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Fatal mixup at Costco

Checkmite

Skepticifimisticalationist
Checkmite
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In case you haven't been following this story: Friday night at a Costco in California, a man shot and killed another man and wounded two other people. Police originally reported that there had been an argument and the shooter was taken into custody, but that turns out not to have been true; the shooter was sent to a hospital to be looked over for injuries and was then released without charge. Since then it was reported that the shooter, an off-duty policy officer, says he was attacked while carrying his child by the three people he shot and that he was forced to defend himself with his handgun.

Today it has been reported that according to a relative of the people who were shot, the dead man, named Kenneth French, was non-verbal and mentally disabled, and the two people who were wounded were his parents and caretakers, Russell and Paola French. Russell is in critical condition in the ICU, although his condition is reportedly improving; his wife Paola remains in a coma.

Shureih doesn’t know what might have led to the shooting, but he said it’s unlikely that Kenneth French initiated a verbal confrontation. His cousin’s mental condition had declined in recent years, and he no longer spoke.

“It could have been that he bumped into somebody but couldn’t communicate the fact that he was sorry,” Shureih said.
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Surely costco can provide access to the cctv footage. Sounds like another polite cop politely asking brown people to back off, lie down and not get up using the politest of all tools, a firearm.
 
Man, don't read the comments.

I'm going to withhold judgement on this one since I haven't seen the video, but it sounds like a tragic situation.
 
https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-costco-dispute-lapd-shooting-corona-20190618-story.html

This article describes one side of the story as told by the attorney for the family and another side of the story as told by the attorney for the police officer.

According to the attorney for the family, he was not "off his meds" but had recently had a change of medications.
French is normally calm, but he had a recent change of medications that might have affected his behavior, Galipo said.
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Bob001 said:
Parents survived, barely. Both in critical condition.Their lawyer speaks:
https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-costco-dispute-lapd-shooting-corona-20190618-story.html
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Other speakers questioned why an officer was carrying a firearm while off duty in a crowded store.
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D'uh. Because most (all) police departments require off duty officers to carry weapons.

I don't get this one. The deceased was shot after shooting other people. There wasn't any, repeat NO REASON, not to shoot the guy. Sad as that is.
 
Skeptic Ginger said:
D'uh. Because most (all) police departments require off duty officers to carry weapons.

I don't get this one. The deceased was shot after shooting other people. There wasn't any, repeat NO REASON, not to shoot the guy. Sad as that is.
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Huh? Did you read a different story than I did?

One more thing from the story:
Johnstone said his department’s investigation had been hindered by not being able to interview everyone involved. It was unclear to whom he was referencing [sic].
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I wonder if that means the police officer hasn't been interviewed.
 
Skeptic Ginger said:
D'uh. Because most (all) police departments require off duty officers to carry weapons.

I don't get this one. The deceased was shot after shooting other people. There wasn't any, repeat NO REASON, not to shoot the guy. Sad as that is.
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I think you're confusing some stories. The Costco guy wasn't armed and didn't shoot anybody, and his parents were apparently trying calm down the off-duty cop that the mentally disabled son bumped, accidentally or otherwise.

And in most jurisdictions, as I understand it, cops are permitted to carry their weapons, but not required to. If they are required to, that in effect would mean they're on duty, with legal and financial liability for the department.
 
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Skeptic Ginger said:
... I don't get this one. The deceased was shot after shooting engaging in a physical altercation with the shooter that had ended and was being mediated prior to the shot. There wasn't any, repeat NO REASON, not to shoot the guy. Sad as that is.
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Fixed part of that for you.

The support for deadly force has no easy fix, sadly. Violence is habit-forming, and opiates are not the worst addiction facing the USA.
 
Puppycow said:
Huh? Did you read a different story than I did?

One more thing from the story:


I wonder if that means the police officer hasn't been interviewed.
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Other stories have referenced that neither of the developmentally disabled man's parents can currently speak due to being nearly dead.

And as you stated, the now dead guy didn't shoot anyone. He was non-verbal.

It sounds as if the victim bumped into or knocked over the off-duty cop (who was holding his own child) who was getting a free sample. Perhaps the victim was also trying to get a sample. For those not familiar with Costco, there are little stations around the store handing out free food samples, sometimes crowds can form around them.

Developmentally disabled guy knocks over the cop - intentional or not. Cop hits his head, gets disoriented and angry. Parents try to calm the cop, perhaps having the opposite effect. Either way, cop shoots three unarmed people, killing one who was developmentally disabled to the point of being non-verbal.

The cops will circle the wagons, but it seems inevitable that he'll face charges sooner or later.
 
What i do not understand in these situations is the reluctance to arrest the shooter. Three unarmed people shot one fatally. Regardless of whether he is an off-duty cop he should be arrested and interviewed under caution (with counsel). He should be tested for alcohol and drug intoxication. He might be subsequently released if there was no risk to others. An un-uniformed off-duty police officer should be treated the same as anyone else.

I see his union spokesman justifies the shooting on the grounds rhat he was confused and panicked having been knocked out. It is hardly re-assuring to know that being confused is a justification for a LEO shooting you.
 
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Puppycow said:
Easy there. We don't know why he changed medications.
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In fact, people have to change their psychiatric medication all the time. No two patients react to the same medication in the same way, so part of psychiatric care involves finding the particular cocktail of medication and therapy that works best for the patient.
 
Planigale said:
What i do not understand in these situations is the reluctance to arrest the shooter.
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There was at first, because the shooter was probably the only one who was able to actually, physically speak when the police arrived and so they got a heavily skewed version of the story.

Earlier articles suggested the dead man was in the process of attacking the off-duty cop and he was "forced to defend himself". Now it's starting to look like the off-duty cop was hit, whether accidentally or otherwise, but that maybe the incident was essentially over when he decided to haul off and start shooting. What I don't get is why the reluctance to arrest him NOW, or at least take his gun away while the investigation is pending.
 
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