[thefactor]

You can think that way if you'd like, but you'd be wrong. Here's the dark little secret of policing: it was never intended to protect individuals. It protects society at large. Police do not protect victims, because, by definition, they have already been victimized. Police protect society by attempting to remove the perpetrator.

In this case, police may handcuff the people they are stopping as long as the police are reasonably in fear of their own safety. Given the nature of the crime, that would stand up in court. You only need reasonable suspicion to stop someone, probable cause to arrest. And in certain circumstances you do not need permission or a warrant in order to search the immediate, grab-able area for someone who has been stopped.

This isn't me talking, this is precedent. Whether I (or you) agree with it or not doesn't matter in the least.

[Tarantulas]

Thank you for being the Voice of Sanity in this thread. This event sounds exactly like an active shooter event where everyone runs out of the building with their hands up. We know someone in the group is the shooter, but who is it? Obviously everyone must be detained until we determine the answer. In this case we have an armed bank robber who pointed his gun at customers and employees and then ended up among a large group of motorists. Police did the same thing they would have done for the active shooter scenario, and they did it right. Here are a couple of articles with more information about what really happened, without the emotional claptrap included:

http://kwgn.com/2012/06/04/armed-bank-robbery-caught-on-camera/

http://kdvr.com/2012/06/02/aurora-police-searching-for-bank-robbery-suspect/

The folks who always start shouting about “jackbooted thugs” in every police thread need to get the whole story before opening their mouths, IMHO.

[yarddog]

“for my own safety” has become the all encompassing excuse for a multitude of sins.

The worst thing is it has become accepted by the courts and is about as good an example as any of just how far this nation has fallen.

Another is the huge increase in police forces. The town I grew up in Had a police chief, a single cop and maybe a few part time ones. I think they only had one car.

Now the same town is the same population and I never visit without seeing a bunch of cop cars basically doing nothing but looking for speeders.

As far as I know the population wants it that way, they think they are somehow safer with all those cops around. The fact is they are not.