ALCON: If you're reading this and it's not too late (it's 1818 right now) check out Danger Zone Entertainments current episode: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dangerzoneradio/2012/07/26/danger-zone-33--update--sfc-walter-taylor
The show is about 13-year Army veteran, Platoon Sergeant SFC Taylor; they'll be interviewing James Culp, his attorney, and they may be chatting with a couple of the soldiers that were with him on the day that changed his life.
More information on SFC Taylor's case, if you're not familiar with it. He is an Army NCO who has been charged with homicide for an incident in Afghanistan (his first tour there, fourth combat tour) that left a well known female Afghan doctor dead - though it was during a TIC, after an IED struck a vehicle in his convoy. The doctor's death was denounced by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, whose office said she and her son were “martyred.” Shortly after this incident another SFC Taylor's unit was attacked again and he was badly injured
https://www.facebook.com/SupportSFCTaylor
Realizing this was a military operation, one might wonder if the JAG personnel involved ever heard of objective reasonableness, if there's more to the story, or if (as the Army Times suggests) the Platoon Sergeant was 'sold out' for political expediency. It's odd that a military that puts such restrictions on its personnel via ROEs appears to be paying little attention to concept of Graham v. Connor. One would hope this sort of SCOTUS input would factor into the UCMJ, particularly when the term objective reasonableness is now a part of Military Police, Security Forces, CID, NCIS and other lexicons, but we will have to see.
As with any criminal case, it's silly (possibly detrimental) to speculate or make snap judgments. Whatever happens, the doctor lost her life (a tragedy) and SFC Taylor's promising career is ruined (also a tragedy). Hopefully justice will be served.
More on objective reasonableness:
http://www.policeone.com/legal/articles/5017882-Use-of-force-Defining-objectively-reasonable-force/
