Posted on 12/11/2018 6:43:17 AM PST by marktwain
Armed citizens and police officers are natural allies, and teammates in the fight against crime. There is no segment of the community more supportive of law enforcement than their fellow citizens who are lawfully armed.
So why are they accidentally killed by police with such distressing frequency?
2018 has been a tough year
This has been a tough year for police and armed citizens alike. In 2018, we’ve seen a number of tragic mistakes made by police officers who shot and killed lawfully armed citizens in error, including a homeowner in Aurora, Colorado, a security guard in Chicago, Illinois, and a Thanksgiving eve shopping mall patron in Hoover, Alabama, among others.
In each of these situations, the officers believed they were using force to stop someone who had endangered innocent life, but they were sadly mistaken. The officers were thrust into a dynamic and dangerous situation where they had to act quickly based on imperfect and incomplete information, and each of them made a fatal error that cost a life.
We still don’t understand the details of how these particular events unfolded, so it’s inappropriate to comment directly on the circumstances or assign blame. There were probably mistakes made by all parties – both armed citizens and police – which led to the unhappy endings of these stories, and this is not the place to hash that out.
Tactical considerations
Instead, I’d like to suggest some things for police to consider in order to avoid a tragic repeat of these events:
More Here at Policeone.com
(Excerpt) Read more at policeone.com ...
Plain and simple, some police are high on power and a bit too trigger happy, protected for their actions too often because they are the police.
Both sides of this issue have to come to a understanding what the proper response is.
When confronting one or the other.
It is not a one way street.
True, but gun owners, especially conceal carry, need to be especially familiar with the proper procedure when encountering a LEO.
When an officer encounters an armed person they have no way of knowing that individual’s intentions. Guessing wrong can be fatal. The difficulty is how does the good guy convincingly communicate their good intentions in an encounter that will be measured in seconds?
Cops kill unarmed citizens
Still better to be to armed!
1.) Drop the gun.
2.) Put your hands up.
Bingo! The armed innocent citizen needs to put his/her firearm down and show their open hands to the police when they show up. The citizen’s job is done at that point. It’s up to the police from that point forward.
Because the police get paid by and take orders from government officials who have a vested interest in disarming lawfully armed citizens.
Blow away the family pet then apologize for being at the wring house.
“Because the police get paid by and take orders from government officials who have a vested interest in disarming lawfully armed citizens.”
I sincerely hope that you are NOT a gun owner as that sort of twisted attitude gives us all a bad name.
There are bad cops out there but I'd wager not as many as some seem to think and one needs to do their own part to contribute to their own safety.....must be hard on a good cop to find out he killed a good citizen...no wonder they have a high number who eat their own guns.
Plainclothes and off-duty police officers have been killed by other officers. It is always a tricky situation when the on-duty crew shows up. You’d have to go into the details of each incident but it’s best to holster the weapon and show your hands.
That being said, it sure looks like there’s an increasing tendency to shoot first and ask questions later. Maintaining cover and taking a couple of seconds to assess the situation would help.
The police follow their orders, first and foremost. Duh. If placed in a position of choosing to either lose their job and pension, or doing something illegal but which will be swept under the rug by a higher up, better than 90% of cops will choose to do the illegal thing and be protected from taking any heat for it.
If you don’t get that, then you don’t know a thing about human nature.
When your main tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
The training is the main problem, too aggressive. also the personality profile of the trainee is important.
Part of the problem is that in many cases, a citizen doesn’t even know that the cops are there for a “disturbance call” until SWAT is busting their door in at 2 AM.
That’s why SWATting has proven to be an effective, if highly immoral, tactic by ne’er-do-wells.
Good case for making “swatting” a capital offense...
I’m familiar enough with “human nature” to know a person suffering from PPD when I seem em.
Yeah, it actually should be. It’s literally premeditated murder.
In most of these shootings there is no time to follow a procedure. Police officer comes. Police officer sees person with gun. Police officer shoots with little or no warning.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.