There is a lot going around today about whether or not the air marshalls acted too quickly in shooting the guy in Miami yesterday. I say they did the right thing. He was carrying a back pack on the front of his body. He said he had a bomb in it. They directed him to put the back pack down and to get on the floor. He disobeyed this order and he started walking toward him. In this day and age they had no choice but to shoot. If the guy had a bomb and it had gone off, killing lord knows how many (his was on a jetway where there are gas trucks below, near enought to the plane which was loaded with fuel, and parked near other planes and the terminal) lots of people, me included would be complaining that we are not doing enough to stop terrorists, that we are unprepared etc. Bottom line, you dont get on a plane and say you have a bomb. Better yet, if you are "chemically unbalanced" and you haven't taken your meds that day, take another flight on another day.

Ironically enough, he had just returned from a missionary trip

RIP

Was it "suicide by cop" by any chance?

Are you sure about that? I just heard from an eye witness (on the plane) that he did have a backpack on, but a fanny pack was in the front. And this witness never heard the word "bomb". In fact, law enforcement actually seemed to pressure the passengers by saying, "are you SURE you never heard the word 'bomb'?"

And why aren't they telling us what actually WAS in the backpack? Certainly it wasn't a bomb. How would he get thru security with a bomb in his carry-on?

I don't know all the details, but it seemed he freaked out for whatever reason - his wife (a widow, now) said he was without his bipolar meds.

I know the air marshalls had a split-second decision to make, but he was off the plane when he was shot (to death), so therefore not a threat to the flight itself any more.

And the treatment of the other passengers as criminal suspects is inexcusable.

Are you sure about that? I just heard from an eye witness (on the plane) that he did have a backpack on, but a fanny pack was in the front. And this witness never heard the word "bomb". In fact, law enforcement actually seemed to pressure the passengers by saying, "are you SURE you never heard the word 'bomb'?"

And why aren't they telling us what actually WAS in the backpack? Certainly it wasn't a bomb. How would he get thru security with a bomb in his carry-on?

I don't know all the details, but it seemed he freaked out for whatever reason - his wife (a widow, now) said he was without his bipolar meds.

I know the air marshalls had a split-second decision to make, but he was off the plane when he was shot (to death), so therefore not a threat to the flight itself any more.

And the treatment of the other passengers as criminal suspects is inexcusable. [/b][/quote]Well, we can never be sure of anything these days. I have now read conflicting reports about who said what. There is one report that the only people who heard the word "bomb" were the shooters, but there is another report that says other passengers have now come forward to say that they heard the word "bomb" as well. With distrust of the government so high it would be something if no one else heard that word.

I do understand there was no bomb.

Wow!! I didn't hear anything about the possibility of no bomb. When I heard it yesterday, it sounded reasonable, if it went down like it was reported. Anyone running from authorities saying they have a bomb, should expect the consequences. However, if he didn't make a threat, that may be a whole other story.

It's hard to tell. I also have heard many in the legal professions proclaim that eyewitnesses are not necessarily reliable, because several eyewitnesses can see several different things.

TIS

We're talking about a split second to make a decision. Say the Air Marshall or another cop wasn't sure of hearing the word "bomb" and decided notto shoot. And then a bomb went off - then where would we be? A bunch of dead and injured people with the bomb going off vs. one dead guy who, it turns out, didn't have a bomb.

I don't have a problem with what happened - if this guy forgot to take his meds, I'm sorry for his family. But common sense would dictate don't talk about a bomb inside or near a plane and don't run from the police after such talk.

You tell an official you have a bomb, you deserve the bullet.

Yeah, he was shot because he was uncooperative. That's about it. And he was a minority. I'm sure if he was white they would have beat the shit of him, not put bullets in his head.

Yes, you must really be onto something here!!! In the middle of all that panic and screaming, the Air Marshall must have paused for a moment and asked himself :"Is he a minority or a white? Let me see what race he is and then I'll decided if I should shoot him or just beat him." :rolleyes: Give us a break.

I don't think that race played a part in this shooting whatsoever.


Don Cardi

I figure the thought of "Dark skin, must be an Arab terrorist." must have entered their heads

if he didn't yell bomb on the plane then there should be some serious discussion about whether or not the air marshall's descision was the appropriate one. but im going out on a limb here, and im gonna say that not many people sitting near the guy heard it, in which case..what does everyone think should happen?

I'll not second guess the officer...I wasn't there. But the bottom line, to me anyway, is that if this guy had even a remote chance of uttering something with "bomb" in it in an air terminal -- on or off his meds -- then family members should've either kept him at home or alerted the right people from the get-go.

I agree with you snake. But before you know it Sharpton Jackson and the ACLU will be screaming about this.


DS

Oh, no doubt, D.S., no doubt!