Dad calls cops on son to teach him a lesson, cops shoot son dead

[rangerrebew]

Dad Calls Cops on Son to Teach Him a Lesson, Cops Shoot Son Dead


A father's attempt to teach his son a lesson for taking his truck without permission ended in tragedy Monday after a local police officer shot the teenager dead.

James Comstock told the Des Moines Register he called the police on his son Tyler after the latter took the former's truck in retaliation for refusing to buy him cigarettes.

Ames Police Officer Adam McPherson reportedly spotted the lawn care company vehicle and pursued it onto the Iowa State University campus, where a brief standoff ensued after Tyler allegedly refused orders to turn off the engine.

McPherson eventually fired six shots into the truck, two of which struck Tyler who was later pronounced dead.

The official report claims the action was necessary in order "to stop the ongoing threat to the public and the officers."

Tyler's dad says he was unarmed at the time.

"So he didn't shut the damn truck off, so let's fire six rounds at him?" exclaimed Gary Shepley, Tyler's step-grandfather. "We're confused, and we don't understand."

James said his son had his fair share of minor troubles with the law, and was distraught over a recent breakup with his girlfriend, but was in the process of turning his life around, and was working on obtaining his GED at Des Moines Area Community College.

"He was a smart kid. He made his own computers. He was interested in IT," James told the Register.

The family's demands for answers got even louder following the revelation that a member of the Ames police department suggested twice that officers call off the chase.

"He took off with my truck. I call the police, and they kill him," James said. ""It was over a damn pack of cigarettes."

McPherson is currently on paid leave pending the results of his department's investigation.

http://gawker.com/dad-calls-cops-on-son-to-teach-him-a-lesson-cops-shoot-1460159897

[flowers]

Any word on the family dog?   

[xfreeper]

You called the cops for help? That was your first mistake. As far as the killing of an unarmed individual without any justification at all....well this is becoming old news

[massadvj]

I do wish they would tell the whole story.  The press always leaves out parts that do not support their intended emotional pull on the reader. Here I read in the comment section at
the actual website that the boy was driving crazy on sidewalks with people jumping out of the way of the truck, that he tried to ram the police car, etc.  If that is the case then this young man was endangering innocent people walking on the sidewalks.  When is he stopped? After he kills a 6 year old boy playing outside? I do not know all the circumstances, but I do know this article does not have enough information to judge the officer.  Good chance he over reacted and yes there are a substantial number of psycho cops out there that scare me.  But, I still can't judge what happened here. I wish we had a responsible press to rely on.  But, I guess it has always been that way including the famous engraving of The Boston Massacre that altered the events to make things look bad.

It does seem odd that any officer would shoot into an idle car simply because the motorist refused to turn the engine off.  There must be more to it.

[xfreeper]

It also seems odd that no one was injured by the driver that was such a threat. The report said the shooting occured after a standoff which suggest the vehicle wasn't going anywhere. Sorry, I've become way to skeptical of police using deadly force when there doesn't appear to be any deadly force being responded to. I'm especially skeptical of police descriptions of their version of events after the fact to justify a kill. Seems likely to me there are other possible responses to a vehicle not moving rather than pumping rounds into the passenger compartment with an unarmed driver. If he really was a lethal threat I completely support using deadly force. However, if that were the case, it seems it should be clearer that he was such a threat. Shooting someone for what he may have done after the fact dosesn't cut it.

[truth_seeker]

It does seem odd that any officer would shoot into an idle car simply because the motorist refused to turn the engine off.  There must be more to it.

The driver had rammed the police car, at least twice. The officers were outside their car, so may have felt more exposed when the driver did not obey their command to turn of the truck.

I think these cops get amped on adrenalin and can't restrain themselves.

They do need better AND different training.

[240B]

This happens once in a while. A story I am familiar with is the one where the father calls the cops on son to 'teach a lesson'. Cops show up, kid assaults officer and resists arrest, winds up in juvie for a year.

While there he joins a gang, he gets released but gang still persues him at home. Then he gets caught up in drugs starts doing felonies and eventually commits suicide.

The father thought he could call the cops, get his son arrested, then bail him out and drop all charges. That was the 'plan'.

Cops are not guidence concellors and are not in on the gag. If they are called, there is no way to know how it will end.

[xfreeper]

You can watch the whole chase here http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/dad-son-shot-dead-police-chase-angry-cigarettes-article-1.1510729 and the shooting. They caught it all on cam.  The guy was definitely a danger until the very end.  He ran through red lights with heavy traffic. It's a miracle was no one was killed or seriously injured by this 19 year crazy dude. The shooting looks a real desire to protect the public from this guy.  Watch the video and then tell me this jerk didn't almost cause injuries to numerous people.

Saw a chase that seemed to end in a field. You're basing your thoughts re the shooting on what was on the video?

[Oceander]

You called the cops for help? That was your first mistake. As far as the killing of an unarmed individual without any justification at all....well this is becoming old news

My thoughts exactly.

[Oceander]

I could post video after video after video of police officers abusing their positions all caught on tape.  However, that does not justify purposely leaving out pertinent information
about this shooting which is what the one media outlet did. 

I took no position one way or t'other on that.  cops are like rabid pit bulls; they both make great watchdogs, but they'd just as soon turn on you if you let them.

[xfreeper]

I am amazed at what people will ignore to try to prove a point. If you look at 2:02 of the video I see a serious accident almost occurring as the madman drives through a red light. At 2:51 you hear the officers talking with concerns about the pedestrians out and about. If you look at 4:05 of the video as the madman drives in reverse you will see someone on a bicycle that is in the pathway (this after ramming the officers car again). At 4:15 you see college students on the grounds (NOT A FIELD) of the college as this unpredictable madman continues his assault, then he rams the police, tries to pull away, and rams them again.  Then bang bang your dead and public safety is returned. Would you wait until an innocent bystander is killed before trying to stop the criminal?

Amazed indeed. There is no denying that the madman led them on a dangerous chase. We are talking about the guy getting shot and killed. Are you saying the chase justified the shooting? (Which incidentally does not show on the video so how can you make such a comment on that at all?) I see at least 4 LEO out of their cars , guns drawn. Is it possible any of them arrived on the scene in a vehicle with video? Maybe that shows the shooting. The guy talking with gun drawn appears to be focused on a fixed target. The report itself referres to a standoff. How can you say anything about the guy needing to be shot at that point? All indications are he was stopped. Now what? Do we shoot him? Is he posing any further lethal threat? Because he hasn't turned off the ignition? For all you know, the guy is out of the car on his belly and the cops shoot him. Now, I trust that is probably not the case but my point is you certainly can't tell by the video you present as proof. If the cops were so concerned about stopping the vehicle, they had the option of shooting all the tires. There were at least 4 of them there guns drawn. Why did one think it was so necessary to kill the guy when 2 or 3 others didn't. These are the questions that should be examined. I can tell you with certainty that if you as a law abiding responsible citizen with a CCW decided it was necessary to shoot and kill the guy at that point you would be in jail and in deep doodoo with an unlikely chance of extricating yourself. Now, do we hold the police to the same standard? No but it's as good a place to start as any.

[xfreeper]

I actually enjoy debating these events (it's not an argument at all). It challenges me to consider other points I may not have thought about and vice versa I hope. In such a way, we all become more enlightened hopefully. It's interesting you mentioned the cavity searches. As of late I have also become highly mortified that this is going on.  To me it represents a progression of the same kind of thinking that tolerates any unnecessary police shootings that occur. As you have probably figured out, I am becoming very sensitive to such outrages. I believe that a police shooting that results in death must be justified by proving beyond any doubt no alternative was possible. As far as police or medical personnel under instructions forcing their hands inside people’s orifices, can’t ever see it as justifiable. I consider that a total outrage, basically inhuman.