Police shootings are really getting press coverage lately. First the New York case made national news; now a college student and alleged Playstation 3 thief was shot in the house he shared with roommates.

The original allegation:

“The sheriff said the robbery victim had waited three days in line to buy two Playstation 3 units for $641 each at a Wal-Mart. He was unloading the units at his campus apartment when one man beat him to the ground while another took the PlayStations, Causey said.”

When the police came, Strickland refused or at least hesitated to open the door, so the cops had to break in. Whatever happened then, Strickland and his German Shephard were dead before it was over.

I’ll say the same thing I said about the NYPD case: There are very few details available right now, so I have no opinion. The facts currently out could mean the shooting was entirely justified, or that something was handled very, very badly. If the police were wrong, they should be held accountable. They are currently on administrative leave.

A note of caution — the fact the boy turned out to be unarmed means absolutely nothing in terms of justification. The police were operating on the information available to them, and if the suspect went for his pocket or behaved threateningly, they could have reasonably believed he was armed and acted accordingly within proper procedure.

The family’s statement:

“Our son, Peyton, was a kind and gentle boy. He was generous, thoughtful and compassionate.He was deeply loved by us and adored by his two sisters and his extended family. Only 18, he had tremendous potential and was just coming into his own.

“We want to extend our appreciation to everyone who has reached out to us with expressions of love and support. We may well want to speak more about the circumstances of his tragic death, but we plan to devote the next few days to celebrating his life.”

Robert VerBruggen blogs at http://robertsrationale.blogspot.com.