On Monday, two Denver police officers opened fire on a car full of teenagers in a reported stolen car, killing 17-year-old lesbian driver Jessica Hernandez.
The officers told the unarmed teens repeatedly to exit the car, and shots were fired after police contend Hernandez then used the car as a weapon to attack one of the officers.
Denver Police Chief Robert White said in a press conference Wednesday:
“At some point, the original officer that responded to the scene, the vehicle started driving toward him, which pretty much had him between a car and a brick wall and a fence. Out of fear for his safety, he fired several shots and the other officer also fired several shots.”
The Denver Post reports that the shooting is the fourth time in seven months that officers have shot drivers of cars they claim are being used as weapons.
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One of the officers was indeed struck by the car, though a parent of one of the other teens in the car is claiming that he was injured only after shots were fired and Hernandez lost control of the car.
White is urging people to wait for facts.
“The investigation will show exactly what happened,” he said. “Let’s wait and see what happens in the investigation.”
None of the other four teens in the car were injured, and none are being tried on charges related to the stolen vehicle.
Family and friends of Jessica, who went by Jessie, gathered to memorialize her, making reference to the fact that she was openly gay and had a girlfriend.
The Denver District Attorney is conducting a full investigation into the circumstances of Hernandez’s death.
vive
“”The investigation will show exactly what happened,” he said.”
Yeah right. They are investigating their friends. There is never any doubt what the outcome will be.
In the worst case, even if the car was going at him (doubtful), if he had time to draw his gun and shoot then he had time to jump out of the way instead.
SnakeyJ
@vive: Vive: if someone is attacking the cop with a car, it’s not a matter of moving out of the way. This kind of behaviour means the driver is irrational and possibly a danger to anyone in their way, including the people in the car. I don’t know what the investigation will show, but automatically blaming the police is not helping relations between police and civilians. There are some bad cops, but there are bad civilians as well. We don’t know what’s going on until the investigation is finished.
tdx3fan
If she would have gotten out of the car and complied with the officer told her to do she might very well be alive, just as the majority of these cases. They also happen to non-minorities (but we never hear about it then). The simple solution is simple. If you comply with the police you will probably not get shot. Imagine that. We used to teach our kids to respect authority instead of questioning it, and the result was that we did not bury one kid every other day.
Stache99
Allot of questions here. Like why would you use your car as a weapon on guys that carry guns? If he really was that stupid then I guess it was just meant to be. Call it suicide by cops.
Sounds like the cop over reacted and shot the driver who subsequently lost control of the car and bam bam bam.
I also agree with tdx3fan that the driver had some responsibility here too.
jckfmsincty
@tdx3fan: Police should be trained to deal with non-compliant citizens instead of shooting them for what they interpret as rude behaviors.
barkomatic
Believe it or not, there are gay and lesbian people who commit crimes–we aren’t always the victims but occasionally the perpetrators. We’ll see what the investigation shows, and if the officers acted inappropriately then they should be punished. However, too many people are too quick to judge when all the facts aren’t known.
lauraspencer
Very sad story.
1. The car was stolen
2. Hernandez didn’t exit the car after being instructed to do so
3. Hernandez used the car as a weapon
If she didn’t steal a car, disobey the police and not try to run them down she would be alive.
Police officers have family and friends and are trained to make quick decisions in dire situations. If I was a cop and knew my family was home waiting for me and my life was at risk by a criminal I would also react quickly.
It is more important to me that a police officer be safe than someone who has committed a crime. If the car was never stolen this situation would have never occurred.
Obey the law. It’s that simple.
NoCagada
@jckfmsincty: Very true. I agree. However, being chased down by a car is NOT “rude behavior”. Legally, it’s intent to harm or KILL. I’m not saying that is what she did but if it is…that does NOT qualify as “rude behavior”.
vive
@SnakeyJ, @tdx3fan, the police are simply not well trained. It is not their job to execute people who don’t comply.
American suspects are 20 times more likely to be killed by police than British suspects. (And no country has more hooligans than Britain.) This clearly shows that the American police are doing their job wrong.
Charlie in Charge
Worth noting from this article: http://thefreethoughtproject.com/beloved-16-year-girl-killed-denver-police/
“video which was sent to the Denver Post allegedly shows the officers moving her limp, silent, and motionless body around like a rag-doll and searching her as she bled out. The officers proceeded to handcuff her body before any medical attention was given to the high school student.”
This is not appropriate behavior for our police to engage in.
polarisfashion
The police have the job of stopping crime and enforcement of the laws. How exactly do you stop a car thief while they are coming right at you? Shoot the driver, shoot the engine, shoot the tires, all of the above? I’m glad I’m not a cop because I don’t want to deal with the dark side of society.Until people stop breaking the law, we need to have cops that do their job!
transiteer
Sometimes, it is exactly what the Police say it is. And as tragic as this is, if true, you didn’t need to be gay to be this dumb in threatening others who were armed. The Police have every right to defend themselves. I don’t see this as a gay story. I see it as a tragedy brought on by the teens in the car (supposing this version true). A little sense would’ve prevented it – starting with stealing the car.
jason smeds
Police should NOT be allowed to investigate police. It’s a conflict of interest.
And after the shootings of unarmed civilians in recent times, you have to wonder whether the police have become trigger-happy. They seem to be using their fire-arms as a first resort instead of the last resort it should be.
Aggression levels seem to be high amongst the police forces. I’m not saying they don’t have a tough job – indeed, they have one of the toughest jobs out there. However, any use of lethal force by police should be investigated by an independent body, and NOT by other police.
vive
@polarisfashion, sorry but you are logically challenged.
EXPLAIN TO ME HOW IS A BULLET GOING TO STOP A MOVING CAR?
How about jumping out of the way instead of playing cowboys and Indians?
SnakeyJ
@vive: British police do not carry guns, routinely, so the comparison is not fair.
murray
I happened to be in Denver when this happened. Turns out, this girl had JUST gotten out of jail for stealing a different car, when she stole this one and this shooting occurred. So before all the tears are shed, we need to hear what else she has been involved in.
Her mother, who did not speak English, said she knew the daughter was having issues and did nothing.
There is more to come on this story. My feeling is if you have a history with the cops, as this girl did, then you usually play a large part in its outcome.
polarisfashion
@vive: A bullet can stop or slow a car down. Its very hard to drive a car with flat tires, it will still move, just not very fast. Also bullets can damage an engine by severing wires and hoses or damaging the radiator which is right in the front. There are police chase videos on YouTube showing this. As far as jumping out of the way, that would allow the theives to escape so is that what you want? This girl’s death is tragic but she would still be alive today if she didn’t break the law, its that simple.
Merv
I don’t have a lot of sympathy for car thieves, especially if they’re not first time offenders.
Aires the Ram
Fact: car thief (not the 1st time)
Fact: was ordered by police to cease and desist, and did not
Fact: was ordered to get out of car, did not
Fact: after all this, aimed car at officer(s) up against a building wall with intent to harm/kill
Rule: do not steal cars (it’s against the LAW)
Rule: when police order you to cease and desist, cease and desist
Rule: when police order you to get out of the car, get out of the car
Rule: do not attempt to harm or kill a police officer (or anyone for that matter)
She brought on her own death, having had several chances to avoid it.
I’m more worried about the police officer with the bad leg now, than I am about a dead thug with no respect for the law.
Realitycheck
I agree, she stole, she don’t deserve any sympathy, she did try to kill some one by running them over with a car, the victim has 100% the right to defend and protect himself in any possible way.
She asked for it, and most likely “if” she was still alive, her life would be filled
with more crimes and assaults of innocent people.
By the way, the article title is deceiving, she was armed with a moving car,
anything used as a weapon is a weapon.
onthemark
Sounds like a girl who spent wa-a-a-y too much time watching movies. She should have known better because in the movies you only get killed early on if you’re black.
@jason smeds: But OMG, Hell has frozen over – “jason smeds” actually MAKES SENSE…
Yes, this seems a very basic point to me. We don’t allow medical malpractice claims, for instance, to be investigated only by doctors, let alone only by the doctors who are directly involved. We have civilians in control of the military – even the Sec’y of Defense is required by law to have been a civilian for at least ten years.
Why is it such a bad thing even to suggest that there be civilian oversight of what the taxpayer-funded police do?
And if they did nothing wrong, they should have nothing to be afraid of. But somehow they always are.
MarionPaige
There is a scene in the movie Soylent Green in which a man is shooting at Charlton Heston and, every shot that misses Heston hits someone else (because the room is so crowded). Up until that point, that I know of, shots that missed their targets in movies just went out into nowhere. Soylent Green was the first movie that highlighted the stupidity of firing a f-king gun in a crowded area – i.e., the shot is definitely going to hit something, if it misses the intended target. ALSO,
In case y’all haven’t noticed, police abuses that were common years ago in the south (by cops abusing Blacks) has now seeped its way into White-dom. One commenter noted in re The kids For Cash Scandal in PENNSYLVANIA that the criminal justice system’s abuses of White Suburban kids was the kind of abuses you read about against Blacks in the South in the 50’s and 60’s. IN OTHER WORDS,
The beast that feasted on minorities is now so big and massive that minorities alone can’t possibly satiate it.
MarionPaige
In re gov’t oversight of the police … I did temp work for a law firm that handled civil complaints against the police (to determine if the complaints were credible). As should be obvious, the contract to process civilian complaints against the police means a lot of money to whatever law firm gets the contract. In other words, the law firm that is awarded the contract to process civilian complaints against the police is not likely to find a whole lot of police abuses – not if it wants to keep its big contract.
The founding fathers anticipated the possibility that Government could become so corrupt that The State itself could be a threat to the people. THIS IS THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS.
onthemark
Auggggh… a comment thread where I agree with both jason smeds and MarionPaige… this can’t be real… been in the house too long… the snow is getting to me, maybe the snow has blocked a vent and it’s carbon monoxide poisoning… Cthulhu… Ia-R’yleh! Cthulhu fhtagn! Ph-nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’yleh wgah’nagl fthtagn!
doug105
San Francisco public defender arrested outside courtroom for defending her client
ttp://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/01/29/1360890/-San-Francisco-public-defender-arrested-outside-courtroom-for-defending-her-client-VIDEO
Sorry, but any faith I had in the police has been in a steady decline the last 5 years or so.
Alan down in Florida
“which pretty much had him between a car and a brick wall and fence. If he had jumped out of the way the car would have hit the brick wall and the driver would likely not have gotten away.
That being said, the fact that the young girl was a lesbian was irrelevant to the entire incident. She was a lawbreaker caught in the act.
Billysees
@tdx3fan:
“The simple solution is simple. If you comply with the police you will probably not get shot. Imagine that. We used to teach our kids to respect authority instead of questioning it, and the result was that we did not bury one kid every other day.”
Excellent analysis. I remember learning to respect authority ‘and’ the police. We never had any problem.
Can I throw a verse in here, “…whoever looks for trouble will surely find it….Pro 11:27
Billysees
@tdx3fan:
“The simple solution is simple. If you comply with the police you will probably not get shot. Imagine that. We used to teach our kids to respect authority instead of questioning it, and the result was that we did not bury one kid every other day.”
Excellent analysis. I remember learning to respect authority and the police. We never had any problem.
Can I throw a verse in here, “…whoever looks for trouble will surely find it….Pro 11:27
Kangol
As soon as I saw the headline and then the picture, I knew that if this were not a black teenager shot dead by cops, it had to be a latinx.
And sure enough, this queer latinx was shot dead by cops. RIP, Jessica Hernandez.
Oh, and to the people who keep saying that “if you comply with cops you won’t get shot,” just keep in mind that they still beat, taser and kill black and latinx people who do comply. It’s not as simple as “comply” and everything will be fine.
Just look what that Seattle r@cist cop Whitlach did to that elderly African American veteran. Had her lies not be challenged by the videotape she might have gotten away with them. It happens all the time.
Cee
Who cares if she was gay? This isn’t a hate crime.
News flash. Gay people die too!
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Just can’t seem to conjure up any sympathy for this one simply because she was Gay…………
Cops never know just who is going to turn and put the officer’s life in danger. They must be hyper vigilant in these situations. Sure there are bad cops out there but 99.999% of the time if you comply with their orders you ain’t gonna wind up dead or wounded. Its pretty simple math and the odds are on your side to comply…..
Jacob23
In contrast to amoral trans activists who celebrate and defend transgenders who commit all manner of violent crime, LGB people do not mindlessly support people simply because they are “one of us.” We look at who was in the right and who was in the wrong, and that is determined from the facts.
In this case, we don’t yet have all the facts needed to make a firm determination, but one thing stands out: Both sides agree that the car was moving *after* the police ordered it stopped. The cops say that it was moving b/c the driver was using it as a weapon. The Hernandez family also says that it was moving, but contend that it struck an officer b/c the Hernandez lost control after being shot. So in the best case, Hernandez ignored orders by multiple police officers to stop, and instead kept driving, which is a reckless thing to do. It may turn out that the shooting was not justified, but clearly Hernandez created an extremely dangerous situation.
Uncv1
I live in Denver and what this article doesn’t share is that the this took place in an narrow ally with very little room on both sides. There wasn’t much room on both sides of the car to get out of the way if she was driving toward the officer. I agree with everyone- cops ask you to stop, you stop. My partner teaches at the elementary school where she attended. He said this girl has had a history of being in trouble most of her life and a family that was always I turmoil. It’s very sad for any parent to lose a child, but don’t cry foul when you haven’t been there for your child for years.
Random
@Uncv1: But just because she was shot and killed at the wheel, that wouldn’t automatically have stopped the car heading towards the officer, so if it did occur in a narrow alley, it doesn’t seem like the wisest move on the part of the police.
JayHobeSound
At first, the shooting of a driver allegedly trying to hit a cop with a vehicle seems reasonable.
However, since this happened in Denver, one must carefully scrutinise the shooting officer’s actions and statement. Numerous DPD officers have been caught lying under oath over the last decade. FYI lying on a sworn police report is the same as lying under oath on the witness stand. IMO, a lying cop is a dishonourable cop and deserves to lose his/her job on the first offense.
Denver is notorious for systemic officer miscoduct and have been under federal orders to reform.
JayHobeSound
@PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS: You have no gag reflex for the police. Wipe your chin, you missed a drop. Cheers.