Man killed by Deputy but was death also caused by Stand Your Ground?

At first glance, this story reeks of an over-zealous Sheriff Deputy who clearly got far too excited with his authorization to use deadly force.  In the article titled “Deaf man killed by deputy: Deaf man shot 6 times 'failed to follow' cop's orders.”  as reported by Linsey Bald for News Examiner with assistance from the Huffington Post.  In the article it states “A deaf man was killed by a Florida deputy after an altercation at a towing yard went terribly wrong. Two deputies, undercover and in plain clothes, heard an argument occurring outside Fryer's Towing Company on Saturday afternoon in Daytona Beach. On approach, the deputies saw 52-year-old Edward P. Miller, deaf from birth, with a gun. When he failed to comply with the orders of the cops, they shot him dead.  Reports the Huffington Post: “Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson said Miller was ‘brandishing a firearm’ outside when Deputy Joel Hernandez and another unnamed deputy arrived. Hernandez, 35, fired his service weapon, killing Miller, because he perceived a threat, a sheriff's office spokesman said.”  Miller and his son, Ed Miller Jr., had just left the towing yard and were sitting outside – Miller Sr. in a silver SUV jeep and his son in a red pickup they had just retrieved – when plainclothes detectives, who were there on an unrelated incident, heard some sort of squabble. It’s unclear if the Millers were arguing with one another, arguing with towing employees or just yelling across the vehicles, but the deputies, approaching the jeep SUV, “perceived a threat” and ordered the senior Miller to disarm and step out of the vehicle.  When he failed to do so, deputy Hernandez opened fire, shooting six times through the door and windshield of the SUV, killing the deaf and disabled Miller.”

The son is reported to have been screaming at the police officers long before the first shot that his father was deaf and could not hear them.  Just at that time, Deputy Hernandez was deaf.  So we see the adrenaline of a supposedly seasoned officer get the better of him instead of deescalating the incident, police officers are quick to do the exact opposite.  A deaf man is dead not from one shot as should be prescribed by all law enforcement departments but from 5 additional shots because Hernandez and very possibly his own partner could not stop shooting.  Good thing the son did not draw his holstered weapon or dropped it if asked or there may have been two bodies to dispose of instead of one.  Having said all that, let us now concerned something else.  If the deaf man had not been armed with a holstered deadly weapon, would there have been any reason for deputies to pull theirs?

Think about that as you ponder the next question.  The National Rifleman Association (NRA) and all those who push so hard for this Stand Your Ground Law, used as one of their primary arguments that it will make the citizens safer.  I guess they were talking about safer from criminals and not safer from cops.  So now does this make their argument stronger or weaker and does this now make the cops something else that citizens who feel that they should be allowed to openly carry weapons part of what the NRA must protect them from?

Final question, why are there no protests being held for this unlawful shooting?  Could it be that it is because the victim was white and the cop was Hispanic or is it because the victim was not black and the cop was not white?  Could it be that we hold different standards for demand of justice and could this be the reason no one ever really takes us serious?  I've made up my mind of this subject, now it’s time for you to make up yours.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Determination of History to Repeat Itself is Due to our Cowardice to Stop It

The Sudden Concern about a Democracy in Decay

Something to Think About Regarding These State’s Abortion Bans