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Police fatally shoot Bronze Star recipient after he shot home intruder


Euler

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ABC News

An Army veteran who fired on an intruder in his Colorado home was fatally shot by a police officer responding to the scene, authorities said.

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"An officer discharged his firearm striking the armed male, who was transported to the hospital," [Aurora Police Chief Nick] Metz said. "Inside, officers found an injured juvenile and the deceased adult male intruder on the bathroom floor."

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The armed man, however, was identified as Richard "Gary" Black Jr. by Siddhartha Rathod, a lawyer representing his family's estate.

 

Rathod told ABC News "a naked man kicked down the door to the house, entered the house, and was found choking Black Jr.'s 11-year-old grandson," strangling the boy in the bathtub. That boy's father, Black's stepson, went in and began wrestling with the naked man. Both he and Black were trying to save the boy.

 

"Mr. Black goes and gets his sidearm and shoots the intruder and saves his grandson," Rathod said. "Mr. Black walks out of the bathroom to see other individuals who had also come in the home. Black's wife had called the police and ran outside. She specifically told the police what her husband was wearing and there was a naked man attacking her grandson. Mr. Black walks out and is shot by police."

 

According to the lawyer, Black left the Army and became a federal agent. Prior to that, he was awarded a Bronze Star, with the first oak leaf cluster, an Army Combination Medal and a Purple Heart. Rathod said Black received all commendations for his service in the First Infantry Division simultaneously while at an Army hospital during the Vietnam War.

 

Black was a member of the Citadel Class of 1966, according to Kim Keeler of the Citadel's media relations.

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Stop the threat(s).

Drop the firearm.

Get into the prone position.

Black left the Army and became a federal agent.

My guess is this guy has been around trigger happy cops for a while, did everything in his power not to get shot by the police, but still managed to get shot by the police. Edit n/m IRS agent

 

It will be interesting to hear the details and if the officer involved shooting turns into an accidental discharge.

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did everything in his power not to get shot by the police

 

 

 

 

It is horrible that Mr. Black was killed, but it sounds like he walked out the front door with his gun in his hand. When there are cops outside and you walk outside with a gun in your hand - its very easy for an officer to believe that you're an immediate threat. In that moment when the officer thinks he or someone else is about to be shot - that officer won't remember the description another resident gave them.

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Youth should be charged with murder. Cop should lose his job. There are consequences even if your intentions are good if you make a bad decision. If just having a gun is justified to shoot, then the last arriving cop should shoot all the rest of them.

 

Without a good grasp of what is going on sometimes you may have to take fire or witness another innocent taking fire to identify the hostile before you shoot anyone with a gun. This cop did not and he killed the innocent.

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Youth should be charged with murder. Cop should lose his job. There are consequences even if your intentions are good if you make a bad decision. If just having a gun is justified to shoot, then the last arriving cop should shoot all the rest of them.

 

Without a good grasp of what is going on sometimes you may have to take fire or witness another innocent taking fire to identify the hostile before you shoot anyone with a gun. This cop did not and he killed the innocent.

Agreed. Somehow in the court of public opinion the standard of justified homicide is having a gun or "looking like you have a gun". Even more worrisome is everyone here echoing the same when you sometimes carry guns in the presence of law enforcement. Repeating this does create the bias that causes bad shootings, so you are literally being part of the problem.

 

If this guy was trained by the military and possibly trained by the federal government to carry in plain clothes (IRS field agents carry guns) do you think the average conceal carrier is going to do better not drawing friendly fire?

 

Why would you drop a gun after a self defense shooting knowing there could be other threats or that your neutralized threat is very likely still breathing? If you trust the police to save you why carry a gun in the first place?

 

The message we need to scream is EVERYONE THAT HAS A GUN IS NOT A THREAT. Law enforcement needs to train for this as they often work with and have accidently shot their plainclothed LE counterparts in multiple occasions.

 

This cop was so programmed to shoot at the sight of a gun he shot a fellow officer 9 times before recognizing it was a member of his own police department.

https://youtu.be/V73BVe7Ulog

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People here are jumping to a lot of conclusions based on sketchy information.


One wants the “youth charged with murder”. The article reports that the intruder was one of the dead found at the scene. I guess that leaves the 11 year old grandson to be charged. Same poster says “sometimes you may have to take fire or witness another innocent taking fire to identify the hostile before you shoot anyone with a gun”. You allow people to be shot while mulling over the situation? What self-defense trainer teaches that?



From the article it is unclear is the home owner was shot in the house or outside. There is no information on the interaction between Mr. Black and the police e.g. police identifying. themselves, Mr. Black’s moves, and other factors.


Legal conclusions are based on witness testimony, forensics, and other information, not some sketchy poorly written news story.



Earning the Bronze Star in the past has no bearing on the incident. His service should be appreciated, though.

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sometimes you may have to take fire or witness another innocent taking fire to identify the hostile before you shoot anyone with a gunâ. You allow people to be shot while mulling over the situation? What self-defense trainer teaches that?

 

What self-defense trainer advises shoot first ask questions later? What self-defense instructor would advise to enter into a situation without knowledge of the situation or actors and just shoot anyone with a gun as a hostile?

 

Yes, especially in public mass shootings those extra seconds to assess the situation may cost a life and maybe it might be yours, but I would rather take the bullet making the right call then wrongfully kill somebodies father, son or grandfather.

 

One of the biggest arguments against concealed carry was, how can the police tell the difference between a good guy with a gun and a bad guy with a gun at the scene of the shooting? How about this: the bad guys are the ones shooting unarmed people. They are the ones shooting fleeing people. Once you identify them, take them out.

 

You cannot always save everyone but you can mitigate the body count.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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Yes, especially in public mass shootings those extra seconds to assess the situation may cost a life and maybe it might be yours, but I would rather take the bullet making the right call then wrongfully kill somebodies (sic) father, son or grandfather.

. . .

You cannot always save everyone but you can mitigate the body count.

 

After you allow yourself to be killed, how do you mitigate the body count?

 

Things can happen rapidly; evaluations have to be quickly. When confronted by an armed individual, there is greater urgency than facing an unarmed person.

 

As I pointed out above, there is limited information in the article. Did the police ID themselves? Was he ordered to drop the gun? In what direction was the gun pointed or moving? If the squad car lights were flashing, why did Mr. Black go outside carrying the gun? Regardless of the wife saying that there was one attacker, there could have been other home invaders. The shots heard from the inside could have been from an invader exchanging shots with a family member.

 

 

I see the possibility of errors by both the police and Mr. Black. Without more information I do not venture to assign blame.

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  • 4 months later...

Body cam footage has been released.

DA: No charges against Aurora police officer who shot, killed homeowner who had just killed intruder

Body Camera Video Released In Police Shooting Of Aurora Homeowner

 

Harper (the intruder), high on methamphetamine, broke into the home to take a shower. That's why he was naked. He attacked the 11-year-old boy, who had investigated why someone was taking a shower after midnight.

  • The police did not identify themselves. It may not have mattered (see next point).
  • Police ordered Black (the homeowner) to drop the gun, but Black had significant hearing impairment, so there's some debate whether he heard the commands.
  • The gun was pointed at the floor.
  • Black did not go outside. He entered his living room from the hallway. The police shot from outside the home into the living room through the open front door, through which Black's wife had just exited.
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Body cam footage has been released.

DA: No charges against Aurora police officer who shot, killed homeowner who had just killed intruder

Body Camera Video Released In Police Shooting Of Aurora Homeowner

 

Harper (the intruder), high on methamphetamine, broke into the home to take a shower. That's why he was naked. He attacked the 11-year-old boy, who had investigated why someone was taking a shower after midnight.

  • The police did not identify themselves. It may not have mattered (see next point).
  • Police ordered Black (the homeowner) to drop the gun, but Black had significant hearing impairment, so there's some debate whether he heard the commands.
  • The gun was pointed at the floor.
  • Black did not go outside. He entered his living room from the hallway. The police shot from outside the home into the living room through the open front door, through which Black's wife had just exited.

 

 

Tragic.....just freaking tragic.

 

This sounds like a reason for silencers. I'm pretty sure that firing a gun inside a house will cause someone to lose their hearing for a bit. (Don't know if it was the gunshots that caused the hearing issue).

"Black had significant hearing impairment, so there's some debate whether he heard the commands."

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OK, the guy just shot a home invader and there's people outside screaming commands in the dark without simply saying "POLICE!".

 

This is just another example of how law enforcement arrogance and expectation of authority gets people killed. Every "drop the gun, raise your hands" command should have been prompted by "Police!".

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Body cam footage has been released.

DA: No charges against Aurora police officer who shot, killed homeowner who had just killed intruder

Body Camera Video Released In Police Shooting Of Aurora Homeowner

 

Harper (the intruder), high on methamphetamine, broke into the home to take a shower. That's why he was naked. He attacked the 11-year-old boy, who had investigated why someone was taking a shower after midnight.

  • The police did not identify themselves. It may not have mattered (see next point).
  • Police ordered Black (the homeowner) to drop the gun, but Black had significant hearing impairment, so there's some debate whether he heard the commands.
  • The gun was pointed at the floor.
  • Black did not go outside. He entered his living room from the hallway. The police shot from outside the home into the living room through the open front door, through which Black's wife had just exited.

 

 

Nowhere in that video did I hear the police identify themselves as such.

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Body cam footage has been released.

DA: No charges against Aurora police officer who shot, killed homeowner who had just killed intruder

Body Camera Video Released In Police Shooting Of Aurora Homeowner

 

Harper (the intruder), high on methamphetamine, broke into the home to take a shower. That's why he was naked. He attacked the 11-year-old boy, who had investigated why someone was taking a shower after midnight.

  • The police did not identify themselves. It may not have mattered (see next point).
  • Police ordered Black (the homeowner) to drop the gun, but Black had significant hearing impairment, so there's some debate whether he heard the commands.
  • The gun was pointed at the floor.
  • Black did not go outside. He entered his living room from the hallway. The police shot from outside the home into the living room through the open front door, through which Black's wife had just exited.

Nowhere in that video did I hear the police identify themselves as such.

 

Did I say they did? I think I said they didn't.

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Having watched the body cam video, it is very apparent that the victim didn't even know the police were there and probably didn't hear them due to both pre-existing hearing issues and gun-blast deafness.

 

The police never identified themselves, fired into a building from the outside through a door, and put everyone else in that building at risk due to their grave and criminal negligence.

 

The DA is an idiot for not charging the shooting police officer for at least manslaughter.

 

At the very least, the family should sue the police and city for as much as they can get.

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