It's a mystery. Still trying to "untangle" the cop's motives.....
Posted on 08/27/2016 9:54:49 AM PDT by Leaning Right
An Indianapolis man who was mistakenly shot by a police officer responding to an armed robbery said Friday that he didn't know officers had arrived at his home until he was blinded by their flashlights after being shot.
Carl Williams, a 48-year-old postal worker, said at a news conference that he was in his garage with his handgun at his right side early Tuesday awaiting police when he was shot, apparently just as officers were arriving.
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
One moral of this story: When the police arrive at your home, they don't know who the good guys are, and who the bad guys are. Don't send them any misleading signals.
Didn’t he have a dog???
It's a mystery. Still trying to "untangle" the cop's motives.....
Why does he bear any responsibility?
Yes, when you call to report an armed intruder in your driveway, it’s probably best not to stand near the driveway with a gun in your hand. Almost sounds like he was trying to set up the cops or to do a suicide by cop.
“One moral of this story: When the police arrive at your home, they don’t know who the good guys are, and who the bad guys are. Don’t send them any misleading signals. “
That’s BS! Cops “arrive” and their training is not to bother with trying to figure out the scene, just to start shooting anyone they “perceive” as a threat (dogs know this in spades, and they don’t even carry guns). You know, they “have to go home,” even if it means that an innocent bystander has to be injured by them or even die. And the problem is only going to get worse with more cops being shot, because they are going to be more “ risk averse” than they are already. So if you use a gun to protect yourself, you may end up dead trying to save yourself. Being a good cop is a very difficult job. Unfortunately too many of them lack the training and discpline to be good cops. My hat is off to the few that are good.
See my tag line.
Cop gets sent to call of wolan being carjacked at gunpoint.
Cop arrives and guy comes out of garage with gun in hand.
Cop believes the csrjacker is standing there snd shoots giy who has gun.
Homeowner was guy with gun.
How was cop supposed to know?
Horrible outcome due to circumstances. Thisnos why they train cops who work in plain clothes to act as if they are the suspect if confronted by uniformed officers at a scene (throw your weapon down follow instructions) because the arriving cops are not going to know you are nit the suspect right off.
I am by no means mindlessly pro-cop. Previous posts of mine will show that.
But think about it for a moment. The guy reports an armed man in his driveway who was threatening his wife. He then grabs his own gun (no problem there).
Then he goes to the garage, right next to the driveway! That's damn near where he reported the intruder. I understand he was under great stress at the time, but it was a bad move on his part.
He SHOULD have had the gun not knowing where the criminal was. The police SHOULD have announced their presence in no uncertain terms HANDS UP. and then the homeowner SHOULD have reached for the sky.
Cluster Fudge.
Precisely. Don’t call the cops and come out guns a blazin
Agreed.
In fact, the homeowner acted so poorly it crossed my mind that the armed robbery was faked to result in a settlement with the city over the shooting. Admittedly the homeowner risked his life in the attempt. But still...
Well, I half agree with you. The police have a GREAT responsibility not to harm innocent people. And too often they fail in that basic responsibility.
But that homeowner has a responsibility too, not to make a bad situation worse. He should have gathered his family behind a locked door, and awaited the cops. Instead he went with a gun to exactly the wrong place.
I didn’t post this article to berate him. People often make poor decisions under stress. I posted this article to give folks something to think about...it’s maybe something to add to the do-not-do list.
“The police have a GREAT responsibility not to harm innocent people. And too often they fail in that basic responsibility.”
In this instance, the homeowner should have advised the cops that he had the intruder at gunpoint, I will conceed that. But with all the stuff going on with the cops, they’re entirely too “concerned” with their own “wellbeing” to the exclusion of the public that they supposedly serve. The presence of a gun isn’t an “excuse” to take out the person holding it. As long as it isn’t pointed at them, it should not be considered a threat to be taken out without any command to drop it. This guy should get a lot of money and the cop who shot him should be finding another line of work.
All good points. But here's is something I wonder about. Suppose a bad guy with a gun is told "Drop the gun. Hands up!" The bad guy thinks "I better do that or I might get shot."
But suppose it's a good guy with a gun. He's more likely to think "Huh? What? Wait...I'm not the bad guy here...". He might even get confused, and pivot towards the sound of the command. Then he gets shot.
As you said, a cluster fudge.
From my perspective if I was alert and awake and ARMED, I’d have only called the police afterwards.
If he is INSIDE your garage and has a gun, shoot him. You then tell your story, let his corpse tell its side.
I support the police and understand they put their lives on the line, but the shoot first ask who’s there second mentality needs to stop. We had rules of engagement in Iraq. Some might not have liked it, but volunteering to put yourself in harms way is not carte blanche to keep a twitchy finger resting on the trigger.
Once you call the cops, HOLSTER YOUR F***KING GUN!!
Dumb move, he’s lucky he lived to tell it.
If the cops see a gun in your hand, you’ve got serious problems. If you have a guy at gunpoint, TELL the dispatcher where you are, what you are wearing and that you have a suspect AT GUNPOINT. Be ready to get thrown down and handcuffed until they straighten everything out.
Think like a cop. They don’t know you or that you’re the good guy. That way, everyone goes home.
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