“Lab tests showed the gun had been wiped clean,” reports the St. Petersburg Times. “No fingerprints were on it — not Victor’s, not anyone’s.” Either the mortally wounded teenager — despite being nearly cut in half by Ard’s cruiser — managed to wipe the gun clean in the seconds before he died, or Ard planted a “drop gun” to provide a retroactive pretext for his pursuit of the teenager.
After seeing the video, an investigator for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement asked Ard if he had planted the gun. The subject was promptly dropped when Ard denied that he had done so. [More]
No need to wonder what the cop was doing for the 40 seconds the dashcam showed him hunkering down by the body. Despite no evidence that he committed any crime and a life history that suggests he was an OK kid, the dead boy got what was coming to him and the officer followed protocol.
[Via Zachary G]
7 comments:
Oh. My. God.
The boy MIGHT have stolen something from a construction site. Something he could fit in a pocket. Or, no, wait, he didn't have a reflector on his bike, and THAT'S UNSAFE. Or, no, wait...
I think Kafka wrote a story called "A Bit of String." A poor old ragpicker finds some string on the ground and pockets it. Neaby, a nobleman has lost a semi-valuable bit of jewelry. The old Jew is accused and imprisoned because someone saw him pick up SOMETHING. He shows them the worthless string, but to no avail, because life is cheap and the authorities are never wrong.
Are we learning yet? No.
Surely someone knows where Ard lives.
It was Guy de Maupassant....here is a link to the story:
http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/PiecStri.shtml
And yes it does sound like today's thugs in uniform and robes
So it appears that the 17 year old was executed for daring to be non-compliant with "authority"?
Even if Victor did possess a handgun, the police officer never claimed that he was aware of any weapon or had any compelling reason to interact with Victor other than "suspicion". Suspicion is insufficient cause to justify assault and battery.
Let us hope that the civil suit yields more reasonable results than the criminal investigation.
Thanks, anonymous, for the literary citation. Another example of the intelligent and well-read people who hang out here.
Funny how, at a time when police are increasingly responsible for senseless deaths, wanting to increase one's distance from the police is considered suspicious behavior rather than self-preservation.
The name Ard may be old English, as in the words "drunkard" and "wizard." Wizard means "wise one. Maybe just plain Ard means Only One.
Every remaining decent LEO in North America needs to get in touch with this guy. He's not making their lives any easier.
Never EVER trust a cop. The blue wall is just to good at backing there own, good or bad to trust. If i'm ever called to be on a jury again in a simple he said, she said between a cop and a citizen, the citizen will win. The evidence will need to be overwhelming before I trust what they say.
What Defender wrote about "Ard" is ironic. "Gerald" is Old German for "Rule of the Spear". "Gerhard" is a related name meaning "Strong/Brave with the Spear".
So would Gerald Ard be "Strong/Brave with the Rule of the Spear"?
Post a Comment