Quote:
Originally Posted by santiagobob
There was no mention of a weapon of any kind in Blake's car. But there were 3 small children in the car, what responsible police officer would fire seven times into a car with 3 children in it? Any of the rounds could have ricocheted and killed one or more of the children.Shooting someone in the back has always been considered a cowardly act and is normally called murder.
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Let's see; a known felon refuses instructions by the police and reaches into a car, possibly reaching for a gun to kill you. Perhaps you do not see the children in the car or in a moment of increased adrenaline you respond how you were trained. His back is turned but you may see something in his hand. You shoot but it happens so fast that he does not immediately seem to be hit or effected by the hurriedly fired bullets. Even though you are trained constantly to count your expended rounds, you forget in the moment and fire a couple more until he falls to the ground. Later, someone tells you that there were children in the car, and you panic as you wonder if any of them might have been hit by a stray bullet. In your mind, you go over the scenario over and over again to see if there might have been another way to handle it. It is easy to see AFTER the fact how it might have gone differently. NO ONE goes on patrol thinking that "today is a good day to shoot someone."
Someone I know was on patrol and got a call for a domestic. He responded knowing his closest backup was 20 minutes away. He pulled into the driveway, late at night and saw a man leaving the house with an AX in his hands, brandishing it in a threatening manner and moving toward him. He drew his weapon and demanded the man to drop the ax. Eventually, the man complied. The man was cuffed and put in the patrol car. The man had just put the ax in his wife's forehead.
Another incident where two men in a car were chased at speeds exceeding a hundred mph and eventually forced to a stop in a used car lot. Three officers surrounded the car and the two were ordered from the car. The passenger door was opened and the passenger immediately reached down between the door and his feet for something. A shiny silvery object reflected sun in his hands as he brought his hands in view. The officer on the passenger side, immediately drew his pistol and put it right against the suspect's head. He did not fire. The suspect raised his hand with a can of beer that would have spilled if he had not reached down quickly for it. No one was shot. The driver was removed to the ER with a head wound when he attempted to flee the police officer after tearing the officer's badge from his uniform and running. The officer struck him with his baton when he caught up with the fleeing suspect and the suspect had attempted to fight him. Both instances someone could have been shot, and the shootings would have been justified if the officers were the shooters.
Officers that work to protect us, also take tremendous risks every day. They wish to return home safely to their families. They deserve our support and ALWAYS the benefit of their service when we consider whether or not they responded properly to a situation.