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nightsurge on 07 December 2008
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CrashMan said:

The use of lethal force by police is out of control in my opinion, with no real recourse that can be taken by the public.



I remember a story a few years ago where a few cops shot some black guy several dozen times because they "Thought he was reaching for a gun." He was pulling out his wallet to show ID...

The cops were not charged with any crime and were put on suspension and probation.

Cops assume a risk of being injured or killed by taking the job. The public should not have to assume a risk simply living their lives. In my opinion it is the cop's job to keep the PEOPLE alive, not themselves. Don't like that? Don't be a cop, its that simple.

Cops should not have authority to decide what justice to deal out. That is the job of the courts. If the cops shoot and kill a guy who is aiming a gun at some innocent people, fine. If he is aiming a gun at the cops, they should do everything in their power to disarm him, or use non-lethal weapons before they ever fire a bullet.

And a cop who "accidentally" kills someone should face the same charges as any one of us.

 

Ok, first off, why do people keep calling this a "kid" being shot.  He was 18, thus by all legal and common social beliefs, an adult.

Second, the Police are not at fault in either of these situations.  If you are surrounded by police and they are shouting at you to get on the ground, or anything at all, you do it.  You don't reach for anywhere, you drop to the ground and throw up your hands.  As common police protocol, if you reach for anywhere on your own person that the Police cannot see, and they have already told you to get down, their only reaction is to shoot.  That is the right thing to do.

As per the bolded section:  So you are saying that if a person who is of a distance of at least 5 yards away (15 feet) and you cannot see what he could be concealing, reaches for somewhere on their body after being told to get down, the cops should risk their lives to try and "disarm" him by closing that distance before the person could pull a gun and shoot?  You cannot know what someone is doing.  If he is already aiming the gun at the police, then he has forfeited his life.  Not every police officer has "non-lethal" means of bringing down a target, and even if they do have a taser or gas grenade, what's to say this person won't start shooting as soon as he gets hit by the electric charge, or as soon as gas starts to pour out around him?

The police did the right thing in both situations.  The situation of it just being a wallet is tragic, but put yourself in their spot.  If you were facing some guy who for whatever reason the police were interested in, and he starts to reach for something behind him, don't tell me you will stand there and wait to see whether it is a movie ticket or a 9mm present.  The police have to think fast in those situations, and if the person didn't do as he was originally told, then it is their fault, not the officer's.

The cop did not "accidentally" kill anyone in these instances.  They were following their training and doing the right thing.  An "accidental" death is one of which the person would have had no control over, such as your car gets hit by a truck, which gets pushed into a crowd of people.  That is an accident, and would actually still see charges on the truck driver.  A cop can't accidentally kill someone with a gun unless the gun itself malfunctioned.

If we "accidentally" kill someone with a weapon, most likely out of ignorance, we would face punishment, just as if a cop would shoot someone that showed no signs of hostility.  But, that is not the case here, now is it?  Oh and by the way, my brother-in-law is a cop, and if someone ever pulled a gun on him, I think I'd rather he shoot the guy than try to take him down and risk his life as well as all others surrounding him.  Like I said, if you pull a gun on a cop, or you reach for a disclosed item after a police officer instructs you to raise your hands or get down, your life is forfeit.