Cops Arrest Man for Pointing Banana at Them, Say They Feared For Their Safety

Darren Wilson avoided indictment, like many
police officers involved in fatal shootings do, in large part
because he claimed to fear for his safety. Cops almost universally
make this claim after a shooting, and it almost always helps in
avoiding any criminal charges. This claim by cops that they fear
for their safety has become such a go-to claim it was even
made by a 300 pound probation officer in Georgia who shot a
12-pound Jack Russell terrier. That officer also insisted he gave
the dog “verbal commands” before shooting.

But officers in Colorado this week may have provided the
clearest example of how the claim of “officer safety” is used to
cover for police abuse. The Daily Sentinel reports that
police arrested a man from Fruitvale, Colorado, for allegedly
pointing a banana in them as if it were a gun.
Via the Sentinel:

The deputies, Joshua Bunch and Donald Love, said they feared for
their safety when the man, 27-year-old Nathan Rolf Channing,
pointed a banana at them while crossing the 29 Road bridge on foot,
according to Channing’s arrest affidavit.

Both deputies said they saw that the “gun” was yellow, but
feared for their lives nonetheless, the affidavit says.

“I immediately ducked in my patrol car and accelerated
continuing northbound, fearing that it was a weapon,” Bunch wrote
in the affidavit, which lists Love and him as victims. “Based on
training and experience, I have seen handguns in many shapes and
colors and perceived this to be a handgun.”

Channing was jailed for “felony menacing.” Time to start

raising IQ standards perhaps. Happy Thanksgiving.