[ghost of stonewall jackson]

what are the cops supposed to do when an apparently deranged individual is walking on the street brandishing a deadly weapon? say, have a good day sir, and let him attack passersby?

[chrisser]

what are the cops supposed to do when an apparently deranged individual is walking on the street brandishing a deadly weapon? say, have a good day sir, and let him attack passersby?

We don't need police at all then. If we're just going to shoot to kill people who pose a threat, any moron with a gun can do that, and they'd probably do it for free. If you really want a dude in uniform, we could just arm mall cops and be done with it at minimum wage.

Police are supposed to have the training and mindset to deal with situations with some degree of skill and discretion, and that's why they get the salaries, bennies and protection that we don't give to, say, mall cops or the average guy on the street.

I'm sure there are plenty of good cops, and I'm sure it's not an easy job, but I find it unreasonable that two trained police offers could find no other way to deal with a lone guy with a set of hedge clippers whom they had isolated from the public, than to shoot him dead in the street.

[driftdiver]

So deadly force is the only option? The guy was not threatening anyone until the cop put himself within danger. Even then its not clear from the video the guy was actually threatening the cop.

Do we really want to live in a society where we are a hair trigger away from being put down by cops?