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What a pathetically botched police intervention... (Spoilers)

posted 12 years ago by KittenCommunism
13 replies | jump to latest

The way Bonnie and Clyde were ambushed and riddled with so many bullets they became swiss cheese. At this point, the police officers didnt even TRY to arrest the criminal couple, they had simply planned and went through with a summary execution to satiate that cowboy's lust for revenge.

I know Bonnie and Clyde werent' good people, even if I sympathized with them to some extent, and that actually arresting them would be an incredibly hard feat since they would likely start shooting at the first sight of trouble. Despite this, thought, why couldnt the cops at least try to make them surrender before opening fire? Something like shouting "You are surrounded and outgunned, surrender now or we will be forced to shoot" could have been persuasive. And if not, at least there would be some legitimity in taking them down.

I wonder if the historical shooting of Bonnie and Clyde happened pretty much the same way as in the movie. If so, has the police intervention been criticized by anyone?

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] KittenCommunism 12 years ago

Then I guess the movie's fault is portraying Bonnie and Clyde in too much of a sympathetic light. I personally know little of the actual criminual duo, only that they were infamous for their violence and that they died immitating swiss cheese. I'm not really surprised to learn that the actual Bonnie and Clyde were actually far more bloodthirsty than how they were portrayed in the movie, and I couldnt really find fault in the police intervention that led to their death if they were such dangerous types.

But in the context of the movie, they were far less violent and usually only opened fire to defend themselves, which is more justifiable. It seemed to me, as it was shown, that the ambush they were led into was far more a matter of pride and petty revenge on the behalf of the sheriff character than anything else. He wanted his humiliation paid back in blood and bullets, he didnt care for due process and so he got their death arranged.

[–] marvelass 12 years ago

I wonder if the historical shooting of Bonnie and Clyde happened pretty much the same way as in the movie. If so, has the police intervention been criticized by anyone?

One major difference is that Clyde never got out of the car; they both died inside. The ambush has been a subject of criticism over the decades. Even then some people felt they should have been given a chance to surrender and labeled Hamer and his men "cowards."

This 6-minute clip I found on YouTube (the ending of a longer documentary, which aired on the History Channel) further details the ambush:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhHD-8bAIeQ

.

[–] danlinjer 12 years ago

It seemed to me that Hamer and his boys denied Bonnie and Clyde their right to due process-a right guaranteed to them by the constitution. Instead, the cops decided to act as judge, jury and executioner. Never understood how it could be justified.

[–] Captain_Augustus_McCrae 12 years ago

The 9 or 10 police officers killed by Bonnie and Clyde during their sanguinary career had a lot to do with the informal "do not arrest" policy adopted by several states regarding Bonnie and Clyde. It might also be noted that Frank Hamer actually never met B&C, as depicted in this film. Hamer, a highly respected retired Texas Ranger, was approached by the governor of Texas and asked to head up a multi-state task force, whose goal was to put an end to the bloody depredations of those two killers. Hamer did the job he was given and did it effectively. Bonnie and Clyde were not the glamorous couple presented in this fantasy. They richly deserved what they got.

"It ain't dying I'm talking about, it's LIVING!"
Captain Augustus McCrae

[–] ck1-5 12 years ago

Yeah, in reality they weren't very cute....not to mention that, in light of the fact that they'd already achieved quite a "folk hero" status amongst the downtrodden masses, the last thing the police wanted was to take them alive and allow them to become even bigger heros during the trial.

[–] koffeenkreame41-1 10 years ago

Yeah, in reality they weren't very cute....not to mention that, in light of the fact that they'd already achieved quite a "folk hero" status amongst the downtrodden masses, the last thing the police wanted was to take them alive and allow them to become even bigger heros during the trial.

Pretty much, yeah, I agree.

"I am the ultimate badass, you do not wanna `*beep*` wit me!"- Hudson in Aliens.

[–] gary_overman 10 years ago

The ambush was not botched; Frank Hamer set out to do it exactly like it went down. And in view of the fact that these two pathetic losers had already killed several times, I think that Hamer did what he had to do.

At least the way it happened, no one else was killed.

I repeat: Frank Hamer did what he had to do.

[–] Captain_Augustus_McCrae 10 years ago

I heartily agree, sir.

"It ain't dying I'm talking about, it's LIVING!"
Captain Augustus McCrae

[–] Jefbecco-1 10 years ago

Hamer was criticized at the time for the ambush. Pretty strongly by some newspapers actually. It was an ambush and it was murder. I've been a police officer for over 14 years and I'm an amateur history buff. Times have changed and the attitude about Due Process has changed as well. Especially since the 1960's, but even in the mid-30's what Hamer did was unethical and probably illegal. I'm just going off of his old own report about the shooting. Frank Hamer was an old style police officer with a very strong moralistic bent. I think he saw himself as being The Hammer of Justice type of officer.

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] movies789 9 years ago

They were serial murderers. No harm, no foul.

[–] Stratego (30503) a year ago

Yes, it's obvious you're a communist.