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Use of deadly force by police rising
WSB radio ^ | 5/5/2014 | Pete Combs

Posted on 05/05/2014 4:46:46 AM PDT by from occupied ga

The GBI and several of the metro area’s largest police agencies have seen the use of deadly force rise dramatically since 2009.

It’s a trend that isn’t just happening in metro Atlanta, but across the state.

“Why would there be an increase in shooting deaths by police when crime has gone down?” asks Atlanta attorney Brian Spears.

Spears is on the board of the National Police Accountability Project at the National Lawyers Guild. A WSB/AJC investigation of police shootings in the metro area show they’ve spiked in the past four years, from 37 in 2009 to 56 in 2013.

“This is indicative of the level of violence that is directed against law enforcement officers,” says GBI Director Vernon Keenan.

Keenan says part of the problem is an increase in the number of people in psychological crisis who use weapons to confront officers.

“We are losing the craft of being a good police officer,” says Marietta Police Chief Dan Flynn.

Flynn says officers are no longer as adept at using their psychological edge in dealing with suspects. He also says many are disgusted with a prison system that cuts sentences in half almost automatically.

“You know, it maybe makes them a little quicker on the trigger,” says Flynn.

But the biggest problem, he says is that suspects are more violent and less willing to heed the consequences of attacking a cop.

Spears also blames the courts, but for a different reason.

“The courts fail to hold officers accountable,” said Spears.

Spears says police need more training in how to deal with people in psychological crisis. But Keenan says officers are already trained better and as a result they’re doing a better job of protecting themselves.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Government
KEYWORDS: deadlyforce; police; shooting
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Cops are shooting more people today than every before, and the reason:

THE POPULACE IS BEING MORE VIOLENT TOWARD THE POLICE or so says GBI Director Vernon Keenan (What he's not objective you say?)

I personally agree that “The courts fail to hold officers accountable,” said Spears. Is the root cause. If they can get away with murder, then they will.

1 posted on 05/05/2014 4:46:46 AM PDT by from occupied ga
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To: from occupied ga

And as the GBI knows there are more people carrying Wii Nintendo remote controllers — black and white.


2 posted on 05/05/2014 4:49:20 AM PDT by Uncle Chip
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To: Uncle Chip
Well everyone knows that the most important thing is (trumpet fanfare):
"That the officers go home safely to their families at night."
3 posted on 05/05/2014 4:52:01 AM PDT by from occupied ga (Your government is your most dangerous enemy)
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To: from occupied ga
officers are already trained better and as a result they’re doing a better job of protecting themselves.

Says it all, right?

4 posted on 05/05/2014 4:53:20 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy
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To: from occupied ga

According to this website, the number of police getting killed is generally trending down.

I should point out that I have no idea where the site gets these numbers.

They purport to show LEO deaths since the Founding. Color me skeptical for accuracy in the 18th and 19th centuries.


5 posted on 05/05/2014 4:56:30 AM PDT by Sherman Logan
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To: from occupied ga

Just my personal observation when I was last in the US, police
in the last 10-20 years have been morphing into jack-booted thugs. I do not know why, unless it is the influence of TV and movie cop shows where they are always in swat gear and yelling “get on the ground. Get on the ground NOW”.
The good old boy on the beat has been replaced by whatever you want to call them.


6 posted on 05/05/2014 4:58:04 AM PDT by AlexW
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To: Sherman Logan

Sorry, here’s the site.

http://www.nleomf.org/facts/officer-fatalities-data/year.html

According to this site, LEO is #10 for dangerous jobs in USA.

http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2013/11/12/the-15-most-dangerous-jobs-in-america/

Being a fisherman is more than 5x as likely to get you killed on the job.


7 posted on 05/05/2014 5:03:13 AM PDT by Sherman Logan
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To: from occupied ga

As we creep toward turd world status the cops are increasingly becoming death squads for dogs and human beings.


8 posted on 05/05/2014 5:03:32 AM PDT by Jack Hydrazine (Pubbies = national collectivists; Dems = international collectivists; We need a second party!)
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To: from occupied ga

The Ruling Elite are losing patience with the uppity serfs.


9 posted on 05/05/2014 5:06:34 AM PDT by Navy Patriot (Join the Democrats, it's not Fascism when WE do it, and the Constitution and law mean what WE say.)
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To: from occupied ga

The Albuquerque PD recently was investigated by the DOJ. They were found to be a bit zealous when it came to use of deadly force.

Since that finding, there has probably been close to one police shooting per day in ABQ and surrounding areas.


10 posted on 05/05/2014 5:09:49 AM PDT by ican'tbelieveit
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To: from occupied ga

And that doesn’t include all the terriers and poodles that get whacked..


11 posted on 05/05/2014 5:11:16 AM PDT by wonkowasright (Wonko from outside the asylum)
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To: Jack Hydrazine
Yep. A big group of them descended like buzzards on Bundy’s ranch. Grinning, and high fiving each other in anticipation of getting to shoot down some helpless men, women, and children. Only to turn tail and run like the cowards they are when they learned that the men, women, and children were not as helpless as they were led to believe.
12 posted on 05/05/2014 5:12:30 AM PDT by sport
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To: wonkowasright
Since that finding, there has probably been close to one police shooting per day in ABQ and surrounding areas.

And that is down from how many previously? But, have no fear, in a week it will be up where it was.

13 posted on 05/05/2014 5:15:58 AM PDT by sport
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To: from occupied ga

The cops are learning that they are pretty much immune from prosecution regardless of the circumstances. So why not off the occasional great unwashed? Won’t cost ya nothin’.


14 posted on 05/05/2014 5:21:40 AM PDT by Wolfie
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To: AlexW

there are no cops on the Beat, they hide in the cars with the A/C on till the shift ends. When was the last time you saw a cop walking a Beat and interacting with people?


15 posted on 05/05/2014 5:36:13 AM PDT by ABN 505
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To: Wolfie
The cops are learning that they are pretty much immune from prosecution regardless of the circumstances.

And that is the crux of the problem. Rather than being held to a higher standard when they kill or injure some member of the public, they're almost always held to no standard at all

"He made a threatening gesture." OK good enough - free pass.

Anyone know what happened to the cops who shot the 9 bystanders in NYC when they shot the guy who killed a co-worker at the empire state building? I'm guessing nothing.

16 posted on 05/05/2014 5:38:53 AM PDT by from occupied ga (Your government is your most dangerous enemy)
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To: from occupied ga

Cops are in a no win situation. People are getting worse—behaving worse, and while “stats” say the crime-rate is going down—I personally don’t believe it.

The justice system is a joke nationally, and it’s very common for rapists and murderers to be back on the streets after serving a mild sentence only to be shuffled back into the system after a few weeks.

That said, when cops can kill dogs and people with impunity on a regular basis, what does that say about them?

How many of them brag about it?


17 posted on 05/05/2014 5:53:56 AM PDT by Roman_War_Criminal (Bible Summary in a few verses: John 14:6, John 6:29, Romans 10:9-10)
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To: from occupied ga

what a crock. more violent towards cops. please.


18 posted on 05/05/2014 5:57:48 AM PDT by CriticalJ (Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress.. But then I repeat myself. MT)
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To: from occupied ga

Militarized police will yield military style results.


19 posted on 05/05/2014 5:58:32 AM PDT by LucianOfSamasota (Tanstaafl - its not just for breakfast anymore...)
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To: from occupied ga

If you take a job that is inherently dangerous and above all else you place your safety above anything else to the point you are nervous about confrontation and you view everybody as a enemy and threat. YOU ARE IN THE WRONG JOB.


20 posted on 05/05/2014 5:59:53 AM PDT by DeWalt (Times are more like they used to be than they are today.)
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