CA - Off Duty Police Officer shoots man and parents after altercation in Costco, Corona, June 2019

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  • #201
Michael Drejka's attorneys to call Pinellas sheriff to testify as expert on self defense (with clip)

Jun 18, 2019

"PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) - Attorneys for controversial shooter, Michael Drejka, want to call the top cop in Pinellas County as a witness to help their case in Drejka's upcoming murder trial.

During a news conference in July last year, Sheriff Gualtieri said he would not arrest Drejka because he initially cited the 'Stand Your Ground' defense.

"I don't make the law, we enforce the law and I'm gonna enforce the law the way it's written and the way the legislature intended it to be applied and others can have the debate about whether they like it or not," said Gualtieri.

The sheriff's statement could be debated in court, come August when Michael Drejka goes to trial for shooting and killing Markeis McGlockton.

"I absolutely am confident if most if not all that everything that the sheriff said about the case will ultimately get in front of the jury," said Drejka's attorney, John Trevena.

Trevena said Sheriff Gualtieri will be called as a witness and an expert on self-defense...."

Michael Drejka's attorneys to call Pinellas sheriff to testify as expert on self defense
 
  • #202
How does an infant fall to the floor when the adult holding him is knocked unconscious, and sustain zero injuries?
That's a good question. Especially considering if cop was knocked out from behind, he would have likely fallen face first, on top of the child. Yet reportedly child had no injuries.
 
  • #203
Thread dialogue:







^^
Wagtales10 - Your comment referred to "If he is knocked to the ground. . ."
I'm comparing this to Florida JULY 2018 incident where Drejka was forcefully shoved to the ground by McGlockton; Drejka then pulled gun, and shot and killed McGlockton.
FL - Markeis McGlockton, Killed following parking dispute, Clearwater, 19 July 2018

You have frankenstein-ed multiple comments from various points of this thread with the full intention of twisting my words.
 
  • #204
the generally accepted nomenclature to which we are both referring is "non verbal". But, yes, I give you a big yes for semantics. Non oral. Does anyone use that phrase? I honestly have never heard it used in, well, any sense.

Non verbal also means, not involving or using words. If those posting on social media are using words, they are involved in verbal communication. Mr. French was posting complete sentences on social media, thus he was at some point capable of verbal communication.

"Definition of nonverbal

: not verbal: such as
a : not involving or using words"
Definition of NONVERBAL
 
  • #205
I'd like to know what his disability is. Could he have something that caused him to meltdown in public? And that was considered a threat to someone armed who was there with his own family?

It's sad but people with cognitive, neurological or mental health issues are at higher risk of being shot by police for things that others would not be shot for. Especially if they're men and large.
Nobody so far has reported what his exact mental disability was. Apparently his condition deteriorated in recent years. If the officer was supposedly knocked out from behind, could the victim have simply bumped into him? He is a large man, perhaps clumsy.
 
  • #206
According to your source (Merriam-Webster - my fave!), definition C matches the one that I have heard in clinical and lay terms. You seem to be citing definition A. None of this is meant to be argumentative - just pointing it out. I am not sure how relevant it is.

c : lacking or appearing to lack the ability to engage in speech.
She finds she can communicate with nonverbal children using drum beats, for example.
 
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  • #208
According to the article below, the condition from which Mr. French suffered might have been schizophrenia. His mother is still in critical condition and might not survive.

""I would hardly characterize it as an attack," Galipo told The Associated Press, describing it as an "open-handed push or slap" to the policeman's back. "It certainly does not justify killing someone.""
Attorney: Man killed at Costco was mentally ill, off meds
 
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  • #211
I am still waiting on the name of the shooter...what is the hold up?

They're coming up with their "story," and he's being allowed to escape town before his name is released. Got to give him every possible benefit since he's one of their own.
 
  • #212
  • #213
This is true. It won't change a thing, but it's absolutely true.
I've said the exact same thing. I bet if it were a regular citizen, his behind would have been sitting in jail right now.
 
  • #214
So let's say Mr. French pushed or slapped the back of the police officer, causing the police officer to fall to the ground. Then what? If Mr. French was no longer doing anything (nobody so far reported that he was doing anything else after he pushed/slapped the cop in the back), how does that justify shooting three people? How would the cop even know it was Mr. French who pushed/slapped him on the back? Was he just going to shoot at whoever was standing behind him?
 
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The shooter's name is not mentioned in either of those articles.

Yes it is. SS is mentioned—not on the record, but the newspaper obviously felt confident about the identification.

It’s in the Inquirer.com article, too—an AP article.
 
  • #218
Clearly the shooter is going to get away with this. Perhaps he'll be fired, but even that is not a certainty.

The fact he is an officer, or even if he verbally stated that he was an officer before firing, is completely irrelevant. But what do I know? He was off duty, right? So he was not acting in an officer capacity when he fired, although I suppose the typical <modsnipped unnecessary comment> response would be that a cop is Always on duty.

Even if one assumes that an on-duty officer could get away with a shooting like this, which is obvious if you pay attention to the news these days, this shooter was Not On-Duty. So is this a proper response by an ordinary citizen?

If an ordinary citizen carrying their child, is pushed from behind, and falls to the ground, is it justifiable for their response to be firing 7+ shots and hitting 3 different people. Two of whom may not have even been involved in the initial incident. It seems to me that the ordinary citizen would be charged with 2nd Degree Manslaughter, no doubt about it. The prosecution would contend that they had the responsibility of retreating from the situation, rather than escalating it by pulling out a gun against Unarmed individuals. They would say that it was a public place, where you were not defending your home, and had ample choices beyond shooting. That you posed an inherent danger to all who were in the store at the time of shooting, and who likely had no involvement in the situation, or were even aware something was occurring that endangered their own lives.

But cops have spun stories and been able to get away with less, so I'll hold my breath on this one and wait to see if the shooter is held to account. For me, leaving the cop aspect out of it does not change a thing. I'm not a fan of cops killing people for no reason, but this one was acting as a regular person. Based on that alone, I would have no problem charging with 2nd Degree Manslaughter, since he certainly had options other than the one chosen.
 
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  • #219
So let's say Mr. French pushed or slapped the back of the police officer, causing the police officer to fall to the ground. Then what? If Mr. French was no longer doing anything (nobody so far reported that he was doing anything else after he pushed/slapped the cop in the back), how does that justify shooting three people? How would the cop even know it was Mr. French who pushed/slapped him on the back? Was he just going to shoot at whoever was standing behind him?

Right. This cockamamie story makes it worse. He claims to have been pushed from behind and knocked unconscious and his immediate reaction on regaining consciousness is to sit up and just start shooting? Baloney. Not even my 95 yo grandmother in law would just lose consciousness if she was pushed to the floor. But you are certifiably bat 🤬🤬🤬🤬 crazy if that happens and you just sit up and start shooting at the nearest people. You should never be allowed to possess a gun if you have so little self control you'd do that. I can't believe they think this laughable story justifies shooting so many people. They must be really desperate and his lawyer must really suck. LOL
 
  • #220
From what has been reported, child wasn't injured and cop only had minor injuries and was released.

I think someone would have much more than minor injuries if they were "fighting for their life" as he claims.

Also, note his attorney never stated the baby was in danger or he was trying to protect the baby. So no need to add that feature.
 
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