What???
The guy was unarmed.
He didn’t make any verbal threats.
He was shot in the side/back while running away!
That’s why the defense attorney tried so hard to argue and create the perception that he was closing with the officer (create doubt) which is clearly nonsense.
After he was roughed up by the officer, he ran and was shot in the side/back. Hard to justify.
It takes an immense amount of creativity and essentially smearing the dude (he had a crack pipe - so what) in order to create the appearance like this was a justified shooting.
There is no “reasonable” explanation for shooting someone in the back that was running away and unarmed (the officer already searched him!) after being roughed up. You can’t reasonably argue that this officers life was at risk.
And therein is the problem. A lot of former army guys (like myself) know how to use a weapon, we are disciplined, reliable, task focused, we play well as part of a team.
But the problem is that I was not trained to detain or arrest folks, to use minimal force. I trained to kill people (airborne ranger) and the officer was SF.
Former military make good cops because they are good following orders, do well with structure, understand they are part of a greater mission and don’t go rogue, doing their own thing...
But, this case highlights the problem with former military folks (like myself).
I wasn’t trained to detain people and when put in a situation like that officer was, I can’t even blame what he did (his YEARS of training took over).
This is a systemic problem our nation faces and at times it is spun as a race issue, but it is really an officer recruitment and training issue.
We rely heavily on former military in LE (also like myself), and while we do good because of the discipline and structure, following orders and playing as part of a team, we are often not so good when it comes to the use of force. When Ivan pops up, you shoot him, that simple.
Hello Red6,
I am very sorry, but it seems that we have a misunderstanding: I was just expressing my compassion for this young man who lost his life so unnecessarily, and for his loved ones.
And thank you for explaining the actions of the police officer in question, who, in this situation, acted like the soldier he was trained to be. His instinct, his reflexes, took over (probably he didn’t even consciously think about his actions at the moment, with his muscle memory kicking in).
In this case, however, the officer‘s actions had a tragic outcome.
It seems to me that this loss of a young human life was so unnecessary and unjustified.😞
Thus, I found it necessary to pray for the victim and his family, as I often do when I hear of a tragedy.✝️
On second thought, I think I could also send a prayer for the officer and his family. He might be the one to need heavenly grace the most…