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Autopsy reveals Debian founder committed suicide

theregister.co.uk

61–70 of 114 posts

Re: Autopsy reveals Debian founder committed suicide

#61

> Your offensive inaccurate slavery imagery notwithstanding. Offensive, but, given two PoC shot dead in 48 hours by police, certainly not unfounded. Racism is deeply embedded in (US) police, and it deserves to be called out. > it seems plausible that he did assault officers, and that they did have a right to use force against him to end that assault Funny enough, British cops don't (need to) carry guns. German cops c…

> Offensive, but, given two PoC shot dead in 48 hours by police, certainly not unfounded. > Racism is deeply embedded in (US) police, and it deserves to be called out. Ian Murdock is white. This isn't a "PoC" issue, and the colloquial slavery expressions are out of place and offensive. Yes, racism is an issue with US police, but it is unrelated to this occurrence and to this conversation. And secondly, Ian was violen…

> Ian was violently attempting to break into a neighbor's apartment by bashing down the front door.

That is simply not correct.

Re: Autopsy reveals Debian founder committed suicide

#62

> Your offensive inaccurate slavery imagery notwithstanding. Offensive, but, given two PoC shot dead in 48 hours by police, certainly not unfounded. Racism is deeply embedded in (US) police, and it deserves to be called out. > it seems plausible that he did assault officers, and that they did have a right to use force against him to end that assault Funny enough, British cops don't (need to) carry guns. German cops c…

> Offensive, but, given two PoC shot dead in 48 hours by police, certainly not unfounded. > Racism is deeply embedded in (US) police, and it deserves to be called out. Ian Murdock is white. This isn't a "PoC" issue, and the colloquial slavery expressions are out of place and offensive. Yes, racism is an issue with US police, but it is unrelated to this occurrence and to this conversation. And secondly, Ian was violen…

> And secondly, Ian was violently attempting to break into a neighbor's apartment by bashing down the front door. What exactly do you think should happen in such an instance? I'll tell you what I'd do -- I'd want the police to come as quickly as possible and deal with it, using whatever force is necessary to stop the in-progress home invasion, because if an intruder breaks through my door I have no choice but to shoot them until they're stopped, and I don't want that on my conscience. I don't have the skills or training to determine between mentally deranged people and killers, nor could I effectively or safely use non-lethal methods of self-defense.

Jesus fucking christ.

Here's what I did when a burglar Climbed up scaffolding on the building next door, climbed onto my roof, kicked a roof-access hatch in and gained entrance to my loft space.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9871331

No killing needed.

Re: Autopsy reveals Debian founder committed suicide

#63
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Going 'tit for tat' on people that carry weapons and are totally within their rights of using them on you when you go 'tit for tat' seems like a career limiting move to me.

There is a lot of space between doing nothing, or filing a complaint that gets thrown in a wastebasket, and having a lynching. Why, for example, don't we have in-depth media coverage of the cops who did these killings? What are their backgrounds? Do they have a history of extralegal violence? What are their community connections, and do those have anything to do with them not having been arrested for, at least, mansl…

Some officer-involved homicides do attract increased scrutiny of the officers:

Darren Wilson (Michael Brown): http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/08/10/the-cop

Daniel Pantaleo (Eric Garner): http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/daniel-pantaleo-fatal-ch...

Timothy Loehmann (Tamir Rice): http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/01/timothy_loe...

Peter Liang (Akai Gurley): http://nypost.com/2016/02/04/partner-reveals-why-he-didnt-tr...

Re: Autopsy reveals Debian founder committed suicide

#64
post #4

I'm surprised the article didn't mention it, but check out the last page of the autopsy. They found chlordiazepoxide, diazepam, temazepam, and oxazepam in his bloodstream, which could have had some terrible interactions with alcohol. This sounds more to me like a drug overdose that caused a psychological episode than just the alcohol-fueled suicide they make it out to be. Very strange.

It seems everyone is a forensic medical professional now. Did anyone actually read the report?

From the medical examiner: "I received and reviewed the Toxicology Report. The findings do not change my opinion regarding the cause and manner of death."

Re: Autopsy reveals Debian founder committed suicide

#65
post #9

The suicide is tragic. However, no one seems to have investigated the police beatings he alleges he received the day before he died: "They beat the shit out of me twice," he says. Just look at the autopsy report under "BLUNT FORCE INJURIES" for all the bruises: https://regmedia.co.uk/2016/07/07/ian_murdock.pdf#page=10 The autopsy reports alcohol and sedative drugs, and friends and family report that he was breaking u…

Yeah i can't help but think he was having a bad time, went a bit deep in the bottle, and the cops, rather than picking him up and getting him home safely, curb stomped him, thus exasperating the situation.

This is the humanity that seems to be all but missing in police training. s/exasperating/exacerbating

Re: Autopsy reveals Debian founder committed suicide

#66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No one takes four different benzos at once unless they've got a specific outcome in mind.

Thats simply false. Benzodiazepines are addictive, build a quick tolerance, and they destroy judgement. You can no more predict a heavy recreational benzo users's night than you can predict what someone will do blacked out on ambien or alcohol.

I've been addicted to benzos (since recovered) and know many others who have been too, so I'm intimately aware of their addictive nature and rapid tolerance. Saying they "destroy" judgment is a bit hyperbolic though.

In any event we're all speculating. But I seriously doubt anything about this was accidental, even if the benzos were recreational. The drugs didn't kill him. The hanging did.

Re: Autopsy reveals Debian founder committed suicide

#67
post #60
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is moronic. Even if you believe that all police are bad actors, it doesn't make any sense that they would be randomly attacking Murdock as he described. Is it impossible? No. Is it far, far less likely than Murdock having a psychotic break and lapsing into paranoia and confusion? Yes.

enjoy that illusion... one day you will meet the police and think back .. hopefully you remember and feel at least a bit ashamed

Attitudes like yours are unhelpful. If all police are fundamentally evil, then there can be no conversation about how to fix the problems with police abuses. If all police are not fundamentally evil, then people like you poison the well and make it more difficult to discuss and maybe fix some of the problems. If all police are fundamentally evil, then people like you are wasting everyone's time anyway. Either way, you're not helpful.

Re: Autopsy reveals Debian founder committed suicide

#68
post #63
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a lot of space between doing nothing, or filing a complaint that gets thrown in a wastebasket, and having a lynching. Why, for example, don't we have in-depth media coverage of the cops who did these killings? What are their backgrounds? Do they have a history of extralegal violence? What are their community connections, and do those have anything to do with them not having been arrested for, at least, mansl…

Some officer-involved homicides do attract increased scrutiny of the officers: Darren Wilson (Michael Brown): http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/08/10/the-cop Daniel Pantaleo (Eric Garner): http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/daniel-pantaleo-fatal-ch... Timothy Loehmann (Tamir Rice): http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/01/timothy_loe... Peter Liang (Akai Gurley): http://nypost.com/2016/02/04/partner-rev…

That's a good start. Until we have first-world performance levels the reputational hit from beating, much less killing, people should be enough to to prevent that cop from continuing to work as a cop, and to force the PD to institute the training and reform needed to prevent that happening with other cops.

Re: Autopsy reveals Debian founder committed suicide

#69
post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Offensive, but, given two PoC shot dead in 48 hours by police, certainly not unfounded. > Racism is deeply embedded in (US) police, and it deserves to be called out. Ian Murdock is white. This isn't a "PoC" issue, and the colloquial slavery expressions are out of place and offensive. Yes, racism is an issue with US police, but it is unrelated to this occurrence and to this conversation. And secondly, Ian was violen…

> And secondly, Ian was violently attempting to break into a neighbor's apartment by bashing down the front door. What exactly do you think should happen in such an instance? I'll tell you what I'd do -- I'd want the police to come as quickly as possible and deal with it, using whatever force is necessary to stop the in-progress home invasion, because if an intruder breaks through my door I have no choice but to shoo…

Maybe different from a violent angry large man battering down your door just to get at you? Offers of tea are reputedly less effective in that case.

Re: Autopsy reveals Debian founder committed suicide

#70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No one takes four different benzos at once unless they've got a specific outcome in mind.

Thats simply false. Benzodiazepines are addictive, build a quick tolerance, and they destroy judgement. You can no more predict a heavy recreational benzo users's night than you can predict what someone will do blacked out on ambien or alcohol.

I had issues with stress and problems sleeping from university. I was prescribed benzo's, While they helped, before I knew it, I got addicted with a tolerance quickly. Breaking that addiction was one the worst experiences of my life. It would have been impossible without the support of my family.
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