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The Ultimate Man bites Dog story

Bronzeage

Bronzeage

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A female police officer is charged with homicide for shooting a man in the back.

Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico said following a state police investigation, he concluded 36-year-old Lisa Mearkle was not justified in using deadly force when she shot 59-year-old David Kassick.

This is a strange reversal of tradition, in that we have a police officer charged with a crime after shooting a citizen, and also happens to be a woman who shot a man.


The story includes this note:
Mearkle performed CPR on Kassick after additional officers arrived, but he died at the scene.
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Which makes me wonder if CPR is the proper first aid for two bullets in the back.
 
Yeah but according to your link:
Mearkle told investigators she fired because she believed Kassick was reaching for a gun in his jacket pocket and because he ignored her orders to show his hands, so clearly this is a justified killing.
 
Sounds like she was ignoring the effect the taser has on him and thought his actions were a threat rather than a reaction to the taser.

It sounds like manslaughter, not murder to me.
 
Loren Pechtel said:
It sounds like manslaughter, not murder to me.
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From the article:

"HUMMELSTOWN, Pa. (WHTM) – A Hummelstown police officer has been charged with criminal homicide in the fatal shooting of a South Hanover Township man last month."

From FindLaw:

http://statelaws.findlaw.com/pennsylvania-law/pennsylvania-first-degree-murder-laws.html

"In Pennsylvania, criminal homicide, the unlawful death of a human being, includes three types of murder and two types of manslaughter. Pennsylvania state laws require proof of malice to distinguish murder from manslaughter..."

Another source:

http://www.rgsglaw.com/blog/2010/04/understanding-murder-charges-in-pennsylvania.shtml

"...In Pennsylvania, there is the general term, Criminal Homicide, which is defined as the intentional, knowing, reckless or negligent causing of the death of another human being. A defendant may be charged generally with the crime of Criminal Homicide, but it is the specific charge which counts. There is Murder of the first degree, second degree, third degree, Voluntary Manslaughter and Involuntary Manslaughter..."
 
Mageth said:
Loren Pechtel said:
It sounds like manslaughter, not murder to me.
Click to expand...

From the article:

"HUMMELSTOWN, Pa. (WHTM) – A Hummelstown police officer has been charged with criminal homicide in the fatal shooting of a South Hanover Township man last month."

From FindLaw:

http://statelaws.findlaw.com/pennsylvania-law/pennsylvania-first-degree-murder-laws.html

"In Pennsylvania, criminal homicide, the unlawful death of a human being, includes three types of murder and two types of manslaughter. Pennsylvania state laws require proof of malice to distinguish murder from manslaughter..."

Another source:

http://www.rgsglaw.com/blog/2010/04/understanding-murder-charges-in-pennsylvania.shtml

"...In Pennsylvania, there is the general term, Criminal Homicide, which is defined as the intentional, knowing, reckless or negligent causing of the death of another human being. A defendant may be charged generally with the crime of Criminal Homicide, but it is the specific charge which counts. There is Murder of the first degree, second degree, third degree, Voluntary Manslaughter and Involuntary Manslaughter..."
Click to expand...

I guess that covers manslaughter.

It sounds to me like she legitimately felt threatened but didn't realize that the apparent threat was a result of her actions. That's below the standards I would expect from a police officer, I would have no problem with a manslaughter conviction.
 
Loren Pechtel said:
It sounds to me like she legitimately felt threatened but didn't realize that the apparent threat was a result of her actions. That's below the standards I would expect from a police officer, I would have no problem with a manslaughter conviction.
Click to expand...

saving for later
 
Well, at least she started with a tazer, other policeman would have skipped it and went directly to a gun.
 
Given the plethora of stories about male police officers shooting and killing unarmed suspects with impunity, how come this woman cop is being prosecuted? Seems like a double standard to me.
 
Thought he was going for a weapon, didn't she think about looking for cover?
laughing dog said:
Given the plethora of stories about male police officers shooting and killing unarmed suspects with impunity, how come this woman cop is being prosecuted? Seems like a double standard to me.
Click to expand...
Only if a male officer was cleared in the same jurisdiction.
 
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