Posted on 04/15/2015 3:39:57 PM PDT by petercooper
True. And, as ever -- but more common recently since the #1 activity of the media is piling on, or frantically trying to "localize" a national story -- only the bad apples get the press.
How many kids did the police officers have?
They haven't told you to lick their boots....yet
I am in a very unusual line of work where I meet and see them every single day, and have for over 30 years.
Amen, goes something like:
Officer: Can I see your insurance, inspection cert and drivers license?
Me: ......with both hands on the wheel at 10 & 2... “Insurance and inspection are in the glove compartment....
Officer: ok
Me: can I reach for them in the glove compartment?
Officer: yes
Me: .....very slowly I move my right hand toward the glove compartment, retrieve Doc’s and hand them to the officer.
Why so many black men cannot “get” this SIMPLE procedure I will never understand!
“Shouldn’t police know there was a threat before killing someone?”
No, that isn’t the standard for police, or for any one else for that matter.
Even private citizens, who have a more stringent standard than police, are allowed to shoot to kill if they have a reasonable fear that their life may be in danger. So if someone kicks your door in at night, you don’t have to wait to see a gun to shoot him.
But in this case there was no kicking in the door at night. No reduced visibility. No sign of a weapon. No threatening words or gestures. So where was the threat?
And Supreme Court decisions have said police can shoot an unarmed suspect only if there is a threat to the officers or the public. Again, where was the threat here?
“So where was the threat?”
There doesn’t need to be a threat, there only needs to be a reasonable fear that your life (or the lives of others) may be in danger.
“And Supreme Court decisions have said police can shoot an unarmed suspect only if there is a threat to the officers or the public.”
Which decisions would those be?
“You mean no weapon apart from the car?”
Oh right, the car he was no longer in. Wow, what a great point. Did you come up with that by yourself?
I have been in these situations and we were even actually able to not kill a guy that did have a weapon. We never shot first and then asked the questions.
The philosophy of law enforcement has changed. Like someone else said, they were peace officers. Now the training is more aggressive and some innocents are dying.
Maybe I am a dinosaur but these types of shootings seem wrong to me. I am all for law and order, and I know the job is tough. But the citizens safety should come first.
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