I think that everyone who is saying, “tut tut, poor guy, but he was asking for it� is being horrendously insensitive and irresponsible. At absolute worst, the marshals should have taken ONE shot, and that specifically to the foot or leg to keep him from running.

Better yet, they should have been equipped with nonlethal apprehension methods such as tasers – shooting off guns in a plane is a BAD thing. Of course tasers might be just as bad, considering they don’t want you to even use your cell phone…

I certainly don’t think that Alpizar “had it coming.” He was no threat, he was apparently not in possession of his faculties, and he deserved nothing more than to be removed from the plane and given whatever help he needed.

That said, the reason that I am inclined to give the Marshals the benefit of the doubt is that they couldn’t have known that. If he *was* claiming to have a bomb, and if he *did* reach into his bag, it’s not clear what choice the Marshals had other than to shoot to kill.

If he were carrying a bomb, shooting to wound would not stop him from triggering it. I’d be afraid that a taser would cause him to trigger a bomb, were he carrying one — setting aside the possibility of a “lucky” shot sending the right currents through the detonator.

Again, this is tragic, and Alpizar didn’t deserve to die. But, if the Marshals really believed he had a bomb (and this is what the issue hinges upon in my opinion) it was very likely that he was going to die, whether or not he deserved it.

Yeah, I know, yet another moonbat blaming Bush for everything, but seriously, they’ve blown it way out of proportion, and this level of paranoia is the result.

I think that everyone who is saying, “tut tut, poor guy, but he was asking for it” is being horrendously insensitive and irresponsible. At absolute worst, the marshals should have taken ONE shot, and that specifically to the foot or leg to keep him from running.

Better yet, they should have been equipped with nonlethal apprehension methods such as tasers – shooting off guns in a plane is a BAD thing. Of course tasers might be just as bad, considering they don’t want you to even use your cell phone…

We are taking the first steps down the slippery slope to George Orwell’s 1984 – and I for one do not intend to allow it to happen without protest.

Actually, from a judicial standpoint, it does, doesn’t it? I mean, if he hadn’t been killed, but rather caught, charged, and tried, wouldn’t he likely be acquitted on grounds of insanity?

That’s not to say that the Marshals weren’t justified in what they did — maybe they were, maybe they weren’t. I’m inclined to give them the benefit of that doubt.

This applies not only to situations like the tarmac shooting, but also to things like wrongful executions, or any manner of mistaken law enforcement actions.