Sweat Was Shot In The Back Running Away Unarmed. Sound Familiar?

"Sergeant Jay Cook of the New York State Police was on patrol alone when he spotted Sweat on a road on Sunday afternoon. The fugitive took off running and the officer shot him twice in the torso, police said.

Photographs surfaced on the Internet of the arrest of Sweat, who was unarmed and appeared bloody and slumped over as law enforcement officers tended to him."  Reuters

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Sergeant Jay Cook, who shot this man in line of duty is being lauded as a hero for shooting Sweat twice in the torso as Sweat ran away from him.

I would describe Cook as having done his duty, but, a "hero?"

Former policeman Slager is under indictment for murder in South Carolina for having shot an unarmed man as the victim ran from him.  What is the difference in the deed?

I must ask if the public praise in the Borg would be there if Sweat had been Black?

And why is it that this prisoner with two torso wounds was photographed  propped up, evidently for the camera?  pl

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/29/us-usa-new-york-prisoners-condition-idUSKCN0P925P20150629

Comments

[Swampy]

"What is the difference in the deed?"

Sweat was an escaped convict, Scott failed to pay child support.

As for the photo, looks as if they may be examining the wounds and applying rudimentary first aid.

[Tyler]

Sir,

The non ironic answer is Graham factors regarding use of force in regards to fleeing felons and if they will likely commit another felony.

Also the fact that he is YT so no one cares other than those of us that notice these things.

BORTAC got the other guy by tracking his foot prints through the woods. Good on them.

[Cee]

Col. Lang,

The person in S. Carolina didn't kill a police officer then break out of prison.

[Will Reks]

Sir,

The difference in the Scott case is the video footage that quickly went viral and discredited the early narrative. Scott would also have been a "hero" if not for that video evidence.

[turcopolier]

Cee

Sweat killed a police officer, was convicted of that and was serving a life sentence for that. He killed no one in escaping from prison or during the pursuit and was running away unarmed. pl

[The Twisted Genius]

You're right. Hero is a bit much. Why was he shot? He's a convicted murderer who escaped prison and was on the run for three weeks. He could have made it to the tree line and gotten away for good or long enough to murder again.That guy in South Carolina wasn't guilty of anything at the time he ran from his car only seconds ago. I"ve seen photos of others in custody in the same cross legged sitting position at Sweat. Tyler will know if this is common procedure or not.

[turcopolier]

Tyler

I am not in favor of shooting people who are fleeing although I did do that with fleeing enemy troops not wishing to fight them some other time. As for the sitting posture, I never sat men up while applying first aid. Maybe I did it wrong. Maybe I am just a softy. Judith Yaphe told me that too much combat had ruined me for war. She was right. pl

[Sosmith3]

Cee
If you are talking about the policeman who shot the black guy in the back in Charleston, he was indicted and there were absolutely no problems in Charleston from that event. This was of course pre-Roof.

I want to say he was indicted in a New York second, but that makes no sense at all. You know, "black lives matter" came from New York City, although nothing against New York. Maybe Indicted in a Charleston second?

Otherwise I am tipping my hat and staying out of this. Just trying to make a point about perceptions and how people are going to play on those perceptions and it goes all which away these days.

[Will Reks]

Ah, confused Scott for the officer. Slager, I believe.

[john]

I agree with your perspective on this.
Then again, I suppose that too much combat has also ruined me for war.

[ISL]

Dear Colonel,

There is a menemonic - face pale, raise the tail. face red - raise the head. Perhaps his face was red.

[Matthew]

Col: "Judith Yaphe told me that too much combat had ruined me for war. She was right. pl"

Only a brave person would write such a sentence.

[turcopolier]

rick

The question is not how folks in your area would respond but rather the universal assumption on the part of the media that shooting this man was perfectly OK. pl

[turcopolier]

matthew

All the combat men I know would have found her laughable. If you like killing people you are not much of a soldier. Brave? Why? It might ruin my macho image? pl

[optimax]

The trooper only shot Sweat twice, wounding him, while the runner in S.C. was shot 6 times and killed. Sounds like white privilege.

[Sidney O. Smith III]

Rick
Can't tell for sure, but I may need to clarify. I thought there was an inference in this thread that the Charleston policeman was not indicted.

I haven't even looked at the circumstances surrounding the shooting of the escapee, who is one dangerous perp, for sure, for sure.

One of my best friends is a former APD swat, homicide detective, now prosecutor. In fact, he is trying a case against a cop killer as we speak. (don't know if trial is still going on, probably ought to check).

You wouldn't believe the stories he has from his times on the Atlanta streets.

Now, I will tip my hat.

[no one]

The photo is a bit similar to the posed stills from the wild west "posse got their man" genre. Also reminds me of posed shots from a safari; Bwana and lead trackers with the downed wildebeast. I don't think they were administering first aid, just getting their 15 minutes worth.

This was a dangerous and convicted man and he had to be stopped. The guy running from the car was neither.

As far as the media goes, two different morality plays for two different situations and, in this case, another gladiator eaten by lions. Are you not entertained?

[turcopolier]

no one

"You knew Marcus Aurelius? He gave you this?" I have seen grown men, hard looking men weep at the end of the film. "Roma Invicta!" pl

[nick b]

rick,

You're gonna have to brush up on your Tyler-speak. YT = whitey.

[Matthew]

Col: I thought she was complimenting you. I certainly was.

[nick b]

I wouldn't underestimate the toll that three weeks of this manhunt had on this community and its LEOs. The Trooper in question, if nothing else, ended what must have been a really anxious time in search area. I heard more than one resident speak on the news about how they had never had to lock their doors before, and now they were forced to out of fear. I'm sure there was tremendous pressure placed on law enforcement to end the situation as soon as was possible and however was necessary. I'm glad Trooper Cook didn't end up killing Sweat in the process of apprehending him. And I can certainly see how he is viewed in a heroic light, as his actions ended what must have been a very stressful and fearful time in the community.

The picture included with the post does look a little like Sweat is a hunting trophy, but others I saw on CNN made it seem that the Troopers had propped up Sweat to examine him for entry and exit wounds.

I don't see a lot of apt comparisons for this shooting and the Slager/Scott shooting. If Walter Scott had been an escaped murderer I might feel differently.

[steve]

Shooting a murderer who escaped, so that he would not be able to murder again seems pretty reasonable. (We lock them up as punishment and so that they don't do it again.) Shooting someone running away just because they are running away does not. Agree that calling him a hero is bit much.

[BostonB]

Cook isn't a hero, but it turned out to be a good takedown. That said, I'm somewhat frightened by modern policing in America. Not just the cops themselves, who are often needlessly brutal, but the system that never finds them at fault even in cases of clear poor judgment or even misconduct. Please what the YouTube video below to see where I'm coming from.

Death by Officer: An American Epidemic of Police Shootings and Brutality
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=s2ghdM66U4Y

[Lars]

I think the circumstances in both shooting cases are quite different. A quick search on the Internet found a possible reason for having the escaped man sit up and it has to do with elevating the wounds to reduce bleeding.

[no one]

Sir, Glad you got that reference. Fantastic film.