firing at an officer or not, can you realistically expect any human being to sit there and take a dog attack just because some cop ordered them too? I think any human being with a gun sees a dog coming at them in attack mode is likely to shoot. Survival instinct being what it is.
As of right now, this one definately smells a bit off.
I think any human being with a gun,
What is a scum bag doing with a gun out in public? I have many guns, but I don’t walk down the street with them and confront Police Officers. This guy got what he deserved. Great job Burgh PD.
According to the police, the kid pulled a gun, the cop ordered the dog to “disarm”, and the kid fired. If the witnesses are like the family, they will report that the kid was just standing there when a cop suddenly for no reason ordered the dog to attack and kill the innocent honor student who was turning his life around waiting for a hiphop record contract, who had no choice but to defend himself.
Police dogs are trained tightly. If a dog was told to disarm me, he'd keep me too busy to shoot. If I saw a police dog coming at me (and I were truly an innocent bystander) I'd raise my empty hands over my head and trust the dog's training to not escalate the situation. Drawing down on the dog would be, literally, the last thing I'd do.
It would be a tougher call if I didn't know it was a police dog, but in a city that's unlikely- you usually are engaged with the police before a canine is unleashed.
NO, the scumbag was warned that the dog would be sent in and the dog handler in most cases is close at hand. Aiming at the dog is no different than aiming at the human handler that will be nearby. If there were no dog and the cop approached him gun drawn would he have had the right to shoot at the cop holding the gun on him? Fire a weapon when surrounded by armed police and expect to die, better him than one of the police.
I don't know the situation, and wasn't there. Again, I think the loss of life on both ends is tragic.
I tell my clients the biggest mistake they can make is not complying with an officer's commands. The two rules I stress to some of my “repeat customers” are, 1. DO NOT SPEAK and 2. Comply fully with everything officer commands.
We have, as a society, lost a great deal of respect for police officers. Part of that is their own doing with corruption, planting evidence, harassment, etc.; however part of it is because it's “cool” to buck authority as well.
I see a lot of unethical behavior from officers of the law in my line of work as a defense attorney, but I would like to point out that the majority of officers I meet and interact with are nothing more than hard working citizens who want to do their job the best way they know how. A large majority of officers do not relish the idea of aiming their weapon at someone, much less firing it.
All that being said, I've learned in my time here on earth that there are always two sides to every story, and the truth is rarely, if ever represented solely by one side.
That is an anti-survival instinct. While you're shooting at the dog, the cops are going to be shooting at you. Your chances in that fight are pretty damn slim.
If a police dog ever comes at you, you put your arms in the air, don't try to run, and don't offer any resistance, and the dog will not bite you. That is how they are trained.
It doesn't sound like the deceased was responding to an attack, but instead was instigating one.
I think someone who pulls out a gun in the presence of uniformed (and armed) police offers can expect to be shot at, irrespective of the presence of a dog.
Stupid is as stupid does.