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Posted on 09/15/2020 5:45:56 PM PDT by lightman
LANCASTER, Pa. —
Lancaster police Chief Jarrad Berkihiser said an officer who shot and killed a man armed with a knife was in imminent danger of losing his life and acted appropriately.
The police shooting death of 27-year-old Ricardo Munoz on Sunday was captured on an officer's body cam.
Looking at that body cam video, Berkihiser said his officer's actions were justified.
"There's been some question about, you know, where was the officer's backup? And should the officer have waited for backup? And that's a good question, and we can't always wait for backup," he said.
Berkihiser said the officer responding to the 911 call also had no way of knowing Munoz's mental health history when approaching the house on the 300 block of Laurel Street. Munoz's family said he was a paranoid schizophrenic.
"In this instance, the officer took his time walking up so he could try and assess what was going on, and he responded to the imminent threat that he perceived. There is no magic word, phrase that we can say to automatically stop somebody in their tracks from doing whatever they're doing. We have no control over somebody's free will," he said.
The department practices deescalation as part of its use of force policy, but Berkihiser said the officer didn't have a chance.
"A lot of people talk about deescalation. There was no time to verbally deescalate. He was being chased by an individual with a knife," he said.
The chief thinks it would have been a mistake to send a social worker alone to the house, saying that person would be dead.
Mental health agencies and police departments have to work together, Berkihiser said, but he also wants to work together with the community.
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21 foot rule. Bye asshole.
Knives are lethal weapons, as well
I dont know why people do not understand it
Or think gun always beats knife
“When an unarmed man comes at you with a knife....” - Joe Biden
A hammer is a lethal weapon
A baseball bat is a lethal weapon
A screwdriver is a lethal weapon
A rope is a lethal weapon
A car is a lethal weapon
A sucker punch is a lethal weapon
Sad that speaking the plain truth is considered a revolutionary act. I defy anyone to watch the bodycam video and point out where the officer made a bad decision or had time to try a different tactic. I’m amazed the woman made it out of the house safely.
Doesn’t matter; any excuse for a riot.
As a police officer said fifty years ago....”A knife is always loaded!”
And it has a built-in silencer
Which NFL helmet is he on?
As a young teen, the gun rack for the family guns was in my bedroom. I also had my collection of knives hanging nearby.
I was okay with a friend wanting to look at a gun. Double check that they were unloaded and hand it to them. I didn’t let them handle the knives - they were sharp!
Pull a knife on me at 21 feet or closer and bitch me out. I will shoot you. No now wait, let’s talk, it’s on. Period. I ain’t a cop.
The guy was mostly unarmed as he only had one hand on the knife. I guess he was mostly not shot, too, as the bullet hole(s) only comprise a tiny fraction of his body. So, everybody’s good and not committing violence.
Okay, you get a knife and threaten someone and advance. Then you can say goodbye asshole. You have to be the dumbest ass out there.
>> had no way of knowing Munoz’s mental health history
So who made the 911 call? An unknowing neighbor?
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