July 6, 2006

TRIGGER HAPPY COPS KILL TWO MEN IN TWO STATES




Police officer kills driver after fighting over noisy car stereo


LAS VEGAS (AP) — A police officer killed a motorist on the crowded Las Vegas Strip after a dispute over the driver's noisy car stereo.


Police Capt. James Dillon said the man defied an order from two bicycle officers late Tuesday to turn his stereo down, then drove off with one officer hanging onto his car. His vehicle collided with a taxi and hit a pole, knocking the officer unconscious.


The other officer fired once, killing the driver, Dillon said. The Strip was crowded with visitors at the time, and one gave a videotape to KLAS-TV that showed officers pulling the man from his car and handcuffing him near the Bally's, Bellagio, Caesar's Palace and Flamingo casinos.


It was the 18th shooting involving a Las Vegas police officer this year -- a sharp increase from 13 reported in all of 2005. he motorist's identity was not immediately released.




R.I. police kill shoplifting suspect as he flees with 5-year-old daughter



NORTH SMITHFIELD, R.I. (AP) — Police on Sunday shot and killed a man suspected of shoplifting from a grocery store as he tried to flee in a minivan with his 5-year-old daughter, authorities said.


The officer opened fire after being struck by the suspect's minivan, according to a statement from police Chief Steven Reynolds. Store security at the Stop & Shop supermarket called police at about 2:15 p.m. to report a shoplifter who had just left the store with another man. The responding officer confronted the suspect in the parking lot. The suspect, identified as James Wilcox, 34, of Pawtucket, struck the officer as he tried to flee in his vehicle.


The officer, whose name was not released, fired one shot that struck Wilcox in the stomach, police said. Wilcox was pronounced dead on arrival at Rhode Island Hospital. The officer was treated and released. State child welfare officials were called to the scene to take care of the girl. It was unclear if she was injured and whether the officer knew she was in the vehicle.


The other man, Carl Dinsmore, 45, of Cranston, was apprehended nearby. Wilcox and Dinsmore both have criminal records with outstanding warrants, police said. The officer who fired the fatal shot has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation into the shooting. Rhode Island State Police are handling the investigation.



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