So your contention is that ICE agents on the roof of a building are free to shoot pepper balls at people on a sidewalk just because they want to?
I am contending that we:
1. Don't know or see the full picture of what was going on there. It is likely that the guy was told to get off the sidewalk and didn't.
2. That the shot was far more likely random in its strike location than intentional even though it is almost certain that it was aimed at the guy on the sidewalk.
3. That since the officer fired a single pepper ball, the intention was to get the guy to move away. Had the officer been just gratuitously shooting this person I'd think he'd fire multiple shots instead.
Oh, those horrible words. Officers are supposed to be trained to not react to "words."
Depends on the words. A threat is a threat.
Contempt of cop is not a license to attack someone and grab their throat before throwing them headfirst onto a concrete sidewalk. Again. It was the Fed officer that moved forward to instigate the action rather than trying to deescalate. A local officer would be disciplined for the stupidity of that Fed officer.
Contempt of cop is a common cause to end up arrested and charged because you refuse to do even the most reasonable things when asked to do so. That guy wouldn't move back and claimed he had a right to be where he was--in the officer's face talking smack. The cop asked him to move back. The cop obviously started to take steps to use force. The guy refused to listen or yield.
The protester didn't try in the least to deescalate the situation. Instead, he escalated it and then paid the price for that.
What context? Is it proper to point a weapon at someone that is filming you if you are a federal officer? If properly used a pepper ball gun would NEVER be pointed at anyone since it is NOT to be fired directly at a person.
I have no idea what the officer is pointing his weapon at, and neither do you. Taking the word of someone who is anti-police and anti-ICE by their admission is pretty thin stuff on that.
As for use of pepper ball guns: Federal policy is to aim at the specific person you want to use the pepper balls on and aim center mass at their upper chest. You can fire one or multiple balls at that location to stop the action. Yes, I've had that training. The idea is not to hit them in the face or head but let the pepper powder release where it sprays their face, thus fire into the upper chest. Firing at the ground or something nearby defeats the whole purpose of that less-than-lethal weapon as the amount of pepper powder released is very small.
