Multiple Dallas police officers shot at anti-police protest

[StrangeSox]

Holy s*** the police ended the stand off by blowing the suspect up with a robot bomb

[RockRaines]

From Radley Balko, a guy who writes frequently on police abuse/violence/exploitation:

By all accounts and that means literally all, the police were helping make the protest and march effective and peaceful and even saved several lives when the shooting started.

[shipps]

I can't go on social media today. So disappointed in the divide that exists between black and white people that are my friends. Unfortunately I am convinced that at the core of this, for the most part, black and white people do not like each other in this country right now. I see a lot of my black friends talking about white people like we are the devil (literally with some) and white people talking down black people and blaming them for being innocently shot by police. There is hate coming from all sides and I feel like I am trapped in the middle. Just disgusted with everyone.

[StrangeSox]

So not a ton of new info out of the press conference, my main takeaways were:

 

1) One suspect dead, blown up by robot bomb after hours of negotiation broke down

2) Suspect claimed to be unaffiliated with any group and acting alone, though the chief implied he was skeptical of this latter claim. Was angry about the police killings and wanted to kill white people and especially white officers

[Brian]

I'll be the bad guy and ask, were they all black?

[RockRaines]

I can't go on social media today. So disappointed in the divide that exists between black and white people that are my friends. Unfortunately I am convinced that at the core of this, for the most part, black and white people do not like each other in this country right now. I see a lot of my black friends talking about white people like we are the devil (literally with some) and white people talking down black people and blaming them for being innocently shot by police. There is hate coming from all sides and I feel like I am trapped in the middle. Just disgusted with everyone.

The ignorance on social media is at an all time high for sure. It's sad. I was hoping this shooting wasn't as racially motivated as I feared.

[RockRaines]

I'll be the bad guy and ask, were they all black?

Pretty sure that's the case here. f***

[Y2HH]

I can't go on social media today. So disappointed in the divide that exists between black and white people that are my friends. Unfortunately I am convinced that at the core of this, for the most part, black and white people do not like each other in this country right now. I see a lot of my black friends talking about white people like we are the devil (literally with some) and white people talking down black people and blaming them for being innocently shot by police. There is hate coming from all sides and I feel like I am trapped in the middle. Just disgusted with everyone.

 

Exactly how I feel.

 

And anyone doing this is a f***ing twat. If those black friends of yours are doing that, by the way, they're not really your friends. They're acquaintances at best. And the same goes for white people who pretend to have black friends. That's all you are to them, that token they can point too and say, see...I have white friends , or see, I have black friends!

 

I grew up going to a dominantly Mexican grammar school and a very racially mixed high school, and I never looked at them as "black friends" or "Mexican friends", they were just people...just friends.

 

And this is all bulls***. I'm sick of it.

 

It's as silly as a white furred dog hating another dog because it has black fur, or visa versa.

 

It's.

 

THAT.

 

f***ing.

 

Silly.

[GoSox05]

It's seems hard to believe that one guy could shoot 12 police officers.

[Y2HH]

It's seems hard to believe that one guy could shoot 12 police officers.

 

I believe it was 4 guys.

[StrangeSox]

I believe it was 4 guys.

 

Not really clear from the press conference, and they said they weren't answering questions due to it being an ongoing investigation. But right now, the latest word was 1 dead who was for sure a shooter and 2 others in custody, but I still don't think it's entirely clear (at least publicly) how many shooters there were.

 

In a place like that, big buildings creating corridors, you're going to get all kinds of loud echos and it'll be next to impossible to tell where the shots are actually coming from. It's conceivable that one guy firing from an elevated and concealed position could shoot 12 people in a crowded area before anyone really knows what's going on.

[LittleHurt05]

So not a ton of new info out of the press conference, my main takeaways were:

 

1) One suspect dead, blown up by robot bomb after hours of negotiation broke down

2) Suspect claimed to be unaffiliated with any group and acting alone, though the chief implied he was skeptical of this latter claim. Was angry about the police killings and wanted to kill white people and especially white officers

 

I'm sure the black woman he shot protecting her children will feel so much better hearing that. So will the family of the Latino cop he murdered too.

 

At least I read one nice thing today:

 

George Hunter

‏@GeorgeHunter_DN

According to Dallas police, protesters helped capture the shooters. And cops helped shuttle protesters to safety during the attack.

[RockRaines]

Not really clear from the press conference, and they said they weren't answering questions due to it being an ongoing investigation. But right now, the latest word was 1 dead who was for sure a shooter and 2 others in custody, but I still don't think it's entirely clear (at least publicly) how many shooters there were.

 

In a place like that, big buildings creating corridors, you're going to get all kinds of loud echos and it'll be next to impossible to tell where the shots are actually coming from. It's conceivable that one guy firing from an elevated and concealed position could shoot 12 people in a crowded area before anyone really knows what's going on.

I saw 3 in custody and one dead.

[StrangeSox]

I'm still a little amazed that the "robot bomb" thing. I've never heard of anything like that.

[RockRaines]

I'm still a little amazed that the "robot bomb" thing. I've never heard of anything like that.

It is a robot carrying a bomb or a robot that is a bomb?

[StrangeSox]

It is a robot carrying a bomb or a robot that is a bomb?

 

It was the bomb squad robot they'd normally use to remotely investigate bombs. Instead, they strapped a bomb to it and detonated it near the suspect because they felt they had no safe way of approaching him and that he wasn't going to be taken alive either way. He had also been claiming that there were IED's scattered throughout the area.

Edited July 8, 2016 by StrangeSox

[RockRaines]

It was the bomb squad robot they'd normally use to remotely investigate bombs. Instead, they strapped a bomb to it and detonated it near the suspect because they felt they had no safe way of approaching him and that he wasn't going to be taken alive either way. He had also been claiming that there were IED's scattered throughout the area.

Man I hope they don't get sued for that.

[LittleHurt05]

It was the bomb squad robot they'd normally use to remotely investigate bombs. Instead, they strapped a bomb to it and detonated it near the suspect because they felt they had no safe way of approaching him and that he wasn't going to be taken alive either way. He had also been claiming that there were IED's scattered throughout the area.

 

A suicide robot? What an American hero!

[StrangeSox]

Man I hope they don't get sued for that.

 

It's really unusual, but in the end is it all that different from SWAT rushing in and shooting him?

 

At least I read one nice thing today:

 

George Hunter

‏@GeorgeHunter_DN

According to Dallas police, protesters helped capture the shooters. And cops helped shuttle protesters to safety during the attack.

 

Absolutely.

 

There's video out there of one of the shootings that the local Fox affiliate aired live. Don't know if the officer shown is one of the ones who died, but it did not look good.

[RockRaines]

http://heavy.com/news/2016/07/officer-bren...-castile-dalla/

[RockRaines]

It's really unusual, but in the end is it all that different from SWAT rushing in and shooting him?

 

 

 

Absolutely.

 

There's video out there of one of the shootings that the local Fox affiliate aired live. Don't know if the officer shown is one of the ones who died, but it did not look good.

I don't know if deadly force includes bombs not designed to kill humans. Seems like a gray area

[StrangeSox]

I've been reading Nixonland off and on over the past couple of months. It just keeps getting more surreal as the mid-late 60's and 2016 overlap. Bizarre, clownshow political campaigns, "nothing matters" politics, law-and-order and racial unrest, now even police snipers.

[pettie4sox]

Wow this is sad. How do you come back from this?

[RockRaines]

I've been reading Nixonland off and on over the past couple of months. It just keeps getting more surreal as the mid-late 60's and 2016 overlap. Bizarre, clownshow political campaigns, "nothing matters" politics, law-and-order and racial unrest, now even police snipers.

The political climate including this presidential election is only making things worse unfortunately. I wish we could just reset

[southsider2k5]

We have spent an entire election cycle talking about hate speech. Well, here is what hate speech gets you. This is political figures demonizing entire groups of people and professions.