The unanimous verdict in U.S. District Court against Joseph Cruz and the city of Los Angeles was essentially a rejection of Cruz’s account of the shooting.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lapd-verdict-20110124,0,4233346.story

If you come at me with a knife (pocket or otherwise), I’m going to shoot you to protect myself.

how about an insulin pump?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25740730@N08/2676975057/in/set-72157606224428145/

Center mass is used due to the large target area and the ultimate stopping ability. That is the goal: stopping the threat.

stopping the threat doesnt mean killing the person.

I think many of the anti police people are jumping to conclusions on this case. I don’t know where the rumor of the suspect being handcuffed came from. Perhaps it is due to him being handcuffed after the shooting. Perhaps it is something assumed and rumor begat rumor. Anyone who thinks an officer is just looking for a reason to shoot someone has never thought that philosophy through. Why place yourself in such scrutiny? Why give the media a reason to camp in front of your home? Why would someone want to be sued in federal court? Why would someone want to be bad case law? Imagine your life being turned upside down just for doing your job? And to think that the department acts to cover up an incident? Anyone working in civil service knows that such a government agency does not exist. Sure, there have been guns and other weapons planted on individuals, and those warrant further investigation and scrutiny. But, in this case, it seems cut and dry.

And who cares if the family wasn’t notified in 21 days? That isn’t the duty of the police. The LA County Coroner’s Office handles that aspect of the investigation. There is very little cooperation between the Coroner and the LAPD..so how could they collude to keep information from the family?

This case comes down to one thing. The suspect shouldn’t have done what he did. That’s it. And if the family is so curious as to why things went down the way they did, why didn’t they do somthing to prevent it?

Are there cases of police brutality? Yes. But they are not as common as people think. The problem is that everyone claims it. It is like crying wolf. When it actually happens, we tend not to differentiate it from cases like this moron. False claims of brutality take credibility away from real cases of civil rights violations.

If anyone thinks I have no experience in these matters, guess again.

now that is a stupid law. Burglars are not comparable to fire. Your car / your family / your property – I agree with usage of any force (reasonable or not). With others, I am a bit more circumspect.

The guy stabbed the cops… I mean its horrible that he died and all but I really don’t see this as a horrible case of police brutality. Big city cops like the LAPD have to deal with all kinds of hairy situations. I also don’t get this whole south Asian unity thing. I am Indian I don’t really care all that much about Pakistani or Sri Lankan or Bangladeshi or whatever issues. Lets just be honest and deal with situation between south Asian groups in a realistic fashion. We don’t really like each other all that much and don’t mingle unless forced to.

Its people like you and your bias thinking that keep people from joining together when there is trouble just because of where someone is from. Does it matter if the person is from Pakistan or India, or even that they are brown or not for people to actually care. We are all human beings, we all have red blood in us and we all have family and friends that we care about. So instead of sitting there and thinking that you shouldnt care because the person that died was not Indian, maybe you should take action so that it does not happen to someone else, it could even be someone you know.

How can you be a hundred percent sure that Usman stabbed a cop, if he was handcuffed then that is impossible. How can you not say it is not police brutality, they shot multiple times in the chest while he was HANDCUFFED. Wow you really are cold hearted for not caring or giving hoot because the person that died was Pakistani and you are an Indian, thats real backwards thinking there.

I also don’t get this whole south Asian unity thing. I am Indian I don’t really care all that much about Pakistani or Sri Lankan or Bangladeshi or whatever issues. Lets just be honest and deal with situation between south Asian groups in a realistic fashion. We don’t really like each other all that much and don’t mingle unless forced to.

–Ice Cube