LAPD Sued For 120 Million Dollars

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/13/abdul-arian-101-freeway_n_1423533.html

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/Family-of-Abdul-Arian-Teen-Slain-by-Police-Files-120-Million-Claim-LAPD-147663695.html

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/04/teenager-family-protest-lapd.html

http://sundial.csun.edu/2012/04/community-members-gather-to-demand-justice-in-abdul-arian-shooting/

All of the above links will tell you a story. The story is almost universally the same no matter the source. It says 19 year old Abdul Arian was driving erratically at 10pm and when the police attempted to pull him over he led the police on a high speed chase. During this chase he called 911 and stated such things as "I have a gun" and "I'm going to shoot the police." Finally Abdul stops in the middle of the freeway and as police pull up he jumps out of the vehicle and starts to run away. While doing this he also frequently stops, turns towards police, and holds up his cell phone as though it is a gun and points it at them. Needless to say, this guy got exactly what he wanted, most commonly called "suicide by police." Open and shut case right?

Well of course not! His family is suing the LAPD for wrongful death. Their rallying cry? The fact that the eight officers on scene fired anywhere between 90-120 bullets at the perp. As a matter of fact, they are suing for $120 million dollars, a million per bullet their lawyer says.

Sigh... ok, high number 120, divided by 8 is 15. I have no idea what kind of pistols these officers have, but I imagine that their magazines hold at least 15 rounds. [I am basing this assumption on the fact that when the military issued me a pistol, I had 15 round magazines and I can't imagine the LAPD rolling around with less] So each officer fired at most a full magazine at the perp who appeared to be firing back at them. This on paper sounds like overkill (pun semi-intended). It sounds even worse when the Imam in the fourth article (incorrectly) claims that Abdul had actually been shot 90 times which would be absolutely absurd. [WHAT? An Islamic person claiming something false as fact?! NO WAY! (note: read ANYTHING released by a terrorist organization, it is always, without fail grossly exaggerated if not just completely false.)]

Cops do not have a communal mind; they each think independently of each other. They don't know how many shots total have been fired, who all is firing or if they have even hit their target. (It's not like the movies; small arms don't make a person fly back 10 feet because they got hit in the shoulder.) Their job is to eliminate the known threat at the time based on all the information available to them. The information was: This individual claimed to have a gun, said he would use it against police, and then physically appeared to do so.

Here is where I ask that you watch the video:





There are a couple things you will have noticed that aren't mentioned in the stories:
#1. It's dark (obvious as it's past 10pm, but still, very hard to see details with that low of light)
#2. The kid is Neo from the fucking Matrix. Seriously, he dodges bullets!

So yes, the LAPD did in fact shoot too many times, but not because there was any malice or ill intent, only because they apparently suck. (I understand it's dark and you're firing at a moving target, but come on guys, you're professionals, it shouldn't take this long to kill him.) Also, the kid is guilty, guilty, GUILTY! If you can watch the above video and still think that the kid didn't get exactly what he deserved, please, find a fire and promptly die in it.