another sensless shooting by police

[midlife aspie]

There is no perfect solution. Police are fallible people just like the rest of us. Let's also keep in mind that the media is out to make a buck, and right now, police actions are big money makers. The police are often the only thing standing between order and anarchy, and this situation is not helped by what seems to be a general breakdown of neighborly relations between people. Those who think the police are primarily bad should try living somewhere where anarchy reigns more often than not. Perhaps Somalia.

 

[Kari Suttle]

This just occurred to me reading another article, a man said something about how the military has rules of engagement they have to follow. I didn't scroll down too far at all but he wasn't the only one who mentioned it as comparison. Can't the police have something similar, have their own rules of engagement to protect the public? Even just tasing someone instead of using a gun without visible confirmation of a weapon would help.

 

[Nitro]

The police, like a soldier agree to take certain risks as part of their job, that is why we commend them for their service. Their training and equipment, bullet proof vests etc... are meant to help keep them as safe as possible.
Civilians on the other hand who are all ready at risk from crime should be able to trust police to protect them, not be an additional threat.

Ok,so an officer of the law is expendable because he chose to do his job.
Can a bullet proof vest protect them from a head shot?
Does their training enable them to be faster than a speeding bullet?

 

[Nitro]

This just occurred to me reading another article, a man said something about how the military has rules of engagement they have to follow. I didn't scroll down too far at all but he wasn't the only one who mentioned it as comparison. Can't the police have something similar, have their own rules of engagement to protect the public? Even just tasing someone instead of using a gun without visible confirmation of a weapon would help.

I taser has an effective range of 15 feet. Then you had better be sure the darts find their intended targets or the unit will be ineffective. Given the choice between a possibly ineffective weapon and one that works,I'm sure that the effective one would be chosen first when the distance between the perp and the officer came down to brass tacks.As far as firearms are concerned,there isn't a whole lot of time to be making long drawn out decisions as in this case where the man was not responding to orders to begin with.

As much as you would like to see the use of non-lethal methods of bringing a perpetrator under control,at times,the officer has a responsibility to ALL citizens to keep them safe,not just a select few. Had the man actually been brandishing a firearm which the officers couldn't see and just decided to fire it at will,who else had to take their chances to die that day being shot by stray rounds?

What some of you want is for an officer to become a psychologist with the ability to assess a mental condition withing minutes of being involved with another human plus keep you safe at the same time. Unfortunately,that is not going to happen.

Taser - Wikipedia