my friend rushed police with knife & got killed!!!
- Thread starter think
- Start date
I side with the police 100%
It is a tragedy however, as it is a tradgedy anytime a human life is taken.
It is a tragedy however, as it is a tradgedy anytime a human life is taken.
I do believe that with few exception most posters have given the condolences to the OP.
However, its been followed up with an objective analysis of what the OP posted via his/her link.
Had the article said something as innocuous as:
"Today a patron of grocery store x was gunned down by cops over a misunderstaning while he stood there holding his parcels"
Then we all would be outraged.
That isn't the story, not even close.
Sorry for his loss is one thing, which we are.
Empathizing with a "gentle soul" who seems to not have been is another.
I agree with the general sentiment of the article that the police could have done any number of other things. They acted out of self-serving fear, which should have no place in the mind of a law enforcement officer. Their lives are expendable - and hardly even at risk in this scenario. One man with a knife isn't much of a threat to two men armed with batons, pepper spray, tasers, and fuck knows what else. The "shoot first" mentality among apparently so many cops is revolting.
Sorry for the loss of your friend, dude. If you're considering vengeance I'd advise you not to go ill-equipped - cops don't fight fair. They fight like cowards and pansies. Always have, always will. The only people the average cop is interested in protecting and serving is himself and his fellow cops. There are exceptions, but the more I see the more I believe that those exceptions are few and far between.
What a load of nonsense. Why are cops' lives more expendable than anyone else's? If people didn't choose to behave dangerously and commit violent crimes, police work would be much more safe (not referring to the OP case, here). Why should someone who's just going to work and doing their job have less right to live than anyone else?
"Don't fight fair..." what a joke. Nobody who's attacked with a deadly weapon should fight fair. Anyone who would not shoot someone who attacks them with a knife is either tired of living or not too bright.
As for "shooting to wound"... I knew someone would say that as soon as I saw the subject line. People always say that who don't know what they're talking about. A firearm is a deadly weapon. If it is used at all, the situation should be life or death. You shoot at the torso to put the person down and end the threat. If they don't go down, shoot the head because they may have body armor. Yes, there's a good chance they will die, but it's them or somebody else. Shooting to wound, in the few harrowing seconds most situations last, is much riskier. If you miss or they don't go down, they could be on top of you and then they have a chance of getting your weapon, and then you are as good as dead, and maybe others.
This is not to say that every police shooting is justified. Some are not, and someone who misuses deadly force deserves whatever is coming. But I would say this: If you want to commit a crime, expect the worst. If you have a deadly weapon in your hand, expect that you might get killed. If you have medication that keeps you from acting violently, take it.
As for the OP, it sounds like the guy had some problems he'd struggled with and it's very sad that it ended that way. I would say, though, it is possible for the cops to do everything right, and him still end up dead. It's too bad, but if someone has to be blamed, it's not the police.
Last year in a nearby town, a woman was pulled over after behaving erratically at a gas station. She didn't have a criminal record, but had mental problems and was "off her meds." When the officer came up to the car, she got out and shot him in the head. Backup officers shot and killed her. The officer lived, but has a very rough road ahead of him. If there is a debate, I don't think it should be about deadly force and tasers, but the availability and accessibility of mental health care, and whether/how adults should be forced to get mental health care or medication. Maybe there is no good way to do it, and there will always be a certain number of needless deaths, I don't know.
--Justin
They take an oath to serve and protect. Its not just a job, its a duty. They are not private citizens. While on duty, as with military personnel, they are expendable assets.
Yes, that's true. But people choose to commit dangerous crimes, so police work is dangerous.
Its not just a job, its a duty. They have a duty to see that people are protected and justice is done - at the cost of their own lives, if necessary. If the knife-wielding maniac in question had been going after a civilian - by all means, shoot to kill. Going after a cop? Fight and disarm with non-lethal force. It can be done. Hell, I could do it. Alone and unarmed.
Private citizen - sure. Police officer - no. They have a responsibility, as I see it, to preserve the life of the perp unless left with no other choice - as in if they don't kill him, he is going to kill other people in short order. Their own lives and safety should be secondary, if considered at all.
You're right - guns should pretty much only be used in a shoot-to-kill situation. They didn't need to use their guns. They could have used a non-lethal weapon, or gone hand-to-hand with him. Hell, it was two against one (cops like those kind of odds, or better, when they're in their favor). Choosing to shoot rather than even RISK possible maiming or death was purely self-serving.