I do believe in personal responsibility for our actions but I also believe in the equal value of all citizens. The young man apparently believed that the cop would respond to him in a rational way but the cop was not going to discuss things with him.
Way too quickly, it escalated to using coercive force when it could have been solved better with a little patience from the officer.
I think that the biggest division among the responses and responders for this thread is how we view our freedom. One group believes that authority is absolute and if you impede authority, you deserve all you get. The other group believes in the individual stature of the American citizen and that no citizen is more important than another citizen.
I tend to side with the latter group.
And I am with you.
Thank you for your service both in the Marines and as a police officer.
This in no way compares to your former job, but I worked as a bouncer years ago while I was between jobs. It wasn’t a bad place but with 400 people and lots of drunks, it could get bad real quick. I used common sense and common courtesy (to paying customers) and talked people out the door. I never had to fight with one. (Thank God. I was only getting $3.75 an hour.) I never set up a situation as “you or me”. I didn’t challenge their manliness. If I had, I’d have had my ass kicked at least once a week. LOL
I was a negotiator, not a fighter and I ‘won’ every time.