It's a great lesson for all to learn that you shouldn't skip out on a restaurant bill, as now even rent-a-cops (who may or may not be real cops moonlighting) are licensed to kill for a few plates of unpaid-for pancakes.
Not surprisingly, the utterly un-independent investigation justified Carl Stowe's murder of 18 year old Aaron Brown. Stowe pursued these dangerous scofflaws into the parking lot and gunned down the kid to teach them that no waitress gets stiffed on his watch.
The "investigation" apparently found that Stowe feared for his life when, all on his own, he chased after the teenagers as they got into their car and the (admittedly) intoxicated driver tried to leave the parking lot. He must have been in imminent danger, because we all know that killing a passenger -- not the driver -- immediately stops hardened criminals intent on driving over rent-a-cops.
What a joke.
8 comments:
Reminds me of a bit the morning show on WDVE in Pittsburgh used to do with a character named "Ben Klingston, Mall Security".
Man, I haven't listened to DVE since around the time Jimmy and Steve in the mornings ended in the mid to late 80's. Or maybe it was sometime during the guy who followed them (Scott Paulsen or Paul something, right?). You needed cable FM to get WDVE where I grew up...
Did you actually read the report?
You are correct, it was Scott Paulsen. I was in college in the 'Burgh then. Reception of DVE was a bit sketchy where I grew up too though. How about Roethlisberger? Sheesh.
Sure I've read the report. It's a load of shit, but pretty much what you can expect in the situation. Here's the best part:
"While Stowe began firing as the jeep came toward him, he continued to fire as the jeep passed. All the evidence indicates the third shot which hit the vehicle killed Brown, and was fired from a point perpendicular to the driver's side of the jeep from a short distance."
The report immediately excuses this officer's overzealousness by arguing that he was so slow-witted that he couldn't stop himself:
"While Stowe was not in the path of the jeep at that instant, the forensic evidence of the case and scientific studies of human reaction time establish that Stowe could not reasonably have been expected to have reacted differently and stopped firing before he fired the fatal shot."
BS all around. Stowe fired his gun SIX times, FOUR of those shots coming after the front of the vehicle had passed him and was no longer any sort of threat.
Additionally, the officer began firing while the vehicle was 26 to 46 feet away, traveling (by accident analysis estimates) at 25 MPH:
"this shot would have originated from a distance of approximately 26 to 46 feet away."
All we need is for more trigger-happy officers moonlighting as guards with their service weapons. This officer escalated the situation by placing himself in the path of traffic and I find it hard to believe that the officer with experience moonlighting on the night shift wouldn't be aware that most of IHOP's clientele at that time of night would be drunk and not exactly capable of operating motor vehicles in a safe manner, so that using your body to blockade the parking lot exit is not the swiftest idea. But I guess if you have a gun, it gives you an excuse to use it.
Yes, this officer getting off scott-free is a bad thing. I can walk to that IHOP from our neighborhood, which has its own set of pluses and minuses. A LOT of people in the neighborhood knew the kids and are EXTREMELY upset about the incident. Not good at all.
The driver of the vehicle also did a lot to escalate the situation as well. This tragedy was not nearly as one-sided as you want to make it.
EVERYONE makes mistakes in their life, but not like Stowe who took it upon him self to make an "UNCHANGABLE" mistake! You can pay an unpaid bill, but you can't, I repeat, CAN NOT bring back to life a kid, shot from armpit to armpit. Though the passengers were all wrong in their actions, NOTHING that they did was irreversable! I dont care if they were actually trying to run the officer over or not, there is absolutely NO reason for Aaron Brown to be dead right now! NONE. So yes...it IS as one sided as "Blue Dog Art" is trying to make it!
Besides, have you even SEEN the layout of this parking lot? You tell ME how far 26 to 46 feet is (which by the way I dont know WHERE you get those numbers). Maybe if you knew more of what you were talking about as opposed to what the Media Publishes, you'd be more wise in your accusations!
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