I get all that. As long as it’s done consistently though...
Ashley Babbitt is a great example of her posing no direct threat to a cop, but the counterargument in her case is context: an armed cop was warning several people who (from his point of view) were trying to break through a closed door. He didn’t know if they were armed or not. At the very least there was going to be a warning shot and the likelihood of SOMEONE getting a bullet was high.
I don’t swing from being 100% binary on one side, to being 100% binary on the other, simply because of who’s the shooter and who’s the victim. I go by PRINCIPLE.
As far as I’m concerned, all cops should act professionally and proportionately at all times. If they’re acting within the law and their code of conduct, civilian recordings may vindicate any wrongful accusations made against them. But if they’re acting unprofessionally, and the cameras are catching them crossing the line, then of course the citizen has every right to film it.
That principle doesn’t care if the protester is MAGA or Antifa, and it doesn’t care if the shooter is ICE or a Capitol cop.
Half the reason why the USA is such a tinderbox right now is that partisanship has taken the place of principle to an insane degree.
If there was an exact replay of the Babbitt incident tomorrow, but with an ICE cop instead of a Capitol cop, shooting a pro-immigration libtard instead of a MAGA protester, I’d put a big bet on the MAGA commentariat saying “she got it coming” without any attempt to fact-check, AND the liberal media saying “it was murder!” even if it patently wasn’t.
Republicans have “principles”.
Democrats have goals.
Republicans will sacrifice achieving their goals in order to preserve their principles.
Democrats won’t let anything get in the way of achieving their goals.
“At the very least there was going to be a warning shot”
There’s no such thing as a warning shot.
That’s Hollywood crap.
As noted in my post, a buddy of mine enlightened me about “we can blow you out of your socks” if they think you have a gun.
Know what the preface to that was? The question, “How many warning shots do you normally fire”.
He laughed. And then enlightened me.