“Is it ok for a cop to open fire on a crowded sidewalk?”
I witnessed that very thing one Christmas eve, back when I was a kid. A middle-aged guy had stolen a TV set and was running down the (very crowded) sidewalk with it. A cop pulled out his revolver and shot him, clipping him in the leg. More police arrived on the scene and were kind of roughing the guy up, holding him by the collar and not letting him sit. A cop standing by overheard my father saying something to the effect of, “what the hell are thy doing opening fire in a crowded area” and came over to scream obscenities in his face, all in defense of what the police had done. My father wrote a letter to the mayor who responded with the boilerplate, “these guys are the best, doing a tough job, blah, blah, blah”. Apparently the mayor and the police thought it was okay to open fire on a crowded sidewalk (Christmas eve no less). After all, it was the perpetrator that chose not to drop the TV and surrender which “forced” the police to take the “appropriate” action.
That was in Quincy Mass, early 70’s. I guess some things never change.
Shooting a guy for stealing a TV set, back in the 70’s....hmmm it probably weighed at least 15-25 pounds back then, depending on the smaller sets. All the cops had to do was chase him a little while more and he probably would’ve drop it and split (or fired a warning shot?). He dropped it anyway when he was shot I’m sure, and the TV was damaged anyway. And to take the risk at shooting someone for shoplifting (not a particularly violent crime last I checked) on a crowded sidewalk? Either the cop was an excellent shot or damn lucky no one else was hit.
The cop couldn’t run down a middle-aged guy schlepping a tv set? Should introduce that cop to the DARE program (Donut Abuse Resistance Education).
Countdown to bootlicker apologia in 5...4..3...