Re: NY gonna blow....
I heard of this story in November, but apart from the facts given in the article I've read back then, I don't know much about it. Bottom line, I don't know what went down in detail, so I'm not taking sides here.
That said, I think it's a good thing that these cops stand trial. It's a clear signal that the police forces aren't above the law. Imagine the reaction if they wouldn't stand trial: you'd have Rodney King riots all over the place again.
I can understand the reaction of the NYPD perfectly: cops need to do their job, basta. Completely agree with that, especially in cities like say NY, LA and what not. But there's also another side to doing that job. I mean, as a cop you have authority and power (read: a gun) and with authority comes responsability and professionalism. Like for instance knowing how to handle your gun and using the right amount of force/violence in a certain situation.
So yes, if all they did was defend themselves, it justifies the use of force and they should be alright in court. But I think it's gonna be a hard one: firing 42 shots in total... is that the amount of force you need to stop a car?
Like you said Sean: they overreacted and imo that's not acceptable at all. They're supposed to be trained to react the right way in situations like this one and to avoid endangering other civilians. I don't care about how many convictions Bell had, neither do I care about the fact that he was about to get married, that's emo bs in the margin.
Do these kind of trials happen a lot in the US? When a Belgian cop uses his gun, he'll have to justify the use of force in any case, even when he shoots a top criminal. Standard procedure and the cops here are cool with it: it's part of the responsability that comes with the job.