Richmond Deputy Fatally Shoots Burglary Suspect

The Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office reports that a deputy shot and killed a suspected burglar in East Richmond Heights Wednesday morning.According to sheriff's Capt.

[the brown family]

i dont think the police have to use excessive force.why not just shoot him in the leg to disable him?it goes to show they are trained to kill.it bothers me deeply because i hear about and have seen cases similiar to this one.noone deserves to die over no crime. but thats how society is,if you are not on the other side of the law you get treated like an animal.its all in the training they receive. so f--k excessive force!

[Resident]

I'm at a loss. Who decides how officers are trained?

I know the bottom line is that the officer will defend themselves with leathal force if they feel their life is in danger.. this must have been one huge, fast, deadly looking burgler for the officer to shoot to kill.

I would imagine eaither sex would feel fear if they were being rushed by someone with a hammer..

I'm pretty sure they would think OMG this dudes about to bash my face in with a hammer.

Most of us would retreat, some would defend themselves as best they could.

How many of us would get away with shooting them to death?

We would be asked by the DA..

Why didn't you shoot him in the foot? leg? arm?

Why didn't you try to use your pepper spray?
Tazer? Baton?

Oh wait a sec.. only law enforcement tend to have those items on them at all times.

I just don't understand why we keep spending money on all these other "safer" ways to stop and detain people if all that is needed is a cheap ass bullet.

[Resident]

I am sorry that someone was killed this morning, but I am not sorry that officer was there. I live in East Richmond Heights, 1/2 mile from this incident. Our community has been under attack for over two years now with numerous burglaries and auto thefts. I personally have had my home broken into and my car stolen in the last two years. Thank God the burglar confronted a sheriff's deputy who was armed and not an innocent civilian. Do you think that burglar would have hesitated for one minute to wield that hammer in order to facilitate his getaway? Thank goodness the sheriff responded so quickly.

Resident wrote:

I'm at a loss. Who decides how officers are trained?
I know the bottom line is that the officer will defend themselves with leathal force if they feel their life is in danger.. this must have been one huge, fast, deadly looking burgler for the officer to shoot to kill.
I would imagine eaither sex would feel fear if they were being rushed by someone with a hammer..
I'm pretty sure they would think OMG this dudes about to bash my face in with a hammer.
Most of us would retreat, some would defend themselves as best they could.
How many of us would get away with shooting them to death?
We would be asked by the DA..
Why didn't you shoot him in the foot? leg? arm?
Why didn't you try to use your pepper spray?
Tazer? Baton?
Oh wait a sec.. only law enforcement tend to have those items on them at all times.
I just don't understand why we keep spending money on all these other "safer" ways to stop and detain people if all that is needed is a cheap ass bullet.

[Resident]

Thats a weak response to a very valid post.

[Steadman]

Resident wrote:

I'm at a loss. Who decides how officers are trained?
I know the bottom line is that the officer will defend themselves with leathal force if they feel their life is in danger.. this must have been one huge, fast, deadly looking burgler for the officer to shoot to kill.
I would imagine eaither sex would feel fear if they were being rushed by someone with a hammer..
I'm pretty sure they would think OMG this dudes about to bash my face in with a hammer.
Most of us would retreat, some would defend themselves as best they could.
How many of us would get away with shooting them to death?
We would be asked by the DA..
Why didn't you shoot him in the foot? leg? arm?
Why didn't you try to use your pepper spray?
Tazer? Baton?
Oh wait a sec.. only law enforcement tend to have those items on them at all times.
I just don't understand why we keep spending money on all these other "safer" ways to stop and detain people if all that is needed is a cheap ass bullet.

Those other items are used all the time but in this situation hesitating for even a split second and that officer would have a hammer smashed right into his face and then it wouldn't matter that he had a gun because he would have been out cold or worse dead. The officer will be interrogated and asked if there was a better way to end this situation. I think your opinion is not valid because you seem to be bias against law enforcement. Ask yourself this. If you read in the newspaper that a vigilant homeowner encountered a hammer wielding thief in his home and shot him before the criminal could beat him to death with a hammer would you be so concerned about the criminal being killed or would you be greatful that the innocent homeowner was able to defend himself?

[Resident]

I don;t know if you remember this.. but a few years back a man defending himself and his wife from a burgler was arrested and charged with attempted homicide? because he ran the burgler down with a baseball bat and used it to detain him till police showed up... after initially knocking the burgler out of his home window..

In this case i support the police in the fact that once the burgler ran, the man should not have pursued.. however.. his brain wasn't telling him chase this guy down and kill him.. his brain was telling him protect yourself and your wife.

So what im asking is who decides while officers are training when they can allow thier brain to say im protecting my life by firing this shot?

Is it stictly up to the officer? We all have met officers with a military type of training/attitude.. they maight feel they could handle the situation without lethal force.. where as a small under trained officer may choose to use lethal force.

[Steadman]

Resident wrote:

I don;t know if you remember this.. but a few years back a man defending himself and his wife from a burgler was arrested and charged with attempted homicide? because he ran the burgler down with a baseball bat and used it to detain him till police showed up... after initially knocking the burgler out of his home window..
In this case i support the police in the fact that once the burgler ran, the man should not have pursued.. however.. his brain wasn't telling him chase this guy down and kill him.. his brain was telling him protect yourself and your wife.
So what im asking is who decides while officers are training when they can allow thier brain to say im protecting my life by firing this shot?
Is it stictly up to the officer? We all have met officers with a military type of training/attitude.. they maight feel they could handle the situation without lethal force.. where as a small under trained officer may choose to use lethal force.

The officer is not off the hook and other officers have been sent to jail for abusing their authority. I believe this will be investigated properly and one of the important things is what you are saying. What was going on in the officers head at the time he was being threatened and did he make the right decision. This will be very difficult to figure out because there were no witnesses and the thief is dead. The officers story is probably all the DA will have to go on. I personally would never want to be in that kind of situation and can't imagine why anyone would want to be a cop. Even if he had no choice but to shoot and kill he will still have that on his conscience every day for the rest of his life. I don't have much sympathy for criminals but I expect the person had a family and I feel sympathy for them. I would be devastated to see my children grow up and commit crimes.

[Carol Riley]

I really don't care that he's DEAD.........it's no loss. Anyone that has the nerve to enter another person's home illegally deserves to be shot dead. I am sick and tired of these crazy criminals acting like it's their right to take what belongs to you. They all need the kind of justice that was given to Saddam.............stop sending them to prison and if it's a heinous crime, KILL them ALL.

[Resident]

Resident wrote:

I don;t know if you remember this.. but a few years back a man defending himself and his wife from a burgler was arrested and charged with attempted homicide? because he ran the burgler down with a baseball bat and used it to detain him till police showed up... after initially knocking the burgler out of his home window..
In this case i support the police in the fact that once the burgler ran, the man should not have pursued.. however.. his brain wasn't telling him chase this guy down and kill him.. his brain was telling him protect yourself and your wife.
So what im asking is who decides while officers are training when they can allow thier brain to say im protecting my life by firing this shot?
Is it stictly up to the officer? We all have met officers with a military type of training/attitude.. they maight feel they could handle the situation without lethal force.. where as a small under trained officer may choose to use lethal force.

My thought here is that if the officer yells at the suspect, "STOP" and the robbery suspect approaches in a threatening manner, its up to the officers discretion. The suspect has lost all his rights at this stage. Deadly force or not, the criminal has put the police officer in an awkward position where he/she has to make a split second decision which can cost his own life or an innocent bystanders. I don't know if you've read the many stories where a routine traffic stop or such has ended up with the officer being shot to death by the criminal. The police have families too. So it works both ways here. These burglars can carry guns too and hurt the homeowner and the family members during the crime. Would you be worried about the criminal's health and deadly force applied by the police if one of your family members was hurt or killed by the robber? Or if you had personally been robbed many times recently?

[ceecee]

well i know one thing all the office i know are out there doing there job and thank god they are

[Resident]

I live in East Richmond Heights and I knew the burglar....known him for years. Just recently, after having encounted him, and knowing that he was probably responsible for many of the burglaries up here recently, I got a dog because I wondered if he would strike where most familiar.....looks like he did. He has slowly but surely wasted his life with meth, crack and booze ripping people off to support his life-choice of drugs...they all do. It's the nature of the beast. People like Howard, prey on people. They destroy their families, they're future and they're offspring. They make victims out of hard working, law abiding, God fearing citizens who get up, go to work, pay their taxes and raise their kids. There is a price to pay for living that kind of life and while its tragic, it's more tragic for the deputy who encountered him, and had to make a decision in one split second.....him or me. I would challenge anyone to go out into the streets of North Richmond after midnight and not wish you were packin'. It's so easy to sit and pass judgement on police especially folks who have the mentality that "I pay them". You never pay someone enough to see what they see, encounter what they encounter, be asked to clean up the streets in one of the DEADLIEST cities in the country.....and oh, by the way, if you do your job.....we'll hang ya. Give me a break. If you're of the mindset that this shooting was wrong....if someone is ever breaking into your house.....don't call the police....give em' milk and cookies instead. Geez.

[busymom]

any officer feeling threatened should discharge his weapon

[ERH Homeowner]

Thank god for Police Officers. They have chosen a profession that most citizens critize them for. We all can sit back and say why did he do that? there should have been another way to handle the situation. Well its easy to sit in your safe little homes and be a couch quarterback critizing them, Guess what they'll still come back the next day and do their job. To serve and protect even YOU!! without getting praise for a job well done. Thank You from a East Richmond Heights homeowner

[Resident]

I hope you never feel the effects of your statement.. chances are one of your children will grow up and make some type of mistake which calls for law enforcement to be involved.. hope they don't make him/her feel "threatened".. how vague.

[AK47S]

Peace on the street through superior firepower!

[T C El Cerrito]

Carol Riley wrote:

I really don't care that he's DEAD.........it's no loss. Anyone that has the nerve to enter another person's home illegally deserves to be shot dead. I am sick and tired of these crazy criminals acting like it's their right to take what belongs to you. They all need the kind of justice that was given to Saddam..........stop sending them to prison and if it's a heinous crime, KILL them ALL.

You are one cold hearted person. Did you think about the family and loved ones that have been devastated by this senseless killing. Why wasnt he shot anywhere but the head.There was no chance that hammer could have been fired at the officer. The officer had a choice to make spare the life of this person or end it and become no better than any other murder.

[Resident]

Resident wrote:

I hope you never feel the effects of your statement.. chances are one of your children will grow up and make some type of mistake which calls for law enforcement to be involved.. hope they don't make him/her feel "threatened".. how vague.

Well, if you ever get robbed, don't call the police. That way there won't be any shooting and you can invite the robber in for milk and cookies. I'm sure the burglar would never do anything to hurt you or your family so you won't need any protection. Do your best to help out the burglar and don't pay any regard to the health of your family or your neighbors, that's the best thing to do.

[Resident]

T C El Cerrito wrote:

<quoted text>
You are one cold hearted person. Did you think about the family and loved ones that have been devastated by this senseless killing. Why wasnt he shot anywhere but the head.There was no chance that hammer could have been fired at the officer. The officer had a choice to make spare the life of this person or end it and become no better than any other murder.

Well, you're right about the choice the officer had and I also feel sorry for the family. But you also have to think about the choices that the robber had. He had a choice to not steal the car he was driving, he had a choice to not break into the house or commit robberies, and he also had a choice to not raise the hammer at the officer. So its a tragic ending but I don't think its fair to place blame on the police officer. Whose fault is it really for what happened?

[T C El Cerrito]

Resident wrote:

<quoted text>
Well, you're right about the choice the officer had and I also feel sorry for the family. But you also have to think about the choices that the robber had. He had a choice to not steal the car he was driving, he had a choice to not break into the house or commit robberies, and he also had a choice to not raise the hammer at the officer. So its a tragic ending but I don't think its fair to place blame on the police officer. Whose fault is it really for what happened?

First lets get the story straight. There was no robbery involved. At most he was guilty of tresspassing into an vacant building. According to the news articles the house he was in had been unoccupied for several months because the previous tennents had been evicted. Id like to know exactly what it was that was found in the car he was driving and how they were able to determine it was stolen from inside that house. The truth is he came out of the laundry room that was not attached to the living quarters at all. It sounds to me like you are saying that execution is a fair punishment for car theft and tresspassing. That officer played judge, jury aqnd God with one single shot

[Resident]

You read a different article then me. I read that the stolen car was full of stolen items from "top to bottom". Those items were stolen during robberies; they weren't given away as freebies. I don't see how you can say there was no robbery involved. Why was the door pried open? In order to trespass? I don't think so.