Words of Wisdom… and the Other Stuff

By Nicholas Stix

newdirection:

“Remember the only thing open after midnight is trouble and legs.”
10:01 AM on June 6, 2008

“newdirection” was commenting on a June 6, 2008 Houston Chronicle article, “Pasadena officer wounds 13-year-old boy wielding gun; Neighbors had complained about gunfire for hours.”

It seems that, beginning at circa 1 a.m., a 13-year-old boy stood in his family’s driveway, in Pasadena’s Vince Bayou section, and he and one or more friends fired a .38-caliber revolver 20-30 times toward a back fence over the course of two-and-a-half hours. Neighbors started calling 911 soon after the shooting began, but due to the layout of Vince Bayou, police had trouble finding the source of the gunfire. When a policeman approached and repeatedly ordered the boy to drop the gun, instead of complying with the officer’s command, the boy wheeled on him, weapon in hand, whereupon the officer shot him three times, critically wounding him.

(The boy was the son of a “single mom” who worked from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. every night. According to neighbors, he spent much of his nights “disrespecting” and “arguing” with adult neighbors.)

The officers at the scene called for an ambulance for the shooter, and arrested two friends of the boy’s, a boy and a girl, who were present. The girl proceeded to kick out the squad car window.

As the following comments show, many posters lacked the wisdom of “newdirection.”

dredlockrasta
8:51 AM on June 6, 2008

If someone turns toward you, shouldn't they have been shot in the side or even in the front center mass?? How do you still manage to shoot them in the back 3 times???


PRAETORIAN wrote:

shot in the lower back, yeah that BOY was really threatening those officers alright. good thing those tough cops were on top of this, that poor fence surely didn't need another hole in it. WAFJ.

I am all about putting down scum and yeah I agree that there might be some piss poor parenting here, however that does not justify the use of deadly force.
6/6/2008 9:28 AM CDT


ClevOh189 wrote:
KwikCroc wrote:
If looking at the barrel of a gun, would you really care how old the shooter is?


But the article stated "the boy DIDNT turn all the way around", hence 3 bullets to the BACK...the gun was NEVER pointed directly at any officers...
I'm not saying the boy didnt break the law, just saying that it didnt occur the way you think it did...


texiban
11:01 AM on June 6, 2008

I know this neighborhood as I grew up in Pasadena. It is 95% Hispanic. Probably 50% of these kids are either in gangs or just thugs in general. The parents' don't care what they do as evidenced by the time of this incident and the fact that the parents did not stop this kid from shooting at the fence. Where are the cries for the parents being held accountable for their kids actions? Why aren't they being called unfit? This is typical of the liberal sentiment that "no one is responsible for their actions, it's societys' fault"!

I am tired of Pasadena PD getting a bad rap all the time. Their officers a well trained and I have never, ever had any of them be anything but professional and courteous when I have gotten either a ticket or, in my younger days, taken to the jail for being stupid. (Drinking). There are bad officers on every force, but I will put Pasadena Police against any other department in Texas for their professionalism. I didn't hear anyone complaining when they busted the little creep yesterday for trying to put a hit on his ex-girlfriends friend.


WontStandIdlyBy wrote:

Wouldn't it be nice if we could believe OUR police force's version of events. But hey, it's a police state and they knew what's best for us even if they have lie to us to effect it. No one is safe folks. The cops have always gotten a free pass on murder and with recent events, they will extend that "privilege" to ANYONE. Helpless bums and throw-away drug dealers are just their stepping stone to your children and mine. And we get the lovely honor of paying them to do it.

Ain't this police state grand!

BTW... don't bother flaming me. I know how HALF of y'all feel, you would have fit in perfectly in Hitler's Germany. But one day, when it happens to you or yours, you'll wish you hadn't been so easily duped.


GiantLeapForMankind
11:10 AM on June 6, 2008

(Response to WontStandIdlyBy:)
Oh I will be looking out for the day when I'm out in my driveway at 3:00 a.m. shooting a gun repeatedly for the fun of it until the cops come and shoot me.

Oh wait, no I won't.



strangergirl
11:36 AM on June 6, 2008

This is ridiculous. According to these comments, my generation is filled with conniving little brats who do stupid things.

Okay, let me address this all seperately. The world has changed and grown to be more violent. Dur. The kids are more stupid. Dur. Still, this "I wouldn't have done that!" response that I keep reading isn't believable.

Look at this situation. Kids play with guns all the time, shooting at cans and fences and all kinds of sh^t. There was NO reason that the cop should've shot the child in the BACK. It makes no sense. I thought the child was facing him, how could he have shot him in the back? I think it was the cop's fault in this. The child might have had the gun in his hand and turned to see who was approaching him, afraid, like ANY normal person after being caught doing something illegal, and turned SLIGHTLY to look back.

They should've just maced him.

<33
kirsten.


GiantLeapForMankind
11:46 AM on June 6, 2008

textone wrote:
Due to the fact that I am not a brainwashed SHEEP, I have to question this story. I want more deatils of the lighting around where the police were positioned. .... The kids were on their own private property and didn't pose a threat to anyone but themselves, so I think there should be more investigation into this.



No, you have question this story because you are a cop hater and thug lover.