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Police and Deadly Force

Started by Recusant, April 14, 2021, 05:44:12 AM

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Recusant

The issue of trigger-happy police deserves a thread. Rotten bastids.

I hope (and believe) that if I were confronted with a law enforcement officer yapping about "taser" who then pulled a gun and pointed it at me, I'd have the presence of mind to instantly and firmly inform them "That's a gun, you idiot," even when I was only 20. Nobody's life should depend on that when dealing with a person whose job is supposedly to protect the public.

"The Cop Who Killed Daunte Wright Meant To Tase Him But Accidentally Fired Her Gun, Police Said" | BuzzFeed News

[Edited for context. - R]
"Religion is fundamentally opposed to everything I hold in veneration — courage, clear thinking, honesty, fairness, and above all, love of the truth."
— H. L. Mencken


Icarus

Rec I am certain that you would have the presence of mind to help the cop understand  about her choice of gun instead of taser.  Sad to say that such an appeal to rationality would have found you as  dead as the subject unfortunate victim.

Rec this forum cannot afford to have lost you.  You are one of the essential driving forces here. I beseech you to take every effort to avoid confrontations with either, trigger happy, or confused cops.

All that as it may be, I claim to be on the side of the law enforcement people....... maybe not on the side of the militant ones or the confused ones,.

Recusant

Thank you for your kind words, Icarus. There was a time when I had regular interactions with police in their official capacity. The nature of my life was such that intermittent encounters with them were to be expected. Politeness and compliance are all well and good, but I recognised even then that having a northern European complexion makes a significant difference.

These days, I have little to do with police, and intend to keep it that way.
"Religion is fundamentally opposed to everything I hold in veneration — courage, clear thinking, honesty, fairness, and above all, love of the truth."
— H. L. Mencken


Tom62

It is sad that people put themselves in danger by resisting the arrests. It is also sad that the lady cop grabbed a gun instead of a taser. I attribute that to being too much in a rush to stop the criminal. Mistakes happen.
The universe never did make sense; I suspect it was built on government contract.
Robert A. Heinlein

Icarus

At this point I will listen to the explanation from the veteran lady cop. 

She made a monumental mistake but the situational conditions go farther than that.  She had the guys license number, his home address, and knew about his minor rap sheet.  It was not like he was a sought after axe murderer.   Why not let him escape?  Not release him from arrest, but simply, hands off, allow him to go home or wherever?   It would have been easy to pick the guy up later if there was reasonable cause. A vehicle violation gone very bad. 

That was a situation that surely need not have escalated toward the use of firearms, maybe not even worth firing the "intended" laser.  The victim was a small time perp who was driving with an expired license tag...............now he is no longer with us.

I want to side with the lady cop but it is a stretch to do so.  The guy is dead and she is for all practical purposes career dead.  There may be more to this story...............we will see as time goes by. 




Tom62

Quote from: Icarus on April 16, 2021, 12:03:02 AM
I want to side with the lady cop but it is a stretch to do so.  The guy is dead and she is for all practical purposes career dead.  There may be more to this story...............we will see as time goes by.

This has nothing to do with a traffic or vehicle violation. The guy had an outstanding warrant for a robbery. He even threatened to kill his victim. So, we are not talking about a harmless police victim but about a real nasty piece of shit.
The universe never did make sense; I suspect it was built on government contract.
Robert A. Heinlein

Davin

Ah, judging and executing a death sentence is OK if some people think the victim is a nasty piece of shit. Can't see anything wrong with letting cops going around killing people and bypassing the justice system. That should result in a very stable and safe society, I'm sure.
Always question all authorities because the authority you don't question is the most dangerous... except me, never question me.

Tank

Quote from: Davin on April 16, 2021, 03:15:21 PM
Ah, judging and executing a death sentence is OK if some people think the victim is a nasty piece of shit. Can't see anything wrong with letting cops going around killing people and bypassing the justice system. That should result in a very stable and safe society, I'm sure.

The police can only go on the information they have to hand. If the warrant detailed his previous behaviour the cops will be on edge. That's when accidents happen. 
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

Magdalena

Quote from: Davin on April 16, 2021, 03:15:21 PM
Ah, judging and executing a death sentence is OK if some people think the victim is a nasty piece of shit. Can't see anything wrong with letting cops going around killing people and bypassing the justice system. That should result in a very stable and safe society, I'm sure.
The problem with this is that "my kind" are also seen as, "a nasty piece of shit" --for existing. After all, Trump said we come from "Shithole countries, we are rapist, and drug dealers."

And if we committed a crime 25 years ago and paid for our crime to society by spending 3 years in jail, it doesn't matter, don't mourn us when a cop kills us, they will just say, "She wasn't a police victim but a real nasty piece of shit."

Racist cops have been given too much power and they are very happy to abuse it.
--Mother fuckers.

"I've had several "spiritual" or numinous experiences over the years, but never felt that they were the product of anything but the workings of my own mind in reaction to the universe." ~Recusant

Tom62

I don't think that it has anything to do with racism. It was an arrest that went bad, because of a stupid mistake. One thing is however sure. If the guy would not have resisted his arrest, he would still be alive.
The universe never did make sense; I suspect it was built on government contract.
Robert A. Heinlein

Magdalena

Quote from: Tom62 on April 16, 2021, 09:02:39 PM
I don't think that it has anything to do with racism.
Um, yes, it has to do with racism. "Dark skin people are dangerous" is their motto.

Quote from: Tom62 on April 16, 2021, 09:02:39 PM
It was an arrest that went bad, because of a stupid mistake. One thing is however sure. If the guy would not have resisted his arrest, he would still be alive.
No, if the cop would not have shot him, he would still be alive. Resisting arrest should not be punishable by death.

"I've had several "spiritual" or numinous experiences over the years, but never felt that they were the product of anything but the workings of my own mind in reaction to the universe." ~Recusant

Sandra Craft

Quote from: Tom62 on April 16, 2021, 09:02:39 PM
I don't think that it has anything to do with racism. It was an arrest that went bad, because of a stupid mistake. One thing is however sure. If the guy would not have resisted his arrest, he would still be alive.

Given how many armed white men have resisted arrest and gotten out of it alive (even sometimes been bought lunch), I don't think either of those things can be assumed.
Sandy

  

"Life is short, and it is up to you to make it sweet."  Sarah Louise Delany

Sandra Craft

Only the first four minutes are pertinent to this subject, but the rest (on Matt Gaetz) are entertaining too.

Sandy

  

"Life is short, and it is up to you to make it sweet."  Sarah Louise Delany

Magdalena


"I've had several "spiritual" or numinous experiences over the years, but never felt that they were the product of anything but the workings of my own mind in reaction to the universe." ~Recusant

No one

Doughnut dollies have allowed bigoted, intolerant, and prejudiced reasoning to flourish for far too long.