St. Louis: White Missouri cop kills armed black 18-year-old

[whell]

Uh oh. Here we go again. I'm sure the left will (mistakenly) add this to their list of grievances.

http://news.yahoo.com/police-officer...084531706.html

[finnbow]

I think the cop should have stuck a daisy in the kid's gun barrel, just like the Vietnam protestors once did.

[Boreas]

Originally Posted by finnbow

I think the cop should have stuck a daisy in the kid's gun barrel, just like the Vietnam protestors once did.

And I think comments like that are inappropriate.

In this case it does seem that the policeman acted in the only way he could but someone died. Even a "thug" (and, for once, this guy seems to fit the description) leaves behind people who loved him and who are now suffering from shock, grief and a sense of loss.

John

[noonereal]

Originally Posted by whell

St. Louis: White Missouri cop kills armed black 18-year-old

you must be thrilled

merry Christmas!

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by noonereal

you must be thrilled

merry Christmas!

To me, it just drives home the point that cops in such areas can be confronted with armed and/or violent people at any time, yet we somehow expect them to make perfect split-second decisions at all times (with the benefit on hindsight, of course).

[Boreas]

Originally Posted by finnbow

To me, it just drives home the point that cops in such areas can be confronted with armed and/or violent people at any time, yet we somehow expect them to make perfect split-second decisions at all times (with the benefit on hindsight, of course).

No.

John

[whell]

Originally Posted by noonereal

you must be thrilled

About what?

[Tom Joad]

Originally Posted by noonereal

you must be thrilled

merry Christmas!

Yep, looks like Santa Claus came early for Whelly.

[finnbow]

We live in a country where significantly more law enforcement officers died in the line of duty in the single year of 2010 (177) as soldiers killed in Iraq in all years from 2010 to the present (118).

Yet, we expect them to make perfect split-second decisions at the risk of their own death or criminal prosecution if their split-second decisions prove incorrect after the fact. Furthermore, these decisions are made on the mean streets of the most dangerous country in the industrialized world with 300 million guns in circulation and a plethora of social problems. How would you like to have a job where your decisions had to be made in seconds and wrong decisions cost you your life, livelihood or freedom?

I've been to over 60 countries and the only places remotely as dangerous as the rougher streets of the American cities I've lived (DC, Baltimore and New Orleans) are Mombasa and Colon, Panama, and then only at night.

This is the backdrop for our laws which state that a cop must only reasonably perceive a threat (even if, after the fact, a threat didn't truly exist) before using deadly force. It's a chicken and egg conundrum. Some seem to contend that tough cops beget tough streets, whereas others seem to contend that tough streets beget tough cops. As usual, the answer lies somewhere in between, though skewed toward the latter IMHO.

[Boreas]

Originally Posted by finnbow

We live in a country where significantly more law enforcement officers died in the line of duty in the single year of 2010 (177) as soldiers killed in Iraq in all years from 2010 to the present (118).

Yet, we expect them to make perfect split-second decisions at the risk of their own death or criminal prosecution if their split-second decisions prove incorrect after the fact.

Please quit with this straw man, Pat. It's unworthy of you.

John