They BOTH reached for the GUN!

if the guy had rabies i could see this as justified. he did not however.

Sharon Stone would have wasted 'em.

Lesson? Don't give trigger happy cops a reason to shoot.

Dumbass.

I don't understand what you have a problem with. If you reach for a cop's gun, you have about a 100% chance of being killed. Duh.

I'm guessing that the "he reached for my gun" was an excuse thought up after the fact.

*If* you reach for a gun...

I'm not surprised they killed him...I am surprised they got the right address

I have a problem with armed personnel knocking on people's doors looking for marijuana, personally. The story here's a little weak on details, and it'll likely stay that way. "Tim"'s account of this incident will not be making it into the record. The journalist didn't mention whether the cops were serving a warrant or not.

It's a valid point to make that people shouldn't go grabbing for cops' guns. It will land you in a grave. It's just very hard to imagine a stoner trying to make a grab of that kind.

Thanks. Now I have the line "Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes they both, oh yes they both, oh yes they both reached for the gun, the gun, the gun, the gun, oh yes they both reached for the gun, for the gun" stuck in my head.

Well, "dead men tell no tales" and all. Sometimes that can be pretty - ahem - convenient.

@5 there are three potential problems:

1) we cannot get the other side of the story; did he reach for the gun?

2) shot as he tried to reach for the gun... so he didn't even get the gun. it didn't accidentally go off. they shot him because he went for a gun. were there no other options?

3) do we really think searching for pot should result in a death, ever? when the victim is unarmed? should we think about different tactics for cases like this? was there even any pot found?

we need more details before we can say this is just or unjust. police work is difficult, and they sometimes have to shoot to protect themselves. i am okay with this. that does not change the fact that when such an unfortunate event occurs i will want to get all the details to make sure one of the largest breaches of justice didn't occur. especially since it has happened before that well-meaning officers have stretched the truth to cover a mistake or because they felt what they did was right.

this dealer could be a vile man who deserved what he got. or he could be a minor criminal who did not deserve the death penalty.

@10 - Same here. Damn you, Holden!

Meanwhile, in Canada, more people smoke MJ every day and the GDP rises, while ours plummets ...

Hmmm.

Why are we locking them up again?

Rotten666: Did it ever occur to you that the pig is making up the whole "he reached for my gun" story? Are you that credulous?

Can we end this stupid fucking war on drugs already?

Memo to cops: If some dude lunges forward at your gun, put one of your fancy cop boots square on his face or jump out of the way. No need for murder!

I know everyone talks about how much worse off we'd be if police in this country didn't have guns, but stories like this don't really support that line of thinking.

remembered as a helpful man who always had a smile on his face,

Sure, because he was a happy pothead.

Write Congress and tell them to legalize pot now, before more helpful smiling men are killed in their homes