“Incidents such as this have caused me to withdraw unqualified support for law enforcement officers.”
I agree. LEOs must make quick decisions but they need to obtain information (a checklist) before resorting to lethal force. Apparently, they do not have robust protocols in place and/or poor training.
But that being said, this was local law enforcement and the community at least has a chance to hold these people responsible. Imagine if they were federal agents; in that case they would cover it up and there would be no accountability. That is why the people must take step to limit the powers of federal law enforcement
And the police chief sent detectives in an unmarked car why?
(Free disclosure, I have been an opponent of unmarked cars for thirty five years. I believe that the public is best served by the old black and white recognizable patterns and that each state should standardize such a pattern)
Wrong. Every cop in the nation is trained to fire at will at cars that are trying to flee the scene of a crime. They justify this by stepping toward a fleeing vehicle thereby giving them a license to shoot. That car is a deadly weapon, so deadly force is an appropriate response.
And every court in the country backs them up when innocent people are injured. The question of whether the cop should simply move out of the way is NEVER an issue. Even if the cop is behind a car moving in the opposite direction - he is authorized to shoot, shoot and shoot some more.