Shelby County to pay for deputy's defense

The county might have ruled Chad a different way then what the court did, but who are they to say the court is wrong. If our county can not even back up our police force, than way should the police force back up the county? It seems this whole issuse is just about money, its always about money.

It's unfortunate that there is NO accountability anymore in city, state, or federal goverment(s) anymore and this is just another example of how no one is ever held to account as fudicaries for whatever position they hold .. then we wonder there is not as much respect for government anymore as it was when I was growing up.

Why do people run from the police? Maybe they are afraid that the police will shot them in the head for no reasson,Don't put your hands up when they approch your car,They'll say you were going for a gun and shot you.Lets get real,the police scare us,they have clubs,guns,dogs and mase and we are guilty in there eyes before we ever get our day in court.Try talking to a cop,they all have an attitude like there better then all of us.The police are treated like celebrities,There are allwe's innocent and buy there way out of everything.

To the Reverend M. T. Leonard,

I would like to start by saying that I seriously doubt that you are actually a
Reverend. If you are actually a reverend I would hope that you would be a bit more educated that you appear to be.

Deputy Chad Butler did what he felt he needed to do to protect his life and the lives of others. As a fellow police officer I can attest to the fact that we have to make split second decisions that we have to live with for the rest of our lives. Later these decisions will be gone over and picked apart by people who do not have our level of experience nor will they have the training to know the procedures that should be taken.

Police officers are not as you say,“There are allwe's innocent and buy there way out of everything”, always innocent of everything. In fact police officers are held to a higher standard and are often not afforded the same rights as everyday citizens.

The victim in this case made a decision to flee and ultimately that decision cost him his life.

It is easy for you to sit back and Monday morning quarter back this when you obviously are not very intelligent, educated, or police friendly. Perhaps cops shoot people is because we know that “innocent” people like you are very capable of blowing our heads off and when someone is refusing to stop and thrashing around in a car in a threatening manner we have only a fraction of a second to make the decision to kill them and then have idiots like you judge us.

Thank you Deputy Chad Butler in your service to your community Atlanta Police Department salutes you.

you'd pay for a mureders defence your a disgrace to this counrty

The police have lost all credibilty on this one .This guy is just a plain old redneck killer with a badge.Of course you defend him your probley just like him.How many unarmed people have you killed in cold blood,because you were a little frustrated. Chad Butler is nothing but a thug with a badge.

If you all want to complain so much why dont you become police officers and prove us wrong.

Once again, another thug with a gun and a license to kill is let loose on the public. He was angry that someone had the nerve to challenge his macho image of himself and would have taken any excuse to murder. Ask any cop with whom he associates and if honest, he will tell you he has isolated himself to the cop community ninety percent of the time. Lets face it, community leaders and citizens alike are afraid of these overpaid bullies and their trade unions.

I'm so sick of hearing about this disgusting atlanta police department supporting this murdered chad butler, I'm really concerned for the people of atlanta because plenty more of chad butler put on a badges and patrol there. All u cops who think chad butler is right r a bunch of disgrace 2 the police department world wide. 97 % of the viewer that day even some of the former prosecutors voted him guilty. So to this sick atlanta police lutinient u r probably a murder thug like chad butler. U r sick n a disgrace just like chad butler. I'm so sick that the jury let chad butler go freed. Karma says what goes around come around, somw day one of those sick jury will get pull over by this disgrace atlanta officers n will see how they treat the sick juries. I'm so disguss that the law is protecting these murdered cop

its a shame this topic died down Cad the murder goes on with his life what a punk red neck you people in iowa how could you find this guy not guilty i'll tell cause you gotta live with the threat of his buddies harrassing you for ever

It seems interesting that the only literate and educated person on this page is the Senior Officer in Atlanta that you are actually crticising!! I admire your patience in dealing with such members of the public. I was certainly relieved to read that the jury were able to understand that the accused Officer was obliged to discharge his weapon in his own defence. I offer my sincere regards and thanks for the brave work that he - and all Officers - carry out in risking their lives each day.

It seems interesting that the only literate and educated person on this page is the Senior Officer in Atlanta that you are actually crticising!! I admire your patience in dealing with such members of the public. I was certainly relieved to read that the jury were able to understand that the accused Officer was obliged to discharge his weapon in his own defence. I offer my sincere regards and thanks for the brave work that he - and all Officers - carry out in risking their lives each day.

Atlanta Police Lieutenant wrote:

To the Reverend M. T. Leonard,
I would like to start by saying that I seriously doubt that you are actually a
Reverend. If you are actually a reverend I would hope that you would be a bit more educated that you appear to be.
Deputy Chad Butler did what he felt he needed to do to protect his life and the lives of others. As a fellow police officer I can attest to the fact that we have to make split second decisions that we have to live with for the rest of our lives. Later these decisions will be gone over and picked apart by people who do not have our level of experience nor will they have the training to know the procedures that should be taken.
Police officers are not as you say,“There are allwe's innocent and buy there way out of everything”, always innocent of everything. In fact police officers are held to a higher standard and are often not afforded the same rights as everyday citizens.
The victim in this case made a decision to flee and ultimately that decision cost him his life.
It is easy for you to sit back and Monday morning quarter back this when you obviously are not very intelligent, educated, or police friendly. Perhaps cops shoot people is because we know that “innocent” people like you are very capable of blowing our heads off and when someone is refusing to stop and thrashing around in a car in a threatening manner we have only a fraction of a second to make the decision to kill them and then have idiots like you judge us.
Thank you Deputy Chad Butler in your service to your community Atlanta Police Department salutes you.

I watched the case and I think it was a "Hometown Verdict" The prosecution was weak and when Chad said he would do the same thing if he had to do it all over again. That shows lack of judgement. He should have used his loud speaker and instructed the driver to exit the truck with his hands up! But instead he ran up smashed out the drivers window and shot him dead in front of his daughter. and he says he would do the same again???? Is this guy still a deputy???

I completely support Chad Butler. Simple facts are, the criminal could still be alive today if he hadn't tried to outrun the police. And he did so with absolutely no regard for the safety of his child who was a passenger in his car. Thank God she wasn't killed too by his own careless actions. I feel sorry for his family (mainly his parents) but he was in charge of his own fate that night.

It is indisputable that both the driver and the officer made mistakes in this case. The driver should have pulled over sooner (and not put his hands above his head apparently), and the police officer should not have murdered him. I don't care if this guy just held up a bank at gunpoint, he did not deserve to die. Butler should have waited for backup or ordered the man out of the vehicle from a safe distance. Most people can tell you that without any type of police training that Butler screwed this one up big time.

For Chad Butler to say that he would not do anything differently demonstrates his arrogance and total disregard for human life. Obviously, he made a mistake. If you disagree with that, then you too are as stupid and egotistical as he is. Here is a link to a YouTube video of the shooting:
http://youtube.com/watch...

First, I hope you never pull me over and have to make a split second decision as to whether I should continue living or not because I chose to put my hands above my head.
You said, "Deputy Chad Butler did what he felt he needed to do to protect his life and the lives of others."
How was he protecting the lives of others in this case? Or his own for that matter? He was on a remote road with out another sole within miles (besides his backup which was about a mile away)
I understand that police need to be able to make split second decisions in their field of work, but if they make a wrong decision, they should be held accountable. Thank God this case will not set a precedent (mainly because it was a hometown trial/jury full of redneck idiots). But if it were to set a precedent, Cops could basically murder anyone they wanted to and only have to establish that they felt threatened in some way, even if a threat was non-existent (as was the case here).
Get a life PIG!!!!

This car chaseing crap needs to be ended right away. How many times do we read that some fool runs from the police, runs down and injures or kills someones father, mother, brother, sister,young children etc.and then complaines about being ruffed up or killed in this case. Police Officers want to protect lives from fools with deadly weapons, which includes cars. Many times the real reason the person fled is discovered after their caught.They just maybe abducted a child or young women,or commited some other serious crime that had not been reported yet.So take them out early,shoot to disable their vehicle, and if that does not work,well to bad, end their life before they run over a bus load of first graders crossing the parking lot to dairy queen.

The man who was killed was reaching for a cellular phone, and ran because he was simply scared. A major mistake. If I was going to jail, it would be my natural instinct to call family. But Chad Butler simply shot this man in the head without warning, disregarding his daughter in the passenger seat who also was hit. He killed a single father of three. Policemen should be held liable for their actions, and in this case, be charged with murder and be given life in prison.

Testy_Poster wrote:

I completely support Chad Butler. Simple facts are, the criminal could still be alive today if he hadn't tried to outrun the police. And he did so with absolutely no regard for the safety of his child who was a passenger in his car. Thank God she wasn't killed too by his own careless actions. I feel sorry for his family (mainly his parents) but he was in charge of his own fate that night.

Wow so now you deserve death for not pulling over instantly!

This is Jimmy from the 12/28/2008 post again. This post is even more sharp.

This is the worst case of police brutality I have ever seen. In just one second, Chad Butler committed second degree murder (in front of a 12-year-old), severely endangered a child's life, and made 3 children fatherless, which has been repeatedly shown to impair a child's development. Can you imagine all the trauma Chad Butler put the family through, especially the 12 year old girl? Can you imagine seeing your father MURDERED and then the MURDERER get away with it? If I had been the judge, I'd have this PIG thrown in jail - for many (over 30) years with no parole. I salute all of the heroic cops that risk their lives every day to protect the public. But Chad needs to be yanked from the force and thrown into a medieval dungeon.