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

[Blondie in Spokane]

I still can’t believe this shooting happened. Seriously. Who in their right mind would shoot off a freakin gun in Costco FGS. And this was done by a trained police officer! It just blows my mind.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Galipo said the officer’s life was not threatened and, instead, he acted out of anger because someone had pushed him.

RSBM

This is what I have thought all along. The shooter was pissed and humiliated that he had been pushed or knocked down. He was making up for his ego being bruised by shooting 6 or 7 times in a crowded Costco. Who does that???

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Sorry I messed up the above post. This is what I was trying to say....

This is what I have thought all along. The shooter was pissed and humiliated that he had been pushed or knocked down. He was making up for his ego being bruised by shooting 6 or 7 times in a crowded Costco. Who does that???

 

[Wagtales10]

Sorry I messed up the above post. This is what I was trying to say....

This is what I have thought all along. The shooter was pissed and humiliated that he had been pushed or knocked down. He was making up for his ego being bruised by shooting 6 or 7 times in a crowded Costco. Who does that???

I agree. IMHO the cop had a cowboy wild west mindset and BECAUSE he's a cop he felt he has the excuse to go to gun first. ANY normal citizen who did this would have been locked up immediatly, drug tested and identity and mug shot released.

 

[gitana1]

Imo, it would depend on the situation. If I was in fear for my life, I would shoot as many times as needed. That might be twice, or six times. I'm not fond of the idea that I can't save my life because other people are around.

Yeah but I'm not fond of getting accidentally shot by some cowboy with a gun who can't shoot straight and is panicking/overreacting.

 

[gitana1]

But do you think your life is more important than lives of these other people? If you are shooting in a crowded place multiple times, you potentially are going to shoot or kill completely innocent people. You don't think that matters? Or your life more important than anybody's?

Like an innocent child.

 

[gitana1]

i think you are confusing victim and perp.

I don't think so. The person dead could be the victim. The shooter, whether in reasonable fear of their life or not, put other, innocent lives at grave risk of harm.

 

[gitana1]

I am not sure what exactly needed deescalating. After cop was shoved/pushed and fell to the ground, he apparently stood up and started firing. What was he in danger of in that point is unclear to me.

Yes. At that point, was he able to simply hold the man at gunpoint? Instead of coming up shooting?

 

[Wagtales10]

I am not sure what exactly needed deescalating. After cop was shoved/pushed and fell to the ground, he apparently stood up and started firing. What was he in danger of in that point is unclear to me.

a damaged ego

 

[floridagrrl]

If I was knocked out by being slammed my first thought would be looking for my child I was holding

But that’s just me

Come to think of it he could’ve shot his own kid!

JMO

 

[jjenny]

This case has my interest from the get go. I'm not sure what to think right now. But what has me puzzled is why the officer felt the need to fire 6 shots. I'm curious to what witnesses saw happen. The news articles I've been reading really don't say much about witnesses. Someone had to see what actually happened, after all this is Costco and there is usually a lot of people around the sampling stations from my understanding is where the incident took place.

ETA: I feel so sad for the parents and I pray they will recover from their wounds.

I don't know why he had to fire any shots at all. After Mr. French shoved or pushed him, apparently officer was able to get up (per eyewitness), get his gun out and shoot. We haven't heard what Mr. French was doing, but no one reported that Mr. French was trying to continue with the attack as far as I know.

 

[Reasonable & Just]

Some people may think it's okay to fire 6-7 shots in a crowded space if you fear for your life. But does this apply to everyone? To use the increasingly common example of armed teachers - suppose a teacher feared for their life if they were being physically attacked by a larger student. How many innocent children would be acceptable collateral damage if the frightened teacher fired 6-7 shots? Would we really be okay with this?

 

[Wagtales10]

If I was knocked out by being slammed my first thought would be looking for the child I was holding

But that’s just me

Come to think of it he could’ve shot his own kid

JMO

remember, only his lawyer is stating he was knocked out. Something he stated days after the murder happened.
Witnesses say he got up and started shooting. 6-7 shots in a busy store.

 

[Wagtales10]

I don't know why he had to fire any shots at all. After Mr. French shoved or pushed him, apparently officer was able to get up (per eyewitness), get his gun out and shoot. We haven't heard what Mr. French was doing, but no one reported that Mr. French was trying to continue with the attack as far as I know.

Witnesses also say that the Father was trying to explain his son's condition before the cop shot him too.

 

[jjenny]

I agree, I was troubled by the 6 or more shots. All I could think is that I seem to remember hearing somewhere that officers are trained to shoot all of their bullets if they start shooting (?). I don’t have any better information about that, so hopefully someone who does know can weigh in (?)

They are not trained to shoot all of their bullets (that would be totally bizarre). They are trained to shoot to stop the threat. In this case I don't know what the threat would be, especially from the parents. He might argue self-defense against Mr. French, but I fail to see how he could argue self-defense against Mr. French's parents.

 

[jjenny]

Like an innocent child.

Or in this case two innocent elderly parents, who haven't attacked the cop in any way as far as we know from what is being reported.

 

[gitana1]

I would add that a cooler head with a gun would do the same as bolded, (though maybe a cool-headed person would yell a bit and threaten to call the police or ask for an ambulance if injured). It used to be a mark of honor for lawmen to claim they never had to unholster. Now, it's almost weird not to take action at any degree of threat. I have had my share of surprise hits, including being knocked down from behind. It's horrifying, humiliating, and terrifying. But "kill" was not my first thought upon getting up.

When people carry, they have a heightened sense of danger. And more anxiety in general, IMO.

 

[gitana1]

I am shocked that LE is being painted with such a wide brush! Very few people, that carry guns for a living, ever fires shot.

LE does amazing and heroic things everyday. And we never hear about it. They don't get paid enough to deal with the crap they have to deal with.

I agree but in the context of officer involved shootings/killings, there is a history of a lot of cover ups and when they're off duty, special treatment. That's what I object to.

 

[BayouBelle_LA]

Maybe the officer comes to, after being knocked out, with the man and his parents on him. It’s possible the parents were trying to control their son. We just don’t know.

 

[Cryptic]

A cooler head without a gun would, after getting kocked down by a person with mental issues, say wtf and then get up and listen irritatedly while the Dad appologized and explained. A hothead without a gun would get up, ignore the explanations and shove back. .

And in between those two extremes, there is a lot of middle ground:

- How hard was the man shoved to the ground? Was he debilitated by the impact?
- Was say, the "gentle giant" advancing towards him to continue the attack?
- Does the man have a child with him who might also be subject to an attack?
- Was the attacker with mental problems acting erratic to the extent that he may also attack the child?

One witness stated that the officer was shoved to the ground extremely hard and the officer did have a child with him. Though those facts probably don't justify firing at all three people, and may not even justify firing at the attacker, those apparent facts also demonstrate that the use of lethal force did not occur in a vacuam and with any potential justification.