Anaheim Man Mistakenly Killed By Police

By TChris, Section Misconduct
Posted on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 12:14:27 PM EST
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This is tragic:

A newlywed killed by police after he stepped outside his home to confront suspected burglars was shot in a case of mistaken identity, police said. Julian Alexander died after being shot twice in the chest by a police officer who was chasing four burglary suspects early Tuesday morning. Police Chief John Welter said the officer ran into Alexander, mistook him for one of the four juvenile suspects and shot him. ...
"He was a good kid, trying to protect his house," said Alexander's mother-in-law Michelle Mooney. "And the police, instead of asking questions, they just shot first. Somebody has to be held responsible for this." ... Alexander got married last weekend and his 19-year-old wife is expecting a baby in December.

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Anaheim Man Mistakenly Killed By Police | 33 comments (33 topical)

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It is tragic. (5.00 / 2) (#1)
by oculus on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 12:22:32 PM EST

LAT reports:

An Anaheim police officer chasing burglary suspects shot and killed an innocent 20-year-old man who heard a commotion and emerged from his house early Tuesday holding what authorities said was either a broomstick or a shower rod.

: Good thing he didn't hold up a wallet (none / 0) (#5)
by Socraticsilence on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 01:25:01 PM EST

Or they probably would have called for backup after the initial shooting.

Does it say something about (5.00 / 1) (#4)
by Socraticsilence on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 01:24:07 PM EST

Me or America, that as soon as I saw this, I assumed the victim was black? I'm not saying cops are racist (indeed in some cases the shooters are African-American themselves), but there certainly seems to be a trend that if excessive force was used the victim is black-- the only major exceptions I can think of at the moment are the White (though ethnically named, so maybe not really "white" in the eyes of the law) mayor who's house was raided and dog shot, and the various Arab/Swarthy terrorism cases. (Oh and the immigration raids-- those are pretty much if you have a dark tan and don't have blonde hair you better have a Green Card on you-- even if you are a citizen and thus don't need one).

Well, (none / 0) (#7)
by bocajeff on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 01:30:42 PM EST

Were the four suspects black? If they were white or hispanic and a black was shot then I agree with you. But if the suspects were black then we are talking about a much larger problem than an awful and horrific police shooting: Violent crime in the African-American community. It's easy to point fingers and say people are racist, but after 40 years since urban rioting conditions still remain in certain communities that will lead to these tragic circumstances. Let's not talk about that though, it's easier to blame the police...

More education, more infrastructure, more community policing and a large cultural shift toward academics and quality of life issues than what is happening today....We are on the road but it's been a slow journey


"Suspected Burglars" (5.00 / 3) (#8)
by CST on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 01:32:53 PM EST

Doesn't indicate to me that it was a violent crime. I may be wrong, I haven't done all the research, but you may be assuming too much.

In fact, a good question might be why they would be shooting at a burglar at all.


Fleeing felon? (none / 0) (#11)
by oculus on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 01:59:09 PM EST

Fleeing from what? (5.00 / 1) (#15)
by CST on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 02:15:16 PM EST

The report said he was standing on his porch. Not running away. Also, I don't think they can shoot at someone just because they are fleeing. You have to be in danger.


: You are correct, although, under (none / 0) (#19)
by oculus on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 02:38:21 PM EST

specified circumstances, SCOTUS states a law enforcement officer does not use excessive force when barring the escape of a fleeing felon. No application, apparentely, to the unfortunate victim in this case.

: The Orange County Register (none / 0) (#23)
by oculus on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 02:57:21 PM EST

article (link in a comment below) states the victim was in a neighbor's yard when he was shot.

: The sad thing is (none / 0) (#27)
by Socraticsilence on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 03:16:49 PM EST

in a lot of states (perhaps all I'm not sure of the universality of the castle doctrine-- the not aggressive version codified in Florida and apparently endorsed by a Jury in Texas) the Victim is the one person in the situation who would have had the right to use deadly force.

Shot twice in the chest (none / 0) (#16)
by TChris on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 02:22:04 PM EST

Mistaking him for a fleeing felon seems unlikely unless he was fleeing toward the officer.


perhaps he was (5.00 / 1) (#26)
by cpinva on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 03:00:10 PM EST

backpedaling? from the story i read:

police were chasing four fleeing, suspected burglars.
the young man had come out of his house, when he heard noises, and thought there might be some unsavory activity afoot. he apparently had some item in his hand, to defend himself, should there be someone there, with malicious intent. he was standing on his front porch.
police come through his yard, still chasing suspected burglars, see young man on his front porch, facing them, with some item in his hand.
police, thinking item is a weapon, shoot young man twice, hitting him in the chest with both shots. so far, no claim has been made that the police identified themselves, and told him to drop his weapon, before shooting him.
as the young man is lying on the ground, bleeding out, the police cuff him, and refuse to let any members of his family near him.
an ambulance takes him the hospital, where he is pronounced dead.

what strikes me as odd about this:

if the police were chasing 4 fleeing suspects, what was it that prompted them to think one of them had stopped, and was about to attack? the whole point of fleeing is to get away.


the culture and loss of hope of many (none / 0) (#18)
by of1000Kings on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 02:25:04 PM EST

poor AA communities is a big problem in America right now, one that no politician has ever really spent much time talking about...

I'm hoping that an Obama presidency may help this indirectly, even if it is just minutely, in terms of the hope that these communities have living in a country where they don't have the same advantages as others (they have a double whammy of sorts, being poor and black....it's HARD ENOUGH in this country trying to go from being poor to being middle-class or upper class--fat chance--but to do it while being AA is even harder)...

but, all that said the main interest in this story, other than the tragic loss of life, is the shoot-first mentality of the police system, stemming from the mentality that police officers ARE the law and can do no wrong...


Police and Thieves..... (5.00 / 1) (#6)
by kdog on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 01:30:23 PM EST

Police and Thieves in the street,
fighting the nation with their
guns and ammunition.
From Genesis,
to Revelation.
The next generation will be,
hear me.

: Know your rights (5.00 / 1) (#28)
by Dadler on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 03:19:28 PM EST

You have the right
not to be killed.
Murder is a crime,
unless it is done
by a policeman,
or an aristocrat,
know your rights...

death by cop (5.00 / 1) (#17)
by fdaniel on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 02:22:32 PM EST

Yet again another murder by cop.Sure stay inside so you cannot testify.Happens all the time and will continue to occur but close your eyes sheepeole after all it was not your young man that got shot down.

I heard this on the news this AM. (none / 0) (#2)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 12:28:12 PM EST

F'n A.

And this (none / 0) (#3)
by eric on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 01:02:51 PM EST

"This is a very tragic situation," Anaheim Police Chief John Welter said at a news conference. "Julian Alexander was innocent of anything that was going on in the neighborhood at that time."

As if it would have been OK if the cop had shot someone who wasn't innocent. Put the gun down, cop, you aren't a self appointed executioner.

Here's a link to the story (none / 0) (#9)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 01:40:25 PM EST

in a local news source: OC Register.

This pic tears my heart out.

Suspected commercial burglary. (none / 0) (#22)
by oculus on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 02:56:03 PM EST

: Yep. (none / 0) (#29)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 03:42:35 PM EST

I'm hoping there's more to the LE's side of the story. A somewhat understandable mistake would make it easier to stomach, but I'm not holding my breath...

Stay inside folks. (none / 0) (#10)
by Fabian on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 01:45:32 PM EST

That's what the nice police officers recommend and and it's good advice.

Knowing the police dispatch number is also good or dial 9-1-1.

Stay inside?... (5.00 / 2) (#14)
by kdog on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 02:05:43 PM EST

I know we are officially prison nation and all, but damn...that's taking it a bit far.

I refuse to be a prisoner in my own home whenever the lights are flashing, regardless of how dangerous the Police and Thieves may make the streets.

It may be good advice from a safety standpoint, but safety ain't my bag...freedom is.


I've done it...but I'm a woman. (none / 0) (#20)
by Fabian on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 02:45:45 PM EST

I remember when I called police dispatch to report what sounded like someone getting the sh!t getting kicked out of them in the alley behind me. (That'd be about 40 feet away.)

"Did you see them?" was the query.

Now, I know she was just doing her job BUT it was dark, I was in a night shirt and my first impulse is try very hard not to become the attacker's next victim.


Don't get me wrong... (5.00 / 1) (#24)
by kdog on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 02:58:11 PM EST

if I smell danger, if I'm not fighting I'm flighting. And I avoid contact with police at all costs...by choice though, not on orders.

After my crib got robbed we didn't call the cops, I called all my friends in the neighborhood instead..."if somebody trys to sell you a used Playstation, call me, it's probably mine. Keep 'em there and I'll be by with my Lousiville Slugger."

Hindsight is 20/20, but if nobody called the cops on the burglars this poor kid would still be alive.


According to the Orange County (none / 0) (#30)
by oculus on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 05:50:56 PM EST

: Stand corrected.... (none / 0) (#33)
by kdog on Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 08:07:08 AM EST

if the cops weren't guarding the Target the poor kid would be alive.

and then they wonder... (none / 0) (#12)
by sj on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 02:00:36 PM EST

... why "nobody knows nothin'"


: hmmm (none / 0) (#21)
by Fabian on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 02:51:16 PM EST

That segues nicely into when I heard a noise on my porch. I poked my nose out and found a man attempting to hide under the porch swing. I told him "Leave.". He did. I then called police dispatch.
I have quite a lot of stories about my old 'hood. The drive by drug store that started up one night - briefly. And so on.

Reading about this incident (none / 0) (#13)
by oculus on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 02:00:53 PM EST

reminded me of a situation years ago when a police helicopter was hovering very low over our house. My husband went out in the back yard to see what was going on. It was nighttime. An amplified voice from the helicopter sd.: go inside and stay there.


: I love the various police responses. (none / 0) (#25)
by Fabian on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 02:58:20 PM EST

I've got everything from "Nothing happening." when two police on foot were hustling down the sidewalk. (No, they don't do patrols on foot.)
Down the block a woman claimed she was being threatened by an armed man. Multiple vehicles responded. This wasn't the first time and all the previous times had been false alarms.
The almost-being-hit by a patrol car shooting out of an alley - no siren. There were people in dark suits with sunglasses and unmarked cars involved in whatever was going down. "Nothing happening." was the official response.
The police choppers flew by or hovered on a regular basis in the summer.
All of this in a two block radius. Outside of the crime, I liked the neighborhood.

Fear and evil (none / 0) (#31)
by nellre on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 06:14:17 PM EST

are sometimes indistinguishable.

Sad use of deadly force (none / 0) (#32)
by arguewithmydad com on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 09:32:11 PM EST

This case is an example of the police shooting first and asking questions later approach to crime control. We seem to be seeing these sad cases way too often.