Christopher Roupe, 17, was a ROTC student at at Woodland High School in Georgia who dreamed of serving his country in the Marines. That dream came to an end when he answered a knock on the door of his trailer home. He found himself face-to-face with Euharlee police officers who promptly shot him to death. An officer said that she saw a weapon in his hand. It turned out to be a Wii controller.
The police were there to execute a probation violation warrant against his father. In defense of the officers, a probation violation can be one of the more dangerous assignments though it is not clear whether the father was wanted on a violent crime. However, a Wii remote is not only white but rectangular and thin. It is hardly strange that someone will come to the door with a drink or some other object in his or her hand. Moreover, this was a young boy and not the suspect.
The officer was seen afterward crying after she learned that she had shot an unarmed teenager.
The family says that he had asked who was at the door but received no response. They insist that the shot was virtually immediate after he opened the door.
There are many mistaken shootings including some which are terrible tragic but understandable as when officers chase an individual suspected of a violent crime only to have the suspect suddenly turn on them in the dark. However, this was not the suspect and there was clearly a failure to identify either the person or the object before lethal force was used. It reminds me of the recent case of police shooting a man holding a pair of underwear.
This small police department can expect a wrongful death lawsuit, but the question is what actions will be taken against the officer who is now on administrative leave.
Will you update your story now that the Grand Jury has decided she not face charges and evidence has been released from the GBI showing the BB guns he had pointed at the officer as he opened the door? The Grand Jury also heard the audio recording of the siblings saying he had these BB guns.
Being a former officer, I maintain that if you are afraid you shouldn’t be a cop
Larry
Unless someone is a complete and total sociopath or psycopath they are going to go through an onslaught of emotions at some point after killing another person. It might be immediate or delayed. It manifests itself in many ways some appearing unusual in the eyes of others. The degree of amplitude of this varies as does the response with each person, some quite different for the same event. There are some commonalities between each each incident.
It is not reasonable in the case of the shooting mentioned in this article to draw an absolute conclusion as to whether this use of force was excusable or not based solely upon the emotions dispalyed by the officer at the time this happened.
“I don’t think her “shut-up” is an automatic dismissal of her. (What she did was wrong, irresponsible, unprofessional and any other words you want to add) but “shut -up could be an emotional outburst while she is trying to figure out what to do for the boy, needing time to think – just sayin”
This just might be the stupidest thing I’ve ever read. “an emotional outburst while she is trying to figure out what to do for the boy”?? Oh you mean, after she killed him??? What else is there to do? Kick him in the head a few times? Urinate on his corpse?
I would hardly think this would still be your stance if this was YOUR boy. Am I correct??
First time I have heard of her crying, or even distraught. Are we even talking of the same case here?
The officer’s name is Beth Daniel-Gatny, aka Nancy B. Gatny. She is one of two women on the police force and her photo was taken down. Her (now deleted) facebook page made strong references that would suggest she is mentally unhinged and taking psycho-tropic drugs. Of course she will be cleared and back on the job in no time.
She should have to go through a complete psychological exam, medical exam, disciplinary hearing, physical fitness exam, eye and hearing tests. Firearms identification tests. re-attend initial training at the academy. Spend two-years on probation with a FTO and then reevaluated as mentioned before allowed to return to full time duty. This is the very minimum all police departments should require before returning someone to duty after they discharge their weapon and take another life and are subsequently cleared.
You say you are not hiring bullies with a badge? Evidence shows everything to the opposite of that old tired argument.
mespo727272 Darren Smith When you write about procedure on these investigations, be sure to cover both types…the ones where officers are held responsible & the ones where wrong doing is covered up…even by the people that are supposed to investigate it.
I believe that Dredd put his finger on the fundamental problem, the increasing militarization of the police. When this is coupled with the attitude of fear that has been promoted in this country since 9/11, the result is a society in which the police tend to view themselves as occupying forces in a hostile country. The effect of this sort of social dissociation is a resort to lethal force with little restraint, an effect mirrored in the daily stories of mayhem perpetrated by the “stand your ground” mindset among ordinary citizens.
(I don’t think her “shut-up” is an automatic dismissal of her. (What she did was wrong, irresponsible, unprofessional and any other words you want to add) but “shut -up could be an emotional outburst while she is trying to figure out what to do for the boy, needing time to think – just sayin’)
This was a 100% preventable tragedy.
When police departments nation wide train and operate under rules of engagement that create an us verse them mentality where police officers are fed a steady diet of balderdash about how dangerous their jobs are and how every encounter may be their last and that the citizens they encounter on patrol are considered civilians on a a battlefield.
The US government and it’s lickspittle functionaries are directly responsible for reenforcing this delusional neo-policing abomination by authoring then rubber stamping the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 into law and by speciously claiming therein that the entire world is now a battlefield where anything goes in the name of national security.
A little more on General “Jerry”:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_G._Boykin
“In April 1993, he helped advise Attorney General Janet Reno regarding the stand-off at Waco, Texas, between the Federal Government and the Branch Davidians.r
Some time afterwards, Boykin served at the Central Intelligence Agency as Deputy Director of Special Activities, and was promoted to brigadier general.”
There is hope, but what variety of hope is for each individual to decide:
(General ‘Jerry’ Boykin … Gun-Toting Jesus). The shoot out will take place just after the Secret Rapture, which will move all the gun-totin disciples to a safe place in gun-heaven (NRA HQ?).
“The officer was seen afterward crying after she learned that she had shot an unarmed teenager.”
Prof. Turley, this line, although true should not have been included in the story. It creates a false picture of the character of the female officer. It makes her appear sympathetic and compassionate. What you omitted was after the officer shot the boy, the boy’s sister comes running into the room to try to comfort her brother as he lay there crying and moaning in pain….then this “compassionate” officer tells the sister to “SHUT UP” as she is holding her brother, watching him bleed to death.
The cop should be given the death penalty. This bulls–t HAS TO END. Make an example of this female officer and put her to death.
Dismiss the cop & have him stand trial for murder.
play less wii, watch more porn.
“The police were there to execute a probation violation warrant against his father.”
Me thinks the officer took the term, ‘execute’ a bit too literally.
AnneMarie Dickey,
They are well trained… at covering up malfeasance by other officers on the job.
They are professionally trained… at killing civilians.
So yea, well trained professionals.
(tongue in cheek)
Note to the police of Georgia,
Do not send an officer who is unprepared to handle someone opening the door… BANG! oh… how’d that happen?
Again, who protects the people from the police?
The large majority of officers are well trained professionals.
Who will not under any circumstances clean their ranks of the officers who shoot our pets, break down over 100 doors every day in SWAT raids for generally non violent warrants across the country and terrorize people with brown skin on a daily basis in “stop and frisk” lawlessness.