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.

<rant>

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.

 </rant>

^^ Yeah cops seem to have a way to itch trigger finger in a lot of cases... but lots of times I can´t really blame them... this guy here was pointing a gun at the cops (or lets hope the cops didn´t just says so afterwords)... if someone was pointing a gun at you would you not try to shoot first ??? With so many guns around in the states it no wonder cops expect to be shot every time they stop a car... thats why we need robocops or something... or even better mandatory weed for everybody...

It was Amadou Diallo. A student too. Immigrated here from Africa to his demise. Very sad indeed.

 ditto

Exactly, it's ironic he says that because the PS3 violence is just as bad, if not worse. There will always be violence associated with mass market expensive products, and that includes phones, consoles/handhelds and even laptops.

I work on an ambulance, so I work with police a lot.  Anyone who thinks police have an itchy trigger finger and that they aren't held to a high standard is a moron.  If anything, police need to be a little less scrutinized than they are.  God help you if you are a cop and you ever need to shoot someone.  Your life is going to be hell for a while.  Why?  Because some jackass pulled a gun, or acted in a manner in which you felt your life was threatened.  Most of these people that think cops are too trigger happy have never actually been in a dangerous situation in their lives.  I was almost shot a couple months ago.  The police didn't shoot the ahole, but rather subdued him at great risk to both their own, and my life.  I sure as hell would rather they have shot the guy.

There's a very simple lesson here.  I'll spell it out for you.  If you dont' want to get shot by the police, don't act like a crazy MF'er.

By pulling your wallet out? And that is not the only incidence of excessive use of lethal force on an unarmed man.

The police in your situation did the right thing. No one died. No one got shot. And the man will be brought to trial like the way our society is supposed to work.

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.

Of course you would rather have the guy because it is personalized for you. Just like you would rather have 3 or 4 people you don't know killed rather than say your mother. If you look at it from a personal level then of course that is how you feel.

The cop, as I have said, assume the risk that they are going to have a gun pulled on them and should not have a "shoot first ask questions later mentality"

They don't know if the person the circumstances of the person they are shooting when they respond to the call. It could be a mentally unstable person with a non-loaded weapon who forgot to take their medication that morning and is having some sort of psychotic episode.

They could be a foriegn person who doesn't speak the language very well, reaching for their wallet because they think it is the right thing to do.

It could be a mentally challenged person who doesn't even understand the circumstance.

They have a responsibility to risk their own lives to protect the lives of the person holding the gun on them.

All police officers are trained in disarming and non-lethal combat. There is a reason for that.

As I said before, if you don't like that, you shouldn't become a cop. If you don't like being shot don't join the military. If you don't like fire, don't be a fire fighter. Its the nature of the job and the risk you assume when taking the position. When you are on duty, the life of EVERYONE else, even the perpetrator, is more important than yours, as you can't possibly know all the details and can't be in position to make a fair judgement.

And by the way, why didn't the cops shot the guys in the leg? or the arm? They shot to kill, not to control the situation, and THAT is not the mentality I want cops to have.

He pulled a gun...what a silly thing to do