MD - Suspect's Weapon Falls & Discharges During Arrest by Baltimore Police

[Deleted member 39678]

I am not the least bit surprised that Tobin and the witness thought the man was shot in the back. If you look at this picture:

The officer is in a shooting stance, and the man is on the ground. Now, factor in the gun shot, and them loading him into the ambulance?

It would be quite easy for some who were there to think that he was shot by the officer. Otherwise put, it is unnecessary, and imho, counterproductive, to castigate Tobin or the witness.

I agree. It's cases like this that make me wary of eyewitness testimony. Well meaning people can see an event and get it very wrong. That's why I like physical evidence that supports an eyewitness's account before I give it any great weight.

JMO

 

[sonjay]

I agree. It's cases like this that make me wary of eyewitness testimony. Well meaning people can see an event and get it very wrong. That's why I like physical evidence that supports an eyewitness's account before I give it any great weight.

JMO

Totally agree.

The difficulty is that the physical evidence doesn't jump in front of the nearest television cameras and tell the world what happened. The physical evidence takes longer to collect, analyze and interpret. Meanwhile, the eyewitnesses are out there creating the narrative that then becomes the perceived truth.

 

[shadowraiths]

I agree. It's cases like this that make me wary of eyewitness testimony. Well meaning people can see an event and get it very wrong. That's why I like physical evidence that supports an eyewitness's account before I give it any great weight.

JMO

Absolutely agree. Eyewitness testimony research has been ongoing since the 1970s (see Loftus, et al), and is considered by many in the field to be unreliable (remember the "white van?"). While, at the same time, jurors tend to give it a lot of weight in their decisions. This is why, I personally, am a proponent of SIL (science intensive litigation).

 

[KEVINinTO]

VIDEO: Robert Tucker accompanied by Sen Pugh meets his mother at the hospital

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeM1Xz8QfXI&feature=youtu.be

When asked if her son has been arrested before his mother replies "all the time"