“I saw officers and I should have put the gun down,” Bryant Heyward told a Charleston County Sheriff’s investigator during an interview in the ambulance following the Thursday incident.
“I didn’t. They thought I was the crook and shot,” Heyward, 26, said. The recorded interview was played Friday for local community leaders and news reporters.
Heyward told the investigator he had called 911 because two men were trying to break into the house he shares with his mother and brother in the rural community of Hollywood, South Carolina. He said he went to his brother’s room to get his brother’s gun as the men tried to get in.
Deputy Keith Tyner who responded to the 911 call, shouted commands at Heyward before firing and wounding him in the neck, according to an incident report released Friday.
That good old 2nd amendment doesn’t work so well if you’re black I guess.
Hard for me to get upset when someone doesn’t follow instructions from the police. Should he have been shot? No, of course not. That said, put yourself in the policeman’s shoes. You’ve been called to the scene of an active robbery. One would think that the homeowner that called the police would be grateful that the police had arrived and would be cooperative/quick to identify themselves as a homeowner.
A cop arriving on the scene where two men are pointing guns at each other (not saying that happened here), really has no way of knowing which person is the intruder and which person called the police. The only way to resolve the situation is to ask both people to put their weapons down.
Given that the homeowner did not put his weapon down when instructed to by the police gave the officer a reasonable assumption that the individual with the gun was the criminal.
Police officers get trained and paid to make those distinctions. Restraint…restraint…restraint. Unless that weapon was raised (pointed) in the direction of an officer restraint was the only training method that should have been implemented. If the weapon was raised the homeowner held his own destiny is his hand (literally).
When you are a police officer, too much restraint can get you killed.
If someone has a weapon, and refuses to listen when officer commands to put it down, the officer is correct in the call to shoot.
Police officers have a very difficult job and we need to stand by them when a correct decision may yield a less than desirable result.
Excessive restraint could be the reason the 2 Miss. police officers were killed over the weekend.
There is unreleased audio that will show the nature and amount of commands given. It will also show the elapsed time between the command(s) and the officers gun fire. New reports are stating the injured homeowner never raised the gun, it may have remained at his side. He also never exited his house. He was legally protecting his home from invasion. The police were aware the homeowners were home and prepared to defend their home per the 911 call. It is also being reported, the young man believed the police were telling the criminals to drop their weapons. It’s believed his vision was obstructed (going from light to dark) and couldn’t actually see the officer. I will wait for the complete investigation report to be released before jumping to any further conclusions. In this unique situation restraint appears to have been, at the very least, an option.
Horrible situation for all involved. The amazing thing is the injured homeowner took responsibility for his role and expressed immediate forgiveness toward the officer who shot him. A young man of character and compassion. I will pray for him to make a full recovery.
“I saw officers and I should have put the gun down” has been taken out of context. According to the family he was referring to when they pulled up he saw them arrive out the window and it was at that point he should have put the gun down. The family says because of the confused and stressful nature of the situation he walked to the back door to continue watching the situation when he heard the order to drop the weapon but couldn’t actually see the officers.
“When you are a police officer, too much restraint can get you killed” and when one holds an elected public office, slamming a minority group and insulting their religion with false claims could cost one their office.
Jade,
I did not mention any minorities. My comment goes for anyone with a gun in that situation.
I’d also enjoy you pointing out any specific false claims I made about religion.
If I’m voted out for defending good and exposing evil, so be it. I’d rather be tossed for doing right thing than lead doing wrong thing.
I know that is like “Anti-matter” to Democrats like the Clinton’s, so I’m sure my statement is going to be construed as being afoul of the intolerant, tolerance police on the left.
Why do you assume, every time I post something, it has to do with you. Are you feeling guilty?
Jade,
…um because you quoted me in that specific comment.
Um… And made a comparison to something else.