Posted on 04/18/2015 5:37:57 PM PDT by Ronald_Magnus
ELSMERE, Ky. —Officer Jesse Kidder has only been on the New Richmond police force for a year, but he did two tours of duty in Iraq as a Marine and he's a Purple Heart recipient.
Still, he said he's never been confronted the way he was on Thursday.
"Law enforcement officers all across the nation have to deal with split-second decisions that mean life or death. I wanted to be absolutely sure before I used deadly force," said Kidder.
It's easier said than done, and that has never been clearer than through the lens of Kidder's body camera, when the homicide suspect he was following on Thursday got out of his car and charged.
"He jumped out and he sprinted towards me. I had my firearm already drawn on me, and I told him to put his hands up in the air and he was screaming as he was yelling, 'Shoot me, shoot me'," Kidder said.
Dispatchers had told Kidder the suspect may threaten suicide by cop and that he could have a gun under his seat, but Kidder relied on his own split-second observations to know what to do.
"So he's got his arms at his side while he's running at me and that's the first thing I noticed," Kidder said as he watched the video. "He put his hand in his pocket there, so my eyes are watching that hand right now and nothing else."
(Excerpt) Read more at wlwt.com ...
+1
Same old Arm-chair Heroes here—shoulda-woulda-coulda
But if it saves the life of just one double murderer.....
Yes, that would be a good thing.
Bad idea to publically release much less broadcast this encounter.
It could inadvertently become the “gold standard” for how a street officer is supposed to apply deadly force.
The defense lawyers and political activists are going to have a field day with this police body camera material. Not to mention all the absurd restrictions the district attorneys, police department legal advisors and trainers are going to think up based on these recordings.
I will add that we want them frankly, to take some risks, the kill rate for innocents and unarmed people is getting out of hand high, they can't continue this rate of killing us just to play it safe.
Nice Tagline FRiend . . . .
Well said.
In spite of all the people who have far lower expectations for law enforcement.
The guy is a Marine with a Purple Heart. If trust his judgement based on that.
If the criminal had already killed 2 others with a HANDGUN, and had his hands in his pocket, while running at the cop, I would have shot, had I been the cop.
That correct reasoning seems to escape some people here.
YOU understand.
It is over and we have the result, you would have been wrong.
John Kerry got a purple heart too.
“And he was right - and it wasn’t luck.”
So you’re saying the cop KNEW the perp didn’t have a gun in his pocket. Or, you’re saying that even if the perp had a gun in his pocket, the cop KNEW the perp wouldn’t use it on him. Do I have that right?
He guessed right, that’s all.
If this cop does his job with guesses, it wont be long before he guesses wrong.
If this ex-Marine combat vet and now cop, kills people when he doesn’t need to, then it will be time to remove him.
So far he seems sharp as a tack, with great instincts and courage.
John Kerry would never have made it through the process to become a Marine. They don’t take pussies.
This cop should be fired for not shooting. Sets a terrible unreal standard. Big mistake.
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