Fired Florida officer defends use of 'Trayvon Martin' shooting targets; explains they were to teach
39 replies, posted
[quote]Sgt. Ron King was fired from his job as a firearms instructor for the Port Canaveral Police Department on Friday after an internal review determined he possessed the paper targets and offered them to fellow officers for use during a firearms training session earlier this month.
The paper targets show a faceless black hooded sweatshirt with a bull's-eye on the chest. In one hand is a can of iced tea and in the pocket is a pack of Skittles candy, the same items Martin was carrying when he was shot and killed last year in a case that has drawn national attention.
[B]King, in a video statement posted online, said he bought the targets because the two items -- the Skittles and iced tea -- were not threatening, which meant the target could be used to help train officers when not to shoot a suspect.[/B]
King did not say where he bought the targets, but similar ones caused a controversy when they were first sold online a year ago.
"While others have used it as a novelty, I view it as a tool for scenario-based firearms training," King said. Using "real-life situations" as training scenarios is not uncommon for firearms instructors, he said, and they help teach police how to respond to incidents in the future.
[B]"The only stupid act I performed was to believe that some of my coworkers would be mature enough and care enough to use a bad situation as a learning tool," King said, referring to the Martin case.[/B]
Port Canaveral is just an hour away from Sanford, where the 17-year-old Martin was killed in February 2012 as he walked home at night from a convenience store.[/quote]
[url]http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/14/us/florida-trayvon-martin-targets/index.html?hpt=hp_t2[/url]
Uh huh, sure.
To be fair it does make sense in that light. The hood could be seen as threatening but the objects are not. Could be used for pop up targets.
[editline]15th April 2013[/editline]
Well there is a bullseye so I don't know
[QUOTE=Hunterdnrc;40288354]To be fair it does make sense in that light. The hood could be seen as threatening but the objects are not. Could be used for pop up targets.
[editline]15th April 2013[/editline]
Well there is a bullseye so I don't know[/QUOTE]
Bullseye probably comes standard on any shooting targets, regardless of items around them.
[t]http://i49.tinypic.com/2urqvir.jpg[/t]
Eighteen year old black kid, middle of a nice neighborhood, this time of night with iced tea and skittles? He's about to start some shit, Zed.
[QUOTE=latin_geek;40288695][t]http://i49.tinypic.com/2urqvir.jpg[/t]
Eighteen year old black kid, middle of the ghetto, this time of night with iced tea and skittles? He's about to start some shit, Zed.[/QUOTE]
I get the joke but wasn't the incident in a nice neighborhood?
[QUOTE=YouWithTheFace.;40288717]I get the joke but wasn't the incident in a nice neighborhood?[/QUOTE]
oh, hey, it was
and that actually makes the joke more fitting
[QUOTE=latin_geek;40288695][t]http://i49.tinypic.com/2urqvir.jpg[/t]
Eighteen year old black kid, middle of a nice neighborhood, this time of night with iced tea and skittles? He's about to start some shit, Zed.[/QUOTE]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRXNNqNfQBs[/media]
I expected the shooting targets to have photos of his face and not a silhouette.
[QUOTE=Desuh;40288810]I expected the shooting targets to have photos of his face and not a silhouette.[/QUOTE]
shooting targets usually are silhouettes unless they're "generic bad guy" faces
...
or Osama
Does he really think anyone believes that those stupid, racist cash-in targets are for "educational purposes"? They were all at the range practicing and that asshole thought his coworkers were the kind of people who would enjoy it if he handed out Trayvon-themed targets for them to shoot at. Looks like his ass was wrong.
[QUOTE=Used Car Salesman;40289225]Does he really think anyone believes that those stupid, racist cash-in targets are for "educational purposes"? They were all at the range practicing and that asshole thought his coworkers were the kind of people who would enjoy it if he handed out Trayvon-themed targets for them to shoot at. Looks like his ass was wrong.[/QUOTE]
[img]http://www.everydaynodaysoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Trayvon-Martin-Shooting-Target.jpg[/img]
I assume it was one of these. I'm not sure what's particularly racist about it.
Plus these were being used as don't shoot targets, as in these are the targets you're not supposed to shoot.
He provided a legit excuse and he's being fired on assumptions? I don't care why he had them that's unfair.
[QUOTE=Badunkadunk;40289488]He provided a legit excuse and he's being fired on assumptions? I don't care why he had them that's unfair.[/QUOTE]
Here is the kicker, don't shoot targets are extremely common. They're usually targets that don't have any weapons or anything. They're just regular looking civilians.
[QUOTE=Boxbot219;40289409][img]http://www.everydaynodaysoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Trayvon-Martin-Shooting-Target.jpg[/img]
I assume it was one of these. I'm not sure what's particularly racist about it.[/QUOTE]
it wasn't that the target was racist, it's just that it obviously represents Trayvon Martin, and black people tend to get butthurt about that.
[QUOTE=MightyLOLZOR;40290077]it wasn't that the target was racist, it's just that it obviously represents Trayvon Martin, and stupid black people tend to get butthurt about that.[/QUOTE]
fixed for you. It doesn't matter skin color, if you get offended, you're stupid. because of one shooting case, which all in all wasn't that spectacular at all, just some man gunning down a teen. You'd be a fool to think that doesn't happen all the time in low income neighborhoods.
I think a lot of people here are missing the point.
A real guy was shot dead, and quite recently. A kid, mind you. The case isn't even through the courts yet, and its national and cultural impact is still very raw. It is the epitome of bad taste to make a target that so blatantly refers to this dead child, and put it on a shooting range, whether or not he represents one of the targets people are NOT supposed to shoot at.
[QUOTE=Harnbrand;40290215]I think a lot of people here are missing the point.
A real guy was shot dead, and quite recently. A kid, mind you. The case isn't even through the courts yet, and its national and cultural impact is still very raw. It is the epitome of bad taste to make a target that so blatantly refers to this dead child, and put it on a shooting range, whether or not he represents one of the targets people are NOT supposed to shoot at.[/QUOTE]
but what happens behind closed doors is their business. the public doesn't need to know. I might jerk off to a picture of Mila Kunis but you don't see her crying about it.
I mean, wouldn't the rest of Facepunch be sort of disgusted if somebody made targets out of all the Sandy Hook children and used those, for example?
[QUOTE=Harnbrand;40290257]I mean, wouldn't the rest of Facepunch be sort of disgusted if somebody made targets out of all the Sandy Hook children and used those, for example?[/QUOTE]
it's just paper
[QUOTE=MightyLOLZOR;40290252]but what happens behind closed doors is their business. the public doesn't need to know. I might jerk off to a picture of Mila Kunis but you don't see her crying about it.[/QUOTE]
This wasn't a private citizen's shooting range - This had law enforcement on it. What happens in law enforcement is not 'behind closed doors', as they are beholden to the public - Oh, and the complaint came from within the force, and the disciplinary action, too.
It's a good idea to give a figure a hood so it appears more threatening and then give it some innocent items to indicate that it's a don't-shoot target (teaches shooters to look just what they're [I]really[/I] aiming at), but it didn't [I]have[/I] to specifically refer to Martin.
[QUOTE=MightyLOLZOR;40290266]it's just paper[/QUOTE]
Yes, it's just paper, but such actions have impact in society at large if the news ever gets out, any any responsible public official should have enough sense to know better - This officer ought to have known better.
[QUOTE=Harnbrand;40290257]I mean, wouldn't the rest of Facepunch be sort of disgusted if somebody made targets out of all the Sandy Hook children and used those, for example?[/QUOTE]
How do you even make sandy hook targets; they'd just be children, of which I doubt targets are made of anyways.
[QUOTE=Kahgarak;40290278]It's a good idea to give a figure a hood so it appears more threatening and then give it some innocent items to demonstrate that it's a don't-shoot target, but it didn't [I]have[/I] to specifically refer to Martin.[/QUOTE]
This.
[QUOTE=MightyLOLZOR;40290266]it's just paper[/QUOTE]
It's the connotation that matters.
[QUOTE=n0cturni;40290290]How do you even make sandy hook targets; they'd just be children, of which I doubt targets are made of anyways.[/QUOTE]
Are you being deliberately ridiculous, or are you legitimately confused? I mean in their likeness.
[QUOTE=Harnbrand;40290257]I mean, wouldn't the rest of Facepunch be sort of disgusted if somebody made targets out of all the Sandy Hook children and used those, for example?[/QUOTE]
It's a bit different then that when the Sandy Hook shooting was one civilian performing an unprovoked mass shooting and the Trayvon Martin case was some neighborhood watch guy feeling supposedly threatened by some other guy in a hoody with skittles and ice tea in his possession.
I'm not claiming it's in good taste but the main point of using this target in this case was "don't do what George Zimmerman did".
Poor guy losing his job over a knee jerk reaction.
[QUOTE=Harnbrand;40290305]Are you being deliberately ridiculous, or are you legitimately confused? I mean in their likeness.[/QUOTE]
Genuinely confused; what would differentiate a "sandy hook" child from a regular child if you were to make targets of them (for whatever reason). Would they be holding books that say "sandy hook" on them?
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