.
 
Deacon923 said:
I think another point that is relevant here is that some of this is due to the general culture and availability of guns in America. Probably in Germany or other places where guns are rare, the cop would have thought "the addled old coot is just getting his cane". In America, the cop naturally, and justifiably, thought "that crazy old coot is getting his shotgun". When a cop is living in an environment that is swamped with guns and people who like to shoot them, the cop's default settings are different.
Click to expand...

Excellent point. Too many guns.

Still, if you are old and you do something a little dumb on a routine traffic stop you might get shot? good lord, is this America or Russia? good grief

and people are ok with this to boot. wow
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top