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Cops accidentally kill 300 citizens annually
Columbia Chronicle ^
| 12.8.2003
| unknown
Posted on 12/08/2003 5:53:56 PM PST by CHICAGOFARMER
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As an experienced firearms owner have recently been advocating a change in police procedure. Police current policy is "shoot to kill". In today's "law enforcement officer" "swat force mentality" the number of innocent citizens who will be killed by police will continue to increase.
Today's police policy is to draw first, it used to be called a traffic stop, today it is called a felony stop. A felony stop allows the officers to draw weapons point the firearm at the victim with his finger on the trigger. Cops with their light specially build firearms with very light trigger pulls is a death just waiting to happen.
In the old days, peace officers kept the peace. Today's uniformed officer has a loaded gun, with a bullet in the pipe, and a finger on the trigger. In the old days peace officers would shoot to wound. This is not allowed today by todays police policy.
I am fully aware of wound ballistics, perps on acid, reaction time, etc. But to kill 300 citizens annual who are innocent is not acceptable. This is 3000 citizens every ten years.
I am always taking self-defense classes just for experience and training. It is not uncommon to find a young lady waiting for a basic training handgun class. I strike up a conversation only to find she has just been accepted by the Chicago police department and has never fired a gun. I would not want to be on the wrong end of the firearm during her rookie training. If she does not continue to practice, she would be even more dangerous on the street later in her career. This is not a sexist issue.
This policy by police departments to always have a bullet in the pipe if you are in law enforcement is WRONG. Why? I have served on various city boards of directors and have made friends with police officers. As we chew the fat our conversation gets around to loaded firearms. I have had more than one officer tell of a scary moment in his career where he has looked down at his holstered firearm while sitting at his desk and see it cocked. We continue to see police officers shot themselves unloading their firearm, or cleaning their firearm.
If a police officer draws his service revolver 1000 times in his career, perhaps once in his entire career he will have to fire. In the old days a revolver was carried with the hammer on a blank chamber. Today's semi automatic can be racked in milli seconds if the scene goes wrong, perhaps once in his lifetime. John Lott says that if a firearm is drawn 2000 times only once will it need to be fired for a citizen. What is good for the goose should be good for the gander.
I am of the opinion that the policy should be changed from carrying a firearm with a bullet in the pipe to an empty pipe, or a hammer resting on an empty chamber.
Remember 300 innocent citizens are killed every year in firearm accidents when only the police officer has the gun.
What is your opinion?
To: CHICAGOFARMER
They are now law ENFORCEMENT officers who will aim a gun at you faster than anything else.
It's a disgrace. I almost wish the police force was unarmed or disbanded and left up to citizens (whom the cops are supposed to be anyway)
2
posted on
12/08/2003 5:55:26 PM PST
by
Monty22
To: CHICAGOFARMER
All at once, that can hardly be an accidental discharge!
3
posted on
12/08/2003 5:56:13 PM PST
by
tet68
To: CHICAGOFARMER
"Cops accidentally kill 300 citizens annually
Ahmed Diallo, 22, shot 41 times and killed by New York City police officers, Feb. 4, 1999. "
Sure dosen't seem like this one counts as an accident...
4
posted on
12/08/2003 5:56:27 PM PST
by
RS
(nc)
To: CHICAGOFARMER
The headline is misleading. Most of these deaths were not an accidental.
5
posted on
12/08/2003 5:57:38 PM PST
by
ambrose
To: RS
"Cops accidentally kill 300 citizens annually
Ahmed Diallo, 22, shot 41 times and killed by New York City police officers, Feb. 4, 1999. "
Sure dosen't seem like this one counts as an accident...
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Are you saying this is murder by assaination?
6
posted on
12/08/2003 5:57:53 PM PST
by
CHICAGOFARMER
(Citizen Carry)
To: CHICAGOFARMER
I disagree with the title, for starters.
7
posted on
12/08/2003 5:58:03 PM PST
by
Judith Anne
(Send a message to the Democrat traitors--ROCKEFELLER MUST RESIGN!)
To: CHICAGOFARMER
I suggest you get behind cover, your post will draw fire down on your position soon.
To many here, LEO's can do no wrong.
8
posted on
12/08/2003 5:59:05 PM PST
by
Dr.Zoidberg
(I've been making fine jewelry for years, apparently.)
To: CHICAGOFARMER
That is a sad statistic, but let me know when you find a society wherein no one needs to be armed or have police services.
To: CHICAGOFARMER
Ending the Drug War would disemploy tens of thousands of armed LEOs instantly, and free up the resources to reform the rest.
10
posted on
12/08/2003 5:59:53 PM PST
by
eno_
(Freedom Lite - it's almost worth defending)
To: ambrose
The headline is misleading. Most of these deaths were not an accidental.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
the headline is not miss leading.
It is well known by those who follow firearms issues that police kill approximatley 300 annually and citizens with firearms accidently kills about 30 annually. this is a ten to one ratio. We did not list all three hundred deaths. The ones listed in the city of Chicago I have personally followed. I know the city of Chicago paid 10 million plus tot he families of the victim.
To: CHICAGOFARMER
Couldn't agree more, 1/2 of all police do not belong. They are uneducated mop-heads with too much power/ego. The other half are well educated only trying to do a good job.... The problem is this, the dumb asses are encouraged to be cops while the educated are not...
12
posted on
12/08/2003 6:02:08 PM PST
by
Porterville
(No communist or french)
To: pacman50
Ping
13
posted on
12/08/2003 6:02:21 PM PST
by
cmsgop
(Whatever You Do,..... Do Not PING Arthur McGowan)
To: CHICAGOFARMER
How many of these people were in the process of resisting arrest?
14
posted on
12/08/2003 6:03:23 PM PST
by
aimhigh
To: Dr.Zoidberg
Bull, most people at the FR agree the cops have too much power and need their wings clipped..... we all have been screwed by cops at some point. In America you can't even walk down the street with an open beer with out going to jail.
15
posted on
12/08/2003 6:03:45 PM PST
by
Porterville
(No communist or french)
To: Cultural Jihad
That is a sad statistic, but let me know when you find a society wherein no one needs to be armed or have police services.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
see post #2 as follows.
They are now law ENFORCEMENT officers who will aim a gun at you faster than anything else.
It's a disgrace. I almost wish the police force was unarmed or disbanded and left up to citizens (whom the cops are supposed to be anyway)
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I would not go as far as the above writer is suggesting. However, a change in policy and a change in procedure would go a long way to saving citizens lives for police. Citizens should take more responsibility for thier own defense.
To: CHICAGOFARMER
How many innocent LEO's are killed each year in the line of duty? 300 means nothing without other relevant figures to put it into perspective.
What's the number, something like 50+ children a year drown in buckets?
17
posted on
12/08/2003 6:06:14 PM PST
by
Diddle E. Squat
(www.firethebcs.com, www.weneedaplayoff.com, www.firemackbrown.com, www.firecarlreese.com)
To: aimhigh
·Robert Russ Sr., 22, was one of two unarmed civilians shot and killed by Chicago police in a single week, June 1999.
Rober Russ was a Northwestern scholarship football play.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
these two zero.
they were pulled over on a traffic stop. the city of Chicago paid 10 million to the families.
To: Diddle E. Squat
How many innocent LEO's are killed each year in the line of duty?
What is the defination of a "innocent LEO's"
I belong to the American fallen police officer association and the number is about 50 per year. Of this number most are traffic accidents.
To: Porterville
I've seen several threads devolve into "he deserved it or he would not have been killed" flame wars. Wait and see.
I'll not be posting further as I want to avoid a carching fire.
20
posted on
12/08/2003 6:08:54 PM PST
by
Dr.Zoidberg
(I've been making fine jewelry for years, apparently.)
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