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The man who shot the video above, Michael Thomas, sold the exclusive rights to San Antonio’s KSAT12. The local TV station chose not to show the actual moment police gunned down a man with his arms raised in surrender in Bexar County, San Antonio, Texas. Apparently he wasn’t reaching for a weapon at the time of ballistic perforation. “Law enforcement officials say the deputies made multiple attempts to subdue the man using tasers and riot shields but were unsuccessful,” thinkprogress.org reports. “The officials said deputies arrived on the scene to find . . .

a woman bleeding from her head and “holding a baby who appeared to possibly have been injured.” . . .

“Certainly what’s in the video is a cause for concern, but it’s important to let the investigation go through its course so that we can assure a thorough and complete review of all that occurred,” Bexar County Sheriff Susan Pamerleau said. Pamerleau did not release the name of the man killed, but said the two deputies have been placed on routine administrative leave while the shooting is investigated.

Bexar County deputies fatally shot 11 people between 2003 and 2013, according to a 2014 investigation by another San Antonio news station. A county deputy was indicted for murder in one of those shootings, in which an off-duty deputy fired eight shots and killed an unarmed man following a minor car accident.

On the positive side, back in February 2013, the same KSAT that refuses to release an unedited version of the video reported that no less than 17 Bexar County officers were officially recognized for going “above and beyond the call of duty” during “many different tasks.” Fair and balanced, dontcha know.

[h/t DrVino]

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55 COMMENTS

  1. I tried to look into that ‘deputy indicted for murder’ business.

    They ‘bumped mirrors’ and pulled over. When Mathew Jackson approached Anthony Thomas, Thomas ‘feared for his life’ and shot at him 8 times, striking him once, in August 2013. The lack of accuracy either implies NYPD marksmanship or a fairly long distance, as if he started shooting as soon as Jackson got out of his vehicle instead of waiting for Jackson to approach.

    February 2014, six months after the shooting, he was indicted by a grand jury and THEN he was placed on administrative leave. I thought the administrative leave normally started the day after the shooting, not the day after the cop is formally charged with murder.

    December 2014, a trial was scheduled in early January.
    And that’s the latest news I was able to find.

  2. An 800,000 man occupying army who sees the 320,000,000 lowly “non-LEOs” in this country as insurgents to be dominated, intimidated, humiliated, and murdered. This isn’t going to end well, or soon.

    • If the “Lowly non-LEOs” you refer to were as half as nasty as some of the badges think we are, you would be absolutely correct.

      • “If the “Lowly non-LEOs” you refer to were as half as nasty as some of the badges think we are” in less than one second, there would be no more LEOs.

        It’s the same as the anti-gun agitprop against gun owners. If it were true, in less than one second, we’d have killed them all.

        In the time it took to read this post, the entire population of the planet would have been slaughtered; if anything the lying hatemongers say were actually true.

  3. Cops are being caught on tape yelling “don’t make me fear for my life” seconds before emptying 17 rounds in an unarmed or surrendering suspect. They HAVE to do more thorough psych and IQ evaluations on the new recruits. Many are Gulf War burnouts and barely social gym rats with an “us v. them” mindset” at work.

    • More of our elite heroes in action. I knew more than a few Vietnam, WWII, and Korean veterans that were actually functional after their wars. I had an Uncle who was a B-26 and A-26 pilot who was a good Deputy. I really do not know how stable the current Gulf War vets are. It seems that the whole police force in the USA has become more militarized and dangerous.

      • You do realize that there are millions of perfectly functional veterans so that the cops don’t have to scrape the bottom of the barrel for recruits? Right?

        • Thanks for that. I’m was an 0311, and usually function well despite being “borderline retarded.” Most of the contacts that my subordinates and I have are positive.

          This incident, on the other hand, looks uncomfortably close to 2nd Degree Murder.

        • I was a 1371. Same deal. I don’t know where they keep getting these nut cases, but it’s obvious that the ones that the cops keeps scraping up are the ones who were never able to understand that they aren’t in the military anymore and can town it down a bit.

        • You guys aren’t thinking nearly hard enough…

          The bottom of the barrel always exists. There’s just other stuff on top, usually.

          When those who do the hiring deliberately dig to the bottom of the barrel because psychopaths is exactly what they’re looking for…

          The problem isn’t that cops are crap. The problem is that crap is hand-picked for the job by much larger turds. It won’t matter what “standards and processes” you put in place when the boss picks whomever he wants to pick, and that means someone just as sick as himself.

        • Dustin nailed it. There are multiple court cases proving candidates were passed over because they scored too high in intelligence tests or were not compliant enough towards the “us vs. them” mentality. Meanwhile several major metropolitan departments allow convicted felons out on the streets “to protect and serve……themselves”.

        • Back in the 80s my next-younger brother and I routinely scored perfectly on the civil service police exams (with mine getting ten points added on for veteran status, i.e., scoring 110, with previous military police experience) in our state but couldn’t get on any municipal or state departments until the affirmative action quotas (even back then) had been filled. When I did finally get on, I had midget womyn backing me up, along with a bunch of moronic males who could barely tie their shoes. Plus the usual nincompoop political brass. I didn’t last long, at least not as a career.

  4. No video evidence and I guarantee that they all claim he made a sudden move or was reaching for a weapon.

  5. I am not here to say all or even most cops are bad only that qualified immunity and cop unions are bad. I have some small hope that the all these videos will result in the deep sixing of those egregious wrongs.

  6. I wonder if this was a case of conflicting orders from the police, with one officer shouting “Hands Up” and the other “Don’t Move”.

    • 3 cops tried to play that game with me with a full-on felony stop while OCing in GA. The first thing that came to mind was “Try decaf, I’m not touching it.”

      The “lead” guy, who looked like he was just barely 18, started laughing… He then proceeded to fumble around failing to remove my 1911 from my Serpa, whole the older guys kept up the routine of shouting deliberately opposing commands at me even long after I had been disarmed and cuffed, and was sitting on the curb waiting for them to come up with something with which to charge me. Approx 90 minutes later I was free to go…

      I sent FOIA request and was ignored… Two supposedly big-time Pro-2A Lawyers told me not to bother trying.

    • Reminds me of the conflicting orders given to (and likely contributing to the death of) Erik Scott in 2010. Witnesses testified his handgun was holstered when police arrived on-scene but the police ordered him to “drop it”, which would have required either drawing it or removing the holster from his person; either way “reaching for his gun”. Witnesses differed on whether he actually succeeded in removing the gun from his waistband before he was shot. He was also ordered in quick succession to “put your hands where I can see them now” and “get on the ground.”

  7. Didn’t see the moment leading up to the shooting. Maybe he dropped his hands, maybe he kept advancing, had a knife, etc.

      • If it was your shooting, would you want the full video, complete with the totality of the circumstances, or would you want just part of the video and speculation?

        Video has already saved me from bogus accusations. It’s a wonderful tool – if you’re doing the right thing. And if your equipment actually works.

        • There are not more armed robberies of liquor stores just because we now have surveillance video to show them, and there are not more people who run red lights just because we have red light cameras.

          There are not more bad cops just because we have citizens out video taping them. We have always had over zealous police officers. I would doubt that we have any more today than we had in 1935. Probably less. It is just the power of social media that brings it all “in your face” and makes it seem out of control.

          There will always be a few “bad” cops. There will always be more “good” cops. We just have to keep weeding out the bad and promoting the good. I have to tell you though, I was a cop for two years. I quit because of the young guns. All they could talk about before shift, during breaks, and after shift was how much they wanted to be in a “gun fight” and all the hero stuff they would do during it. Frankly, it scared me to have to rely on any of these guys and there were more young men than older, wiser men on the PD. So, I found a new occupation.

          I was stopped for speeding once a number of years back. The young cop came to my window after demanding that I stay in the car. He asked me if I knew that I was going 65 mph in a 50 mph zone. I said that “no, but my cruise control was on and it indicated I was doing 55”. He immediately put his hand on his weapon and screamed “are you calling me a liar” over and over again. I just stared at him; a time bomb waiting to explode.

          I reported his actions to his COP the following day but I doubt he was evaluated. That is the trouble with small town PDs and SOs.

        • I am glad that video is there to protect guys like you. What I think is most frustrating for many of us is the double standard. Non-police are usually treated as probably guilty until processes are completed while police usually get paid leave or better and a huge benefit of the doubt until proven really really guilty. I’d rather that we were all handled like the police are rather than treating the police like the rest of us are now. However, treating both groups somewhere in between but the same would be better.

    • +1. Too far away to see it clearly, dont have the full story. I am in favor of discussing problems with bad cops, but not in favor of throwing all the good cops under the bus, for the mistakes of a few.

      Nor getting way ahead of ourselves until the facts come out- been burned plenty times here at TTAG on that before.

      Call me a fudd, slave, bootlicker if you will, and you name yourself as the troll you are, in truth.

  8. Someone riddle me this: why is it that so many high-ranking LEOs and chiefs sport multiple stars on their collars, like they’re three- and four-star generals or something? Even in tiny burgs in the middle of nowhere.

    • 1) because they are shiny and show everyone who is in charge.
      2) because the peons are more controllable if they think you have authority. Stars imply authority, more stars even better.
      3) a lot of these small departments hand out stars so the chiefs think they are more important than they are. The 4-star chief of police in Smalltown can then think he is as “important” or “powerful” as the NYPD chief.

      • That’s what I thought; I don’t remember this being the case when I was on The Job over thirty years ago, but have noticed it a lot in recent years. It looks ridiculous, but then so much about contemporary “law enforcement” is just that.

        • A friend who retired as the chief of a smaller city PD (around 90 officers) hereabouts wore silver eagles. All she needed….. Just saying!

  9. Would have much preferred the citizen and news company to be quiet about the existence of the video and see how many lies the cops would have claimed.

  10. While a bit off topic, it’s sad to have freedom of the press when they choose not to exercise it. Even in chrissake Mexico when the cartels and government forces battle it out, a deputy mayor’s motorcade gets shot to pieces, or someone is smacked by a bus, the resulting photo is gonna wind up in the papers for all to see.
    American journalists toss our politicians softball questions and allow them to change the subject or dance around it and escape.
    It’s like they’re not even interested in truth or facts. The real world is often ugly and bloody. Hiding it from us as if we’re all children helps no one.

    • or perhaps the truth must not be known ,i have cops in my neighborhood who are good guys ,they are saying retirement cant come soon enough ,, the youngsters are on a power trip with immunity and there is a sense of apathy in the force ,to look at it with a sense of fairness the system is broken

  11. Moral? The po-leece are not your friend. Put your gun down and assume the position. FWIW I had something similar happen on a BS ticket T C Knight-a stack of tickets all for 77mph-my van couldn’t go faster than 60.

    • If I had the money back for all the false tickets I’ve gotten… Plenty, as you’ve stated, for a speed the vehicle isn’t even capable of doing…

      Most recently, I was cited for 66 in a 45 riding a bike with rounded off sprockets (and absolutely wrecked chain) and two flat tires, which couldn’t get above 20mph due to the stretched and rusted chain slipping and spinning off of the rounded-off sprockets…

      I was just trying to get it home without the expense of hauling it. I did. Eventually…

      The ticket cost more than I paid for the bike…

  12. He should have waited to release the video. Wait until the cops made up a fake official story and once on record – demolish their lies with the video evidence. That would have been awesomely monumental.

    #civilianlivesmatter
    #noncoplivesmatter

  13. Oh ffs. Release the full video. Every moment of it. Don’t want to show it on TV, fine, release it on liveleak or whatever.

  14. I agree. They should release the video in full. Looking at the victim, I don’t foresee any riots or convenient stores burning down over it.

    • “Looking at the victim, I don’t foresee any riots or convenient stores burning down over it.”

      It may be a bad shoot against protocol, but it was not a bad shoot because of an innocent victim. I will take the lawsuit from the wife as a taxpayer, over paying for the continued existence of that savage, who hit a woman and her child.

  15. Well, let the universal cop hate continue right?

    There are no corrupt politicians.
    No pedophile clergymen.
    No crooked politicians, bankers, businessmen right?

    ANYWHERE humans are involved. there is greed, corruption, incompetence and death. Because that’s the human condition.

    Now if you hate cops so damn bad, vote to get rid of them ok? In fact, lets do it retroactively. Get rid of the cops, and release every one of the two and a quarter million convicts in the prison system. After all, each and every one of them was put there by a cop right?

    Yeah yeah, cops are bad. Heard it all before binky.

    While the cop haters busily formulate their retort with the myriad of exceptions they will try to foist off on people to justify their premise, the cops are out there dealing with all the crap of humanity so YOU don’t have to.

    • YEP there are all those things-people are evil. But this is about the po-leece murdering this guy-try to keep up. Most of us adults realize all cops are not bad,evil,violent,racist or corrupt.We just get tired of cops acting like a standing army with no oversight,punishment or recriminations Steve…

      • The problem is, police abuse complaints are always couched in the plural, as if they are somehow epidemic. Yep, they make the news, like high profile killings, and just like those incidents, they are used to color and skew the entire argument.

        The media can create a pandemic out of a single sneeze if they want to. And they often do just that.

        Much like the anti gun crowd does to decent gun owners. Their own particular brand of confirmation bias kicks in and all “LOOK! SEE? ITOLDJA!”

        As far as investigations and justice, we usually don’t get what we don’t demand. I’m sure NOBODY reading this TTAG piece is going to be on the phone to Bexar county Monday morning, Just like nobody burned up the city of Waco’s.

        • Maybe the reason you see persecution everywhere is because you’re afraid that it is based on the truth.

          And maybe people don’t burn up the phone lines to Bexar County is because they know the futility of taking on an entrenched system of police brutality and corruption.

          Look what happened to Frank Serpico, they’re still gunning for him. 🙂

        • >> The problem is, police abuse complaints are always couched in the plural, as if they are somehow epidemic.

          Yes, we heard that story before.

          The problem is that we have numerous past cases demonstrating that it really is epidemic. Starting with the Knapp commission findings, and the “Blue Code of Silence”.

          The ball is in the other court right now. Police have to make a conscious effort to change their image. And that means changing the modus operandi, not just PR.

          >> the cops are out there dealing with all the crap of humanity so YOU don’t have to.

          That does not give them the excuse to do whatever they want, and get away with it.

          As it is, all too often, it’s not even that cops shoot people for no reason, it’s that they try to disclaim any responsibility afterwards by saying things like “I was afraid that he had a gun” (when the video evidence plainly contradicts it and no gun is found otherwise). These lying sacks of shit are then backed by their superiors who produce a tirade about how anyone in their place could have made the same mistake, how they all just want to safely go home to their families etc. Which is also lies, because any civilian making the same “mistake” would be rotting behind bars in short order.

          And the fundamental problem with the “safely go home” argument is that it basically boils down to the idea that police officers should be allowed to place the lives of innocents at risk so as to avoid the risk to themselves. I thought the whole reason why we even have professional crime fighting units is to reduce the risks to the rest of our society.

    • >the cops are out there dealing with all the crap of humanity so YOU don’t have to

      This is what bootlickers actually believe.

      • Well, I guess those two thousand calls for police service that go across my scanner everyday, are just a bunch of voice actors in a studio somewhere, the earth is flat, and man never landed on the moon.

        • Now let’s see how many of those calls actually resulted in any sort of help, as opposed to the usual results of the cops assaulting or shooting the gullible callers and their pets, giving them fines for some arbitrary bureaucratic violation, or just leaving a giant mess for people to clean up.

    • People like you are just as bad as the irrational blanket cop haters, just on the other end of the spectrum. Irrational cop lovers.

  16. Your chances in a dark alley at midnight reasoning with a Bloods gang member are better than reasoning with a stressed out addled roid rage Blue badge gang member.

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