Hacker News Reader

Comment by twsttest | Hacker News Reader

Is selling or buying drugs a "victimless crime" when people's lives, families and communities are destroyed by said drugs? What exactly is a "victimless crime" then?

Your characterization of the recent killing of Mr. Brooks is incomplete. Brooks fought against the police and fired a taser (a deadly weapon according to the Atlanta DA) at the officers giving him chase. They were absolutely justified in shooting him.

The problem we have in America is that many people think it's ok to fight the police. Almost all publicized police killings in recent years are a result of suspects resisting arrest in a violent manner, escalating things to the point where force is required to control them. Of course this doesn't fit the narrative, so it's ignored.

View on HN

So the taser is deadly? Why was it pulled in the first place? How many times can a taser be fired? Brooks is running away, are you seriously suggesting that he posed a serious thread to the officers?

Nevertheless, the incident shows at best how grossly incompetent the police in the US are,however manslaughter is certainly also a reasonable interpretation.

Alcohol is the most dangerous drug. Are merchants responsible if they sell alcohol?

He was out of his mind enough to fight with two police officers, steal a taser and shoot it at them. Whether or not he was a threat to the officers in that exact moment after shooting the taser he clearly could have posed a threat to the community.

So yes, he did pose a serious threat and had to be stopped. He brought his death upon himself through his own actions. My feelings on this are completely independent of his race or other superficial characteristics.

You know, the US is the only developed country where police officers that are called on an unarmed drunk person, end up killing him. You can find excuses for nearly every instance all day, but in the end you can't expect model behaviour from a drunk person. You can however expect two well trained sober offers to handle something like this without an escalation to deadly force.

I mean 40 times higher than the developed world. Do you agree, that this is an unacceptable level of violence?

>So the taser is deadly?

It can be, depending on how it is used.

> How many times can a taser be fired?

This depends on the model but ones which can fire multiple shots are issued to police.

>Brooks is running away, are you seriously suggesting that he posed a serious thread to the officers?

Yes, because he did.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com