Campus officer kills naked freshman at University of South Alabama

[didymus]

CNN:

Campus officer kills naked freshman at University of South Alabama

(CNN) – Authorities are investigating why a University of South Alabama officer fatally shot an 18-year-old freshman who they say was naked and acting erratically outside the campus police station early Saturday.
With few details of the shooting in the Gulf Coast city of Mobile, the student’s mother and one of his friends said they could not understand how a six-year varsity wrestler and good-natured teenager could have died under such strange and sad circumstances.
According to a statement from the school, the campus police officer heard a loud banging noise on a window at the station at 1:23 a.m. CT (2:23 a.m. ET) Saturday. When he left the station to investigate, the school said, “he was confronted by a muscular, nude man who was acting erratically.”

The man, later identified as Gilbert Thomas Collar, of Wetumpka, Alabama, repeatedly rushed and verbally challenged the officer in a fighting stance, the school said.
The officer, whose name hasn’t been released, drew his weapon and ordered Collar to stop, the school said. The officer retreated several times to try to calm the situation.
“When the individual continued to rush toward the officer in a threatening manner and ignored the officer’s repeated commands to stop, the officer fired one shot with his police sidearm, which struck the chest of the assailant,” the school statement said. “The individual fell to the ground, but he got up once more and continued to challenge the officer further before collapsing and expiring.”

“Officer safety” anyone?

Stories like this are, sadly, not uncommon and it sounds to me like police receive very poor training in how to deal with “erratic” behavior. People can act bizarrely not only due to intoxication but also due to mental illness or other medical conditions.

Elite police teams like hostage rescue get extensive “shoot/don’t shoot” training – apparently not so for regular street cops.

 

[EmperorNapoleon]

Elite police teams like hostage rescue get extensive “shoot/don’t shoot” training – apparently not so for regular street cops.

These aren’t even regular street cops. Campus police are just glorified mall cops with jurisdiction limited to the campus grounds and I can’t understand why they would be allowed firearms.

 

[Godfollower]

These aren’t even regular street cops. Campus police are just glorified mall cops with jurisdiction limited to the campus grounds and I can’t understand why they would be allowed firearms.

In Alabama, where this incident occurred, they’re full peace officers with complete authority to act anywhere in the state. They’re directed by statute to act only with respect to their particular university, unless (among other things) the crime is committed in their presence – in which case they’re just a regular police officer, like any other. This incident apparently happened on campus.

If the student who got shot would charge a police officer pointing a weapon at him, what would he have done if a civilian (student) had ticked him off?

Of course, it would be nice if the officer had had a taser. Then this kid would be alive to give his side of the story. I wonder whether that’s allowed in his department, given the outcry against police having them?

 

[Holly3278]

Wow. It sounds to me like the officer felt threatened. I also wonder whether or not the student was on any kind of drugs?

 

[Rich_Olszewski]

In Alabama, where this incident occurred, they’re full peace officers with complete authority to act anywhere in the state. They’re directed by statute to act only with respect to their particular university, unless (among other things) the crime is committed in their presence – in which case they’re just a regular police officer, like any other.

But, they don’t get the full training that a real police officer gets. They’re just Mall cops and no more.

 

[pnewton]

But, they don’t get the full training that a real police officer gets. They’re just Mall cops and no more.

This is not always true. Here, campus police are as much police as any other agency. Same training.

 

[AnastasiaRomano]

Wow. It sounds to me like the officer felt threatened. I also wonder whether or not the student was on any kind of drugs?

I’d say that’s a definite possibility, if the reports are accurate that he was shot in the chest and still got up and was charging the officer. PCP maybe, or bath salts – who knows. Either of those can cause some crazy highs, increasing your body temperature and making you unable to feel pain (which corresponds to the story that he got up again after being shot in the chest).

Note the “if” in my first sentence – there’s still an investigation going on, as well there should be. Campus police often aren’t as well trained, etc., depending on the area, so perhaps the campus officer reacted wrongly because of a lack of training. There reportedly is security camera footage of the event, which will help get to the bottom of what really happened.

 

[Orogeny]

CNN:

“Officer safety” anyone?

Stories like this are, sadly, not uncommon and it sounds to me like police receive very poor training in how to deal with “erratic” behavior. People can act bizarrely not only due to intoxication but also due to mental illness or other medical conditions.

Elite police teams like hostage rescue get extensive “shoot/don’t shoot” training – apparently not so for regular street cops.

It is true that most police officers don’t receive that training, but, let me ask you - can a person with a mental illness be dangerous, even to the point of killing an officer? Is there any situation where an officer with the proper training has to use deadly force to stop a mentally ill person?

I ask that because there seems to be an assumption that a mentally ill person isn’t dangerous, just sick, and proper training by the officer will prevent an escalation to the point of having to use deadly force. I have no doubt that many or maybe even most cases that is true, but it seems to me that you can be just as dead if you are killed by a mentally ill person as you can if you are killed by someone who is not mentally ill.

This comment is not directed to this specific incident because I don’t know the details, but more of a general comment regarding law enforcement and mentally ill people.

Peace

Tim

 

[pnewton]

I also wonder whether or not the student was on any kind of drugs?

It sounds a little like excited delirium. A lot of these folks get naked on a drug mixture because their body goes into a runaway heat cycle. The nudity and walking toward the gun pointed at him suggests this. If this was happening, his chance to live was not all that great. Even with immediate medical help, cardiac arrest can happen.

When I read of stories like this, I am reminded of all the efforts to ban Tazers. This has proven successful in some cases where agencies have been pressured by concerned citizens into giving up Tazers. Here we see one of the trade-offs.

 

[Mickey_Finn]

This was a tragedy. But, we’ll have to wait for the autopsy to hopefully get some answers about the victims state of mind.

In all honesty, these types of events happen fairly often. Generally they don’t attack the police station, and are handled by the Fire department and EMS. Taken down, restrained, and transported. The police, stand by, and follow to the hospital to issue tickets.

Five people is the smallest number which you can do this safely. For a fellow alone, and without help.

I wouldn’t want to be in his/her shoe’s.

ATB

 

[maryjk]

These aren’t even regular street cops. Campus police are just glorified mall cops with jurisdiction limited to the campus grounds and I can’t understand why they would be allowed firearms.

But, they don’t get the full training that a real police officer gets. They’re just Mall cops and no more.

I don’t know about University of South Alabama, but for the University of Alabama and for Auburn University (in Alabama), they both have “real” police. For UA, they have their own force but are armed and fully trained. Auburn uses the same police that the city of Auburn uses. The city and the university joined forces just a few years ago.

 

[AnastasiaRomano]

Update:

The local sheriff’s office says the victim had taken LSD before the shooting:

foxnews.com/us/2012/10/09/police-say-alabama-student-took-lsd-before-was-shot-by-officer/?test=latestnews

 

[rlg94086]

What a doubly sad situation. It is sad for the family of the young man who died in such an ignoble condition. It is also sad for the officer to have had to discharge his firearm for his own safety and be branded a “mall cop” by those who are ignorant of his position and training.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

These aren’t even regular street cops. Campus police are just glorified mall cops with jurisdiction limited to the campus grounds and I can’t understand why they would be allowed firearms.

That’s not true everywhere. In fact, in many states they are regular police whose jurisdiction is the university. Maybe in Ohio it is different. It could be a regional thing. I would check with your local schools though to see.

And in this case, the officer was a regular cop.

 

[DaveBj]

This is not always true. Here, campus police are as much police as any other agency. Same training.

I believe it’s the same at our local college. The new chief of the campus police force is a former multi-term sheriff of the county.

That said, I cannot vouch one way or the other for the level of training of this particular officer. However, I really can’t see the need for a firearm against a naked, unarmed man.

 

[Godfollower]

I believe it’s the same at our local college. The new chief of the campus police force is a former multi-term sheriff of the county.

That said, I cannot vouch one way or the other for the level of training of this particular officer. However, I really can’t see the need for a firearm against a naked, unarmed man.

What about a naked, unarmed man who’s so crazy he’s charging a police officer pointing a gun at him, even after the police officer has retreated several times?

 

[Sarabande]

This is not always true. Here, campus police are as much police as any other agency. Same training.

Same with the campus police at my university. I attended university in a notoriously dangerous part of the city where it was normal to hear gunshots outside of the campus in the evenings. ( It is an excellent university, just the area stinks.) So, they had to have a well-trained police force within the campus. They are actually considered one of the best police forces in the city and I always felt safe around them.

In regards to the OP, why didn’t the police officer have a taser? I’ve seen them used effectively enough on someone who was completely tripped out on drugs and really violent until back up arrived to physically subdue him.

 

[fix]

What a doubly sad situation. It is sad for the family of the young man who died in such an ignoble condition. It is also sad for the officer to have had to discharge his firearm for his own safety and be branded a “mall cop” by those who are ignorant of his position and training.

Well said. It is too bad the first thoughts people have is about training and what weapon was used. The real issue is that some person used LSD and attacked some person. What if he attacked a person with no gun and killed him? The blame must go to the person shot. They are responsible for this entire situation. It is sad and could have been prevented.

 

[maryjk]

Well said. It is too bad the first thoughts people have is about training and what weapon was used. The real issue is that some person used LSD and attacked some person. What if he attacked a person with no gun and killed him? The blame must go to the person shot. They are responsible for this entire situation. It is sad and could have been prevented.

And not just one person.

Mobile County Sheriff Sam Cochran said at a news conference that 18-year-old Gil Collar took the potent hallucinogen during a music festival Saturday** before assaulting two people in vehicles and attempting to bite a woman’s arm.**

Read more: foxnews.com/us/2012/10/09/police-say-alabama-student-took-lsd-before-was-shot-by-officer/?test=latestnews#ixzz28uR0Ctj0

So he assaulted two people and attempted to assault another. THEN went on to confront a police officer.

 

[fix]

And not just one person.

So he assaulted two people and attempted to assault another. THEN went on to confront a police officer.

Wow.

And what if he attacked a non police officer with a gun? The person who stopped him would be charged and perhaps end up in jail. All because some person took a drug and caused problems.