Damn...lost this the first time due to an techmological differences...
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Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA
Don't think anybody (at least not here) said it had anything to do with the threat level. It's merely the motive for said threat.
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Fine, but I still maintain that's not relevant. The self defense claim will go to what the officer perceived, not what may have caused the suspect/victim to act. I mean he could have committed worse crimes in the days or weeks before that to make him more afraid. Conversely, he could have had a really awful experience where a cop unlawfully shook him down a few days ago. And both may have been more the cause of his actions than the robbery. But, my point is I don't think any of those scenarios are relevant to the officer's (likely) claim that he acted in self defense. They only go to show what a bad (or good) person Brown was.
Put another way, what are you trying to show in court with the convenience store footage? Pretty much the only thing I can come up with is that Brown is a baddie. And, in my view, that's not at all relevant to the threat the officer perceived and to which he reacted.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA
Like attacking a unicorn.
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Not really my point, but I understand how you got there. My personal feelings aside (and of course I have them) I think the release of the convenience store tape is poor police work/lawyering. Even with the best intentions, you're going to do nothing to sway public opinion and you're going to risk tainting your jury pool and losing sympathetic jurors.