Police kill TV crew member while filming reality show 'Cops'

This type of event no longer surprises me. Police in America use every opportunity to fire their weapons and lots of innocent people die each year. Police are trained on gun ranges to shoot at targets but outside the range they dont seem to be able to point the gun at the right target and are ready to start shooting without regard to bystanders. Same goes for all those car chases that end up with innocent bystanders getting hit by the criminal running from the law. It seems that after all those reality tv shows starring this or that city's police departments started flooding nightly television prime time, police shooting Innocent bystanders Incidents have increased.

ready to start shooting without regard to bystanders

It's no less than a fetish. When handling machine guns is a rite of passage (a young girl with an Uzi??), what are we to expect?

What disturbs me about the show is how it idolizes the cops and portrays most of the "suspects " who are predominantly non-white minorities so negatively. Seems a bit racially biased. It's tragic that a TV crew member also got killed, but as a paparazzi member he also knowingly put himself in a potentially dangerous situation.

Condolences to the families of the two victims.

I hate this show.

Police are trained on gun ranges to shoot at targets but outside the range they dont seem to be able to point the gun at the right target and are ready to start shooting without regard to bystanders.

This is evident in the Ferguson shooting, where the officer discharged a pistol that holds 13 rounds in a residential area, with only six confirmed hits of a very large target. It was fortunate that others, unlike this case, were not hit.

The show would not probably not want to go to a place where law enforcement is more cautious and restraint in their used of physical force against citizens. Not enough "action." And I wonder how much some cops are compelled to try to "spice things up" for the cameras.

"Sir, could I please check your weapon? I'd like to make sure it's not a pellet gun."

Oh my god. Not a good month for US cops. Also, dude's concern should be less that his officers are taking it hard, and more that they, y'know, pointlessly, recklessly shot an innocent bystander.

The TV sound operator was not a bystander - he and the cameraman willingly went inside the restaurant to film the shootout. The sound operator got separated where the suspect fled into and unfortunately got caught in the cross-fire. He was wearing a bulletproof vest, probably thought he was safe enough to go in there, but the bullet got thru one of the gaps in clothing. RIP

Not a good month for US cops.

And a worse month for their victims (and their families).

Shooting at a relaxed target range is one thing. Shooting under stress, pressure or fear for life is completely different. Simulated video training may help but its not the same.

@hawkeye

Police in America use every opportunity to fire their weapons and lots of innocent people die each year.

How absurd and insulting that is, cops do not go on a joy ride and gleefully shot people for the fun of it, unbelievable!

Police are trained on gun ranges to shoot at targets but outside the range they dont seem to be able to point the gun at the right target and are ready to start shooting without regard to bystanders.

Again, not true? Are you a police officer, have you ever been in a hostile situation where the possibility is that you might need to discharge your firearm at a dangerous individual? Having a lot of mainly members in law enforcement and other in Other federal and government institution where they have a license to carry a firearm, I have seen and been around guns all my life and I know for a fact that what you are saying is not even remotely close to the truth.

Same goes for all those car chases that end up with innocent bystanders getting hit by the criminal running from the law.

So now we have to start banning cars? I will say this, coming out of California and this is another fact. California has the highest car speed chase, as to why that is, No one, not even me knows why? There is No way to stop or curb it, unless you want to ban cars altogether. We are used to it, so much so, I can tell you most car speed chases happen in the morning to about lunch time. This doesn't happen in other states as much, so it's anyone's guess.

It seems that after all those reality tv shows starring this or that city's police departments started flooding nightly television prime time, police shooting Innocent bystanders Incidents have increased

Again, not true. I have covered various ride along and in particular when I did a few stories along the U.S./ Mexican border. You are safe, but there are as with anything else always risks, I have many times when tasers were used and deployed and seen guns drawn, but in 12 years, I didn't see any shot outs. Most cops don't even use their gun and if you do, you'd better have a very, very good reason for using it, even if it is in defense. Once that happens, it's not like you go home and have a glass of gin. You are taken away, isolated, have to turn over your firearm and are debriefed. The time and events of the shooting, the bullet and bullet casings, testimony from witnesses, the timeline and events of the incident and everything has to flow, match and be accounted for and if there is any discrepancy or something fishy, you are now in serious trouble. So NO officer wants to deal with Internal Affairs or go through and investigation of any sort. So they take very extreme precautions in everything they do from crowd control to dealing with dangerous individuals.

@john

What disturbs me about the show is how it idolizes the cops and portrays most of the "suspects " who are predominantly non-white minorities so negatively.

No they don't. These thugs paint a negative picture of themselves negatively. If you go into most urban Black cities like Chicago, there is NO one showing any Black person in a negative way. Every week there is some murder and shootings, I think last week, 6 people were shot and 29 injured, the gang culture is out of control and it's mostly like that in predominately Black neighborhoods of the bigger cities and it's NOT because they are Black, it's because of economics.

Seems a bit racially biased. It's tragic that a TV crew member also got killed, but as a paparazzi member he also knowingly put himself in a potentially dangerous situation.

There is nothing racist about it. As a journalist when you are looking for a story or a robbery or let's say you want to film some action, you will find it in these larger cities where you have a lot of gangs, homeless and high crime, drugs on the streets, you go to where the action is at. Most paparazzi need to sign a waiver before going on these ride alongs.

Condolences to the families of the two victims.

I agree.

it's mostly like that in predominately Black neighborhoods of the bigger cities and it's NOT because they are Black, it's because of economics

That's a damned liberal statement coming from you, bass..