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Officer Sentenced in Shooting Case

By TChris, Section Court Decisions
Posted on Fri Jan 21, 2005 at 06:06:02 AM EST
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by TChris

A former police officer convicted of negligent homicide for shooting a 14-year-old boy while placing him in handcuffs has been sentenced to five years of probation and 60 days in jail. The Houston officer was also ordered to write a letter of apology to the boy's parents.

Prosecutor Don Smyth asked the judge Thursday to give Carbonneau six months in jail, the maximum jail sentence allowed under probation. Smyth also suggested several other conditions the judge declined to impose, including an open letter of apology to the residents of Harris County. ''They think their police officers are gun-toting, trigger-happy fools," Smyth said after the sentencing. "He's put everybody in fear and he owes everybody an apology."

The jury recommended only probation.

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    Officer Sentenced in Shooting Case | 10 comments (10 topical)
    Re: Officer Sentenced in Shooting Case (none / 0) (#1)
    by Patrick on Fri Jan 21, 2005 at 06:52:55 AM EST
    A perfect illustration of my argument on the taser thread. Pulling a gun in the middle of a physical fight is a mighty poor idea. Sad for all involved. Doesn't seem to rise to T-Chris' normal level of disdain for all things blue, since there doesn't appear to be any malice or misconduct, just a sad mistake.

    Re: Officer Sentenced in Shooting Case (none / 0) (#2)
    by Johnny on Fri Jan 21, 2005 at 07:12:16 AM EST
    "Less Lethal" is still not good enough. Perfect argument for advanced unarmed close quarters combat training. Quick, efficient non-lethal, non permanent takedowns, arm bars, and submission holds.

    Re: Officer Sentenced in Shooting Case (none / 0) (#3)
    by Patrick on Fri Jan 21, 2005 at 08:00:00 AM EST
    Johnny, Yeah, except that time it takes to train yourself so that those concepts are second nature, make it unlikely that many officers will make the committment. I do agree though.

    Re: Officer Sentenced in Shooting Case (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Jan 21, 2005 at 09:16:58 AM EST
    From the article: The shooting occurred Nov. 21, 2003, after Carbonneau volunteered to assist officer Ronald Olivo in responding to a complaint that two teens had assaulted a 10-year-old boy at his home. The officers found Escobar and other teens playing computer games in a nearby apartment and told them to stand outside, witnesses said. The 10-year-old boy's father pointed out one teen who he said had harassed his son. Escobar had not been involved in the incident and began to leave, ignoring orders to stop, police said. The struggle began when Carbonneau tried to detain him. Some questions: was the determination of Escobar's non-involvement with harassing the 10 year old made prior to his shooting? Or after? I am assuming it was made after; if the officer wanted to detain him he must have had a reason.

    Re: Officer Sentenced in Shooting Case (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Jan 21, 2005 at 12:19:15 PM EST
    nemo at January 21, 2005 10:16 AM "...if the officer wanted to detain him he must have had a reason.? Haven't had much experience with the "gestapo" huh!!!

    Re: Officer Sentenced in Shooting Case (none / 0) (#6)
    by Jlvngstn on Fri Jan 21, 2005 at 12:34:26 PM EST
    "Yeah, except that time it takes to train yourself so that those concepts are second nature, make it unlikely that many officers will make the committment." That is horribly sad.......

    Re: Officer Sentenced in Shooting Case (none / 0) (#7)
    by Patrick on Fri Jan 21, 2005 at 12:48:27 PM EST
    JL, Sad, yes it is, because some fatal interactions could probably be avoided, but tell me how you fix it?

    Re: Officer Sentenced in Shooting Case (none / 0) (#8)
    by Sailor on Fri Jan 21, 2005 at 02:47:16 PM EST
    So a poorly trained, cowboy cop illegally detains a 14 yr old kid and kills him 'by accident' even tho he testified he thought the kid had a gun ... or something shiny ... or a bad attitude. Yep, grounds for execution in Texas. "Sad, yes it is, because some fatal interactions could probably be avoided, but tell me how you fix it? " The cop was committing a felony when someone died. That's felony murder and the cop should be doing 25 to life. THAT would certainly discourage incidents like this.

    Re: Officer Sentenced in Shooting Case (none / 0) (#9)
    by Patrick on Fri Jan 21, 2005 at 03:05:08 PM EST
    Gee Sailor, Too bad we can't all have such a grasp on reality...

    Re: Officer Sentenced in Shooting Case (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Jan 21, 2005 at 03:51:12 PM EST
    Sailor's right. Anyone else in TX would be on death row.

    Officer Sentenced in Shooting Case | 10 comments (10 topical)