Problem is that cops are scared of everything: blacks, whites, hispanics, kids, women, old people, people who don’t comply, people who comply, crime victims, mentally ill, dogs, people selling stuff without a permit, etc.
I’d almost rather take my chance with the bad guy than the cops...
I saw the video, it was the hardest thing I’ve ever watched. It makes you think that at any time, out of the blue, the cops could show up, terrorize you at gunpoint then shoot you dead without consequence for themselves.
Lowering psychological screening standards should fix that.
Cops who need prison, get prison.
Behind all of this, sedition.
I watched the video.
I learned that when ordered to my knees by a LEO, go flat on my face and do not move.
That will be the last order I follow.
No “Simon says games for me.”
If the knuckle dragging badge money cannot keep his burger hook off the bang switch, my family will never have to work again.
Seems like the technique of asking him to crawl was stupid and dangerous Wouldn’t shorts or what not coming down and somebody reaching for their waist be common enough to be anticipated by people that write the standards on how to apprehend a suspect?
When I was a kid it was the policeman’s job to make the citizen feel safe.
When did that turn around?
We have the police wrongly shooting people now on a weekly basis. This needs to stop NOW. There are many culprits that have lead us to this point. One is the notion that "officer safety" is paramount when it is in fact second to the safety of the public. While we never want to have an officer killed in the line of duty the fact remains this is going to happen but what must NEVER happen is an officer killing a citizen in any situation where deadly force was not the last and only option to protect the life of the officer or another civilian. I want to emphasize I did not say "justified" but rather the LAST AND ONLY OPTION. Even a man with a gun that has knowingly committed a robbery can not be shot unless that man has a weapon at the ready or in the process to be ready to fire. Simply lifting his shirt and starting to pull out what appears to be a firearm is still a NO SHOOT situation, as the suspect may be taking the firearm out to drop it on the ground and surrender, the object may not be a firearm at all and many other possibilities.
This is a long drawn out subject but in short we need to get back to the police being "peace officers" not "law enforcers". In the end the people are the boss not the police and its time the boss put his foot down.
That cop is a murderer and needs to be imprisoned for life —
assuming that execution is not a legal possibility.
Posted this on another thread with the same story - think it bears repeating every time I read about this...
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I was in the sandbox in the eighties during the “Tanker Wars”
Our Rules of Engagement during that deployment was a defensive posture. This meant that we could only defend ourselves against actual aggression - we could only fire if someone shot at us or we had a *verified* threat. In other words, we were required to assess and guarantee the threat before opening fire.
Later, during Desert Storm and the endless garbage that followed, the ROE was a combat posture: Shoot at the enemy, or anyone who seems to threaten you. The latter because lots of enemy fighters chose to wear civilian clothes. Or were women. Or kids. You were expected to exercise judgment, but if you truly felt that you were in danger, you were cleared to shoot.
What the police and their apologists want is combat posture ROE. And if that’s their ROE, then who is the enemy?
Us. Everyone who isn’t a cop. It has to be - there isn’t anyone else...
And we could be anyone - because we don’t wear uniforms. We could be a man, a woman, a child...
Even scarier is that this is pretty much what the courts, other cops and their apologists have given them. After any shoot, the thin blue line forms a protective wall around the shooter. And if they do happen to go to trial, all they have to do is say they were afraid and even the juries are instructed to give them leeway.
Cops should be on “defensive” ROE. They should only be allowed to fire if fired upon, or there is a genuine threat assessed and verified. If they fail to do this and shoot an innocent person they should go to jail - forever.
Why? First of all because they *asked* for the job - no one forced them to become a police officer. Secondly, they’re *supposed* to be better than everyone else - at least that’s what we’re told. They’re “heroes” for doing nothing more than putting on a uniform and wearing a badge. Finally, they’re supposedly very well-trained - which is why they get to walk around in tacti-cool gear wearing shooting glasses and carrying loaded Glocks and AR-15’s.
Shooting when you’re in *fear* of losing life or limb is a defense for a civilian - not a trained police officer.
The reality is that being a cop is *dangerous* - which means that sometimes (often - depending on where you’re a cop) you will be afraid. If you can’t control your fear and remain calm enough to assess and verify an actual threat to your life prior to opening fire, you shouldn’t be a cop.
Go wash cars or something.
The taxpayers now have to foot the bill for another fearful cretin with a badge. Eliminate their immunity from civil action, just as doctors have to carry malpractice insurance, police officers should be required to carry professional liability insurance as a condition of employment. Can’t find an insurance compny willing to insure you...find another line of work.
One of the five cops could not have hand cuffed the guy while he was on the floor in the prone position ?
Who the heck trains these guys?
I was a police officer at the LAPD as a young man. Scared cops can be identified and need to be removed. You can spot them easily. They are a potential danger to everyone.
I’d sure like to know why that guy was in charge of the situation. Two other cops with their weapons drawn but no coordination between the three?
I first heard about this story on The Savage Nation and the audio alone was enough to make you choke up and get angry at the same time. Savage said the weapon used wasn’t even issued to him from the armory. It was his personal weapon he was using in an official capacity. Don’t know if that’s allowed in places like Mesa, but it seems like it would a no-no to me.
I hope the Justice Department takes a look at this case.