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 ...
That’s not the whole story.
Dispatch advised the cop the suspect might be wanting the cops to kill him. The officer trained his eye on the suspect’s right hand which was in his pocket. The cop was ready to open fire and within a just 10’ or so from the suspect.
The cop showed much restraint here.
I’m not going to fault him and even his Chief praised the officers actions.
Does KY have the death penalty?
“...if the suspect had been black instead of white...”
Yep, the 6th comment on the website did exactly what you said would happen. It didnt take long. Very predictable, wasn’t it?
Nope, you don't - unless you're saying the cop was psychic.
What I'm saying is that the cop had been in combat. He knew what people look like who are coming at him to kill him and who had the means to do it. And to him, during the split-seconds he had to react, this perp didn't add up.
He said himself that he had his eyes glued onto the perp's hand in his pocket. He was well aware that they perp could pull a gun, and how much time he had to fire in self-defense. But remember, he had experience in exactly such situations, where he did indeed shoot to kill in war. So he felt he still had time.
But he also learned to trust his instincts in war. And his instincts told him this perp may well have wanted to be killed by a cop, but wasn't acting as if he was truly, actually a threat. And so, because this particular cop was actually trying with everything humanly possible to NOT take a life, he stretched his own timeline for reacting to the breaking point, because something that SHOULD add up, that he trusted to save his own life many times before - DIDN'T add up.
And, he was right.
“While backing up, what if the officer stepped in a pothole and tripped?”
The cop did lose his balance and fall. Cop should have shot him when bad guy’s hand went inside his pocket and was charging him.
Dispatch advised the cop the suspect might be wanting the cops to kill him.
In addition, the suspect yelled multiple times, “Shoot me”.
I think the officer figured out what was likely happening, and his boss agreed and even did the interview with the officer.
Somebody ping the Freeper cops. I’d like them to chime in on this.
When the criminal is telling the officer that he has a gun and is going to shoot him, then he is begging to be shot. If you are that stupid then Dawin’s law needs to be applied.
Two years ago I was in a similar situation. This druggie charged me. He is lucky to be alive. While I did not pull the trigger, I was very, very close. He he had not stopped when he did, I would have shot him. My heart is pounding just remembering the situation. My CCW instructor was amazed when I told him about it.
No wonder the cops got out of control in America, even when he shouldn’t have shot him and didn’t, and it proved to be the right decision and the result is in, we STILL have people here saying that he should have killed the man anyway.
The combat veteran ex-Marine, Purple Heart awarded, cop is being condemned for NOT doing a bad police shooting.
I agree. the cop is very lucky that he’s alive right now.
Looks like KY has a death row but I don’t know when the last execution took place.
Just think.
Since the guy is alive, he can now be treated for his suicidal depression before being executed for the double murder.
textbook would say to shoot the suspect.
Textbook doesn’t cover every single potential case. Not all cops are equal or identical.
Cop is lucky. Suspect/criminal is very lucky.
In this case it may be right. If he would have shot him, in this specific case, I’d have said he was right, too.
LOL! Yes, it all makes sense in this insane country!
This war veteran didn’t want to be kill the man because you think the man deserves it anyway.
Then you tell a story of some guy having charged you, and did what?
I assume that you wish that you had killed him, did he even touch you?, you sound a little panicky to me.
The cop could have easily shot the suspect and been easily justified.
But the fact dispatch previously advised the suspect might want to be killed by cops and the fact the suspect was telling the officer several times to shoot him, likely played a role here. Any cop could have simply shot the suspect to death.
I think we need more officers like one.
er...Like this one.
Good police work does not depend on dumb luck.
This is a perfect example of an unreliable cop.
You wouldn’t want him to be the partner of your son or daughter.
He tripped and fell flat on his back with the suspect feet away from him. Yeah, we want our police to use judgement and discern threats. That did not happen in this case. The cop is lucky to be alive.
What would Sgt. Joe Friday have done?
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