December 7, 2007
Videos Released In APD's Fatal East Austin Shooting
"Please turn me over," Brown asks repeatedly from the distant background of the grainy video. His last request falls on deaf ears. "I'm gonna die," he says to the officer who shot him. The cop in question, Sgt. Michael Olsen, was fired November 28th for unnecessarily shooting Brown in the back, and then, again firing into Brown's back as he lay face-down on the ground. The June 3rd shooting occurred near the now defunct 12th Street after-hours hang-out and police magnet, Chester's Nightclub.
None of the patrol car videos capture the actual shooting and Sgt. Olsen's audio also apparently fails after he chases Brown out of the camera's view. The available audio comes from Officer Michael Chancellor and his partner who only arrive on the scene after the shooting.
Along with what Police Chief Art Acevedo has called "avoidable excessive force," Sgt.Olsen has admitted to losing his temper several times that evening and even "chewing-out" a driver whose music was too loud for Olsen's tastes. Video and audio of that incident is also unavailable. It has somehow been erased.
According to the Austin Chronicle, Sgt. Olsen had the honesty to tell his superiors that he "wouldn't slow down, even after knowing that he shot a citizen who was not armed at the time that he pulled the trigger," before his termination. But he is fighting to continue "To Protect And Serve" the Austin community. Appeals have worked in other cases where APD officers have been terminated. In this high-profile case, though, it seems that Olsen's appeal is likely to have tough times ahead.
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Was Sgt. Olsen a transfer from HPD by any chance? If not, he should definitely consider a transfer to Houston, where his preferred tactics would likely be better received.
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Or he could work for Cobra Commander. He'd do well there, too.
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"The cop in question, Sgt. Michael Olsen, was fired November 28th for unnecessarily shooting Brown in the back..."
Actually, that is not correct. Olsen was let go for firing the second shot. According to the Statesman,"He [Chief Acevedo] said it was conceivable that the first shot that struck Brown, hitting him in the back, may have been within Police Department policy..."
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/11/29/1129olsen.html
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It may have been within police policy and it may not have been.
Had he made any attempt to follow proper procedure and had he only shot Brown in the back one time we would still be in this mess, but the Police might do more to try to exonerate their fellow officer rather than let him twist in the wind like this.
The article also states Olsen "showed a lack of common sense and failed to follow his training in the moments before/b> the June 3 shooting, including not waiting for backup to investigate whether Kevin Brown had a gun outside Chester's nightclub on East 12th Street."
All in all, a terrible tragedy that should not ever have happened.
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murderer!!!!
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One thing is for CERTAIN, Sgt. Olsen>>>>I mean "Olsen" will have his date in court with the Almighty GOD... Oh I forget, he doesn't even know HIM like that... His "awful" date will be like that of a: Conference call. Looks like you will have some back up lying to do this day too buddy, Oh you can run but you won't be able to hide because the GOD I know is going to put you on BLAST! Unfortunately, you won't get to say howdy, howdy to Kevin. Mercy is what you will have to ask of the LORD on your day. What! a lier you were to have said Kevin had a gun; was he running and shooting at your ass at the same time>>>>NO! of course NOT!the fact that he ran was because he probably felt as though he had to keep running from someone as BIGOTED as yourself; he was running for his safety purposes...It's really, really hard to trust the Police force of today, for they appear to have many anger mgmnt issues as well as low to NO!!! coping skills AT ALLLLL!!!!! TO all of my African-American brothers and sisters lets STOP!!! the violence against one another, teach your children, and grandchildren to LOVE one another and to always lift one another up! White America
still claims to have the "Upper handle" BUT! I beg to differ. Peace and nothing but...