Shaking my head….this is getting out of hand….blame the police first for every criminal they take out of society!

Police use of military-grade weapons—and how they use them—is becoming a serious issue in the United States. And it’s one the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit dealt with recently when they upheld a decision dismissing a lawsuit filed against a North Texas sheriff who shot 12 rounds from his AR-15 assault rifle into a fleeing kidnapper’s car, killing the man.

In justifying its decision, the Fifth Circuit put its reasoning in terms the average American can understand: The sheriff did not violate the kidnapper’s constitutional rights because his undisputed criminal actions were taken straight out of a video game—think Grand Theft Auto.

Here’s how Senior Judge Fortunato “Pete” Benavides put it in the Aug. 7 opinion in Troy Thompson v. Sheriff Ira A. Mercer, Palo Pinto County describing how the sheriff’s use of force was justified in fatally stopping Keith Thompson, who undisputedly stole a vehicle, kidnapped its sleeping occupant, and then fled for two hours at speeds of over 100 m.p.h., according to the opinion.

“Indeed, parts of the police camera footage might be mistaken for a video game reel, with Keith disregarding every traffic law, passing other motorists on the left, on the right, on the shoulder and on the median. He occasionally drove off the road altogether and used other abrupt maneuvers to try to lose his pursuers,” Benavides wrote in the decision.

“The truck was airborne at least twice, with Keith struggling to regain control of the vehicle. In short, Keith showed a shocking disregard for the welfare of passersby and of the pursuing law enforcement officers,” Benavides wrote.

Palo Pinto County Sheriff Ira Mercer positioned himself on a rural road and first fired at the car’s radiator, which did not slow it down. He then aimed directly at the windshield, hitting and killing Thompson after firing a total of 12 rounds, according to the decision.

Read more: http://www.texaslawyer.com/id=1202666848005/Court-Sides-with-Sheriff-in-Assault-Rifle-Killing-of-Fleeing-Kidnapper#ixzz3APx2Y0Ey