Arrest over Johnson death / released within 24 hours, investigation remains open

[Mrfenn92]

Seems like a huge stretch for this charge

 

[rt]

He very obviously swung his leg with the intention of making contact. He deserves to be charged.

 

[TLEH]

Using PIMs in a discussion to try and find guilt over a freak accident is pretty f***ing delusional at best

 

[TheBeard]

I haven't, and won't, watch it the clip. I'd heard the other player was perhaps somewhat careless, but that it was a completely accidental play. To charge this player with manslaughter would be akin Chris Therien having been charged if the slap shot he took that struck Trent McCleary in the throat had killed him (granted it would have had Dr. Mulder not been so proactive and performed the tracheostomy in the tunnel to the locker room). This seems like an overreach to me.

Don’t take this the wrong way, and while I agree with your sentiment, but it’s hard to have an opinion on something if you refuse to watch it because all you’re then doing is mimicking other peoples’ opinions.

 

[TrufleShufle]

Undeniably?? Come on man you can make that from that blurry video. Undeniably is ridiculous.

I feel like you haven't really seen the video. Maybe quickly along with the aftermath, but the video of the contact slowed down will change your mind.

 

[blundluntman]

100% ok with this, actually wouldn’t mind a conviction as it would deter others from doing such wreckless things going forward

This is pretty much where I'm at with this. People often forget the law is just as much about deterrence as it is about punishment. If they can prove the lift was intentional (even if not malicious), he is technically guilty.

 

[Bond]

Undeniably?? Come on man you can make that from that blurry video. Undeniably is ridiculous.

Yup, unless there is another angle that isn't public I am not sure the video gets beyond reasonable doubt. I think he could argue he skate clipped something or hitting the other player caused him to flail.

 

[thaman8765678]

He should be charged with manslaughter. I have never seen something like this.

You are taught as a kid that Skates are weapons, this was obviously not intentional but it was wreckless

 

[CaliSabresfan24]

Kicking is a massive taboo in hockey, which is undeniable that he did. Obviously didn’t mean to go for the neck. I clearly don’t think he meant to kill him. But he acted recklessly and caused the death of another person.

I think it’s the right decision as sad as it is.

I agree.

There is a video of Petgrave using his leg to make contact with a player before... Someone posted it on this forum and now it magically disappeared... Either way, thats someone choosing to be reckless which ended up causing a death.

 

[TheBeard]

how do you know that?

Why do you keep claiming something every normal person can see is incorrect.
Are you afraid it will hurt the sport in general?

Are you saying the guy is such a sociopath that accidentally killing someone in a game is “no biggie”?

That’s messed up.

 

[Northerner]

Need more details, but on the surface, that's not a good thing, arresting people for sports accidents, unless there's video of the guy intentionally kicking at Johnson.......

Petgrave has a history of lifting (kicking) his leg at opponents to hinder them. So...this was no accident. He didn't mean to kill him but he did mean to kick at him. Therefore, manslaughter it is. He should be banned from hockey for the rest of his life, after he gets out of prison.

 

[TrufleShufle]

Uh fighting is against the rules too

I feel like you read the first sentence and stopped reading and then rushed to tell me something like a gotcha moment. Read it again, the whole thing.

 

[Channelcat]

How was it NOT manslaughter? This doesn't surprise me.

 

[Mirka the Turka]

Using PIMs in a discussion to try and find guilt over a freak accident is pretty f***ing delusional at best

Its quite suspicious a guy who is known as a dirty player somehow killed a guy "accidentally" despite raising his skate in a completely deliberate manner that has never been seen before in NHL history.

 

[rt]

That was an intentional leg kick. He probably didn’t mean to kill him but that’s manslaughter. I’m sure drunk drivers don’t intend to kill anyone when they get behind the wheel either.

Exactly. And his immediate shock and regret is not proof of anything. I’m sure many people have unfathomable regret within seconds of committing heinous crimes with irrevocable consequences. It’s probably most people, honestly.

 

[Strangle]

McSorley got charged with assault and was convicted on his attack on Brashear and rightfully so. Thankfully not too many people are intentionally trying to kick a player with a skate.

There have been many, many charges laid in on ice hockey incidents over the last 100+ years

 

[Canadienna]

Matt Petgrave also leads the league in penalty minutes and was suspended for using his stick as a weapon and abusing officials.



there is a video of him using his skate to take out another player. This guy is a legitimate threat to people's lives every time he steps on the ice and is a head case. Should never play hockey again.

I hadn't seen that clip before.

What the hell is he doing? Keep your skates on the ice. He literally spin kicks the guys legs out from under him in that clip.

He realizes he's going to miss the check, and so lifts his leg and kicks the guy to get a piece.

That clip is pretty damning to me.

 

[ijuka]

Not very surprising. Gross Negligence would be my assessment.

 

[nbwingsfan]

I feel like you haven't really seen the video. Maybe quickly along with the aftermath, but the video of the contact slowed down will change your mind.

There’s a reason you’re not allowed to slow down videos in a court room. It completely skews what actually happened.

 

[Sky04]

What a dumb arrest, even Johnsons teammates who were in the ice and bench said it was an accident.

 

[LemonSauceD]

how do you know that?

Why do you keep claiming something every normal person can see is incorrect.
Are you afraid it will hurt the sport in general?

Unless you’re a f***ing psychopath I’m pretty sure killing someone unintentionally is pretty f***ing difficult to cope with.

 

[Gnome17]

Everyone here is an expert, so confident that it was either on purpose or an accident...

I think it looks really weird the way he comes flying at Johnson diagonally, but it is possible that it was a pure accident. Im no physics expert. Its possible it was completely on purpose. Its possible it was somewhere in between.

Let the actual experts investigate it thoroughly and come to a conclusion. It is a serious enough event that I think legal processing makes sense.

 

[J bo Jeans]

I feel like you haven't really seen the video. Maybe quickly along with the aftermath, but the video of the contact slowed down will change your mind.

Just watched it, i guarantee ive watched it more than 90% of the posters here. His skate collides with the other white players skate directly before he attempts to make contact. So theres two options:

1) off balance his legs kick up as hes falling attempting to regain balance

2) he intentionally tried to kick someone.

Theres no way with that one blurry angle from above that you can make out his intention.

 

[tny760]

I feel like you haven't really seen the video. Maybe quickly along with the aftermath, but the video of the contact slowed down will change your mind.

that's the boat i'm in right now, i was searching around on twitter and saw a higher quality video than the initial dogshit quality one i saw the day of, and instantly was like, hold on i've been seeing this wrong all along. i thought he spun around on contact and backheeled him with his right skate, the slowed down one it looks like his left leg was lifted which i can't possibly find any excuse for

i think i got fooled by an optical illusion kinda like this thing where you can change the direction of spin depending on what you focus on: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Spinning_Dancer.gif

 

[ijuka]

What a dumb arrest, even Johnsons teammates who were in the ice and bench said it was an accident.

Do you think the police would arrest someone for fun?

Do you think the teammates on the ice were reviewing the tape again and again before they said so? Or is that just what they wanted to believe?

I've seen that part of the video probably hundreds of times, I don't see how it could possibly be a pure accident. If you haven't reviewed frame by frame and actually seen what he does and what he does not do, I'd suggest refraining from commenting.