Whether or not this story actually happened is irrelevant as there's nothing any of us can do to help the situation. It is however useful as a jumping off point for discussion and to come to a consensus about what we should do in a similar scenario.

If we say facts are irrelevant and we're just going to go with our "gut" or our initial opinion, then what's the point of having a discussion?

Facts about this particular incident are irrelevant to a generalized discussion about police power and how we as people should respond to an irrational and/or overzealous police force. It is entirely uninteresting to discuss particular facts of an isolated incident; the real discussion comes from a generalization of the issues involved. For the purpose of initiating discussion, all that matters is that the scenario described is plausible. Of course its more than plausible, similar scenarios have played out before where well intentioned reports ended up getting investigated themselves. Discussing the pros vs cons of such a scenario do not require that the initial jumping off point be provably true.

I propose taking a beach holiday and getting absolutely hammered on pina-coladas. Will anyone second this motion?

It's not about news, it's about a discussion. 4chan isn't a news bulletin. It's a discussion board.

Truth matters in discussions as well as the news. If we can't bring fact and reason to discourse, what's the point? Also, I'd hope the Hacker News community has at least a slightly higher standard for itself than 4Chan.

That's how legal representation works...