[Rsenholzi]

Perhaps we need to start sending the rioters and BLM members to these citizen classes. Maybe then then would get an idea of what the police are up against. I have seen the posts about tasers here. You obviously haven’t researched any of the people being killed. Many were tased and kept on coming due to the drugs that they were on. There were very few people killed who didn’t do anything . The majority had been arrested multiple times for anything from raped , domestic violence to burglary . The majority had wielded knives, guns and other lethal weapons yet you never heard about those. Even in the case of the young woman recently where was the “news” that her boyfriend had attacked the police with a weapon. Most of these people had been on drugs which makes them stronger and more apt to keep on coming regardless of the guns the police have. Many are mental impaired but why should that stop a police officer who is in the direct line of fire from coming home to his/her family. They should and need to protect themselves and the public should be backing them not attacking them. If it was you they were protecting from the violent criminal, I am sure you would want them riddle them with bullets. It’s time to stand up for the police and let them know they are supported. Do your research of each and every citizen that was killed. After going through 75 myself , I found every last one of them had a criminal record of violent crime. I found the majority were on drugs at the time and Most were wielding a weapon. Go BLUE

[maggie1]

Originally Posted by nick demis

Why didn't the family commit him? I guess you could blame the family instead of the police for his death.

In many ways I'm guessing the family predicted this outcome at some point. Expecting the family to control a mentally ill member is like trying to herd cats, especially if there is a history of violent behavior. Unless I am mistaken, the courts must make a decision on institutional committment. If the person is on medication, who is supposed to monitor their taking of it. Nope, it's a no-win situation, and a very sad one for the family. And let us not forget the impact on the police officers at having to take a life. They'll need counselling, and will have some pretty sleepless nights second guessing if they had made the best decision. I'd say they did, but others will disagree.

[noslices1]

Originally Posted by mneumann02

There are a lot of questions concerning police shootings such as "Why didn't the police shoot to wound the person?" or "Why did they have to shoot him so many times?" I know I won't change anyone's mind with a simple post here, but my experience might help temper some views.

A few years ago, I was fortunate to be chosen for an FBI Citizen Training Course. There were 25 of us in the 10 week class. Participant citizens ranged from Black activists to far right conservatives. Subjects covered in the 4 1/2 hour weekly sessions included terrorism, white collar crime, kidnapping, violent crimes and "When and How to Use a Firearm."

The FBI trained us that if someone is life-threatening (to you or someone else) and you decide you to shoot, you shoot until the threat is ended. Only in Wild West movies does someone shoot to knock the gun out of the bad guy's hand or shoot to wound. To prove this important point, the FBI set up a very life-like full scale video on a wall with a very real looking and feeling fake gun that interacted with what was being shown. We each took turns as an FBI agent deciding if, when and whom to shoot. It was so real many of us were shaking during our turn as the video was played. Our first guy up shot the bad guy one time, and as the bad guy fell, he turned to us and smiled as he blew the imagined smoke from his gun barrel. Unfortunately for our "pretend" FBI agent, as the bad guy fell, he emptied his revolver into the back of the "agent."

At first the Black activist refused to role-play, but eventually did. He was shaking as he kept yelling, "FBI, drop the weapon!" When he finally decided to shoot, he not only emptied the gun's 8 round capacity, he reloaded and shot a couple more times. (They still talk about this in that FBI office.)

I asked a question. How do you know when to shoot? The FBI agent handed me the fake gun and said I was an FBI agent and I just caught a bad guy (him) robbing a bank. As the bad guy, he walked across the room away from me and put a fake gun to his head. I yelled, "FBI, drop the gun." He started yelling he was going to kill himself and walked toward me with the gun at his head. In less than the blink of an eye, as he got 10 feet away, he turned the gun on me, shot me, and said "You're dead." I had been ready to pull the trigger the moment he made a move. But I am now a dead FBI agent.

I am not arguing that all shootings are justified by any means. I'm just saying that those 25 citizens, who went through that training exercise, developed a lot more empathy for understanding how extremely tense those situations are- how life and death decisions have to be made in split seconds that will have ramifications for the rest of people's lives.

Here’s an idea. Give all the police “Tranquilizer guns”. Shoot the perp and let him/her wake up in a cell.

[bilcon]

Originally Posted by airstreamingypsy

So, if someone is running away from the police, and won't stop when told to, and they get shot in the back, by the police...... just wonder what exactly the "threat" is. If someone is unarmed, what exactly is the "threat"? While I'm asking questions, when will some of you be able to grasp the concept that "defunding" means reallocating funds where it can be better used. It does not mean not paying and not providing police with everything they need.

You are assuming the person is not a "threat" if he is running away. How do you know he is unarmed? How do you know he/she will not be a threat if he gets away. It was mentioned that some cities would reallocate police funds to use Social Workers instead of police. Good luck with that. Most of these law breakers run for a reason, and must be stopped before they do more harm. Don't Run, Don't get shot. Very simple rule.

[mydavid]

Originally Posted by mneumann02

There are a lot of questions concerning police shootings such as "Why didn't the police shoot to wound the person?" or "Why did they have to shoot him so many times?" I know I won't change anyone's mind with a simple post here, but my experience might help temper some views.

A few years ago, I was fortunate to be chosen for an FBI Citizen Training Course. There were 25 of us in the 10 week class. Participant citizens ranged from Black activists to far right conservatives. Subjects covered in the 4 1/2 hour weekly sessions included terrorism, white collar crime, kidnapping, violent crimes and "When and How to Use a Firearm."

The FBI trained us that if someone is life-threatening (to you or someone else) and you decide you to shoot, you shoot until the threat is ended. Only in Wild West movies does someone shoot to knock the gun out of the bad guy's hand or shoot to wound. To prove this important point, the FBI set up a very life-like full scale video on a wall with a very real looking and feeling fake gun that interacted with what was being shown. We each took turns as an FBI agent deciding if, when and whom to shoot. It was so real many of us were shaking during our turn as the video was played. Our first guy up shot the bad guy one time, and as the bad guy fell, he turned to us and smiled as he blew the imagined smoke from his gun barrel. Unfortunately for our "pretend" FBI agent, as the bad guy fell, he emptied his revolver into the back of the "agent."

At first the Black activist refused to role-play, but eventually did. He was shaking as he kept yelling, "FBI, drop the weapon!" When he finally decided to shoot, he not only emptied the gun's 8 round capacity, he reloaded and shot a couple more times. (They still talk about this in that FBI office.)

I asked a question. How do you know when to shoot? The FBI agent handed me the fake gun and said I was an FBI agent and I just caught a bad guy (him) robbing a bank. As the bad guy, he walked across the room away from me and put a fake gun to his head. I yelled, "FBI, drop the gun." He started yelling he was going to kill himself and walked toward me with the gun at his head. In less than the blink of an eye, as he got 10 feet away, he turned the gun on me, shot me, and said "You're dead." I had been ready to pull the trigger the moment he made a move. But I am now a dead FBI agent.

I am not arguing that all shootings are justified by any means. I'm just saying that those 25 citizens, who went through that training exercise, developed a lot more empathy for understanding how extremely tense those situations are- how life and death decisions have to be made in split seconds that will have ramifications for the rest of people's lives.

This still don't answer the question why they shoot an un-armed suspect running away.

[HoosierPa]

People need to re-Train their disrespectful kids. Problem solved

[Tooltime]

Originally Posted by 8notes

I agree. The most recent shooting comes to mind, when the person with mental illness was wielding a kitchen knife. Wouldn't it be nice if that person had been able to come home to his family.

Why didn’t the now mourning family members stop the knife wielding man ?
I can guess........ they didn’t want to be killed. So they called 911, what did they expect ??
We can stop all police shooting by following this.
1. Don’t commit a crime
2. If you commit a crime and the police close in on you DO AS THEY COMMAND.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by Tooltime

Why didn’t the now mourning family members stop the knife wielding man ?
I can guess........ they didn’t want to be killed. So they called 911, what did they expect ??
We can stop all police shooting by following this.
1. Don’t commit a crime
2. If you commit a crime and the police close in on you DO AS THEY COMMAND.

You got it.

Amazing how these crooks and thugs are held up as role models.

[AJ32162]

Originally Posted by noslices1

Here’s an idea. Give all the police “Tranquilizer guns”. Shoot the perp and let him/her wake up in a cell.

Yeah, and then wait 10 to 15 minutes for the tranquilizer to take effect. How many people will the prep kill or injure in the meantime? Great plan.

[kanoa1kale2]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

Then, by that same logic, if the person or officer ran away they COULD? keep a 22-foot separation from that attacker. Thus, buying time and maybe some back-up to defuse the situation.

Leos do not run from dangerous situations - period! They are there to protect the public. The 21 foot designation is not written in stone. It is a guideline. Running away, warning shots, targeted body part shots are not acceptable actions. It's quite obvious you have never had training in life threatening situations. Decisions are made in a split second and you have to live with the choices after the action is over. These officers want to go home at the end of their shift like the rest of us. The criminals action dictates the outcome.

[OhioBuckeye]

Originally Posted by mneumann02

There are a lot of questions concerning police shootings such as "Why didn't the police shoot to wound the person?" or "Why did they have to shoot him so many times?" I know I won't change anyone's mind with a simple post here, but my experience might help temper some views.

A few years ago, I was fortunate to be chosen for an FBI Citizen Training Course. There were 25 of us in the 10 week class. Participant citizens ranged from Black activists to far right conservatives. Subjects covered in the 4 1/2 hour weekly sessions included terrorism, white collar crime, kidnapping, violent crimes and "When and How to Use a Firearm."

The FBI trained us that if someone is life-threatening (to you or someone else) and you decide you to shoot, you shoot until the threat is ended. Only in Wild West movies does someone shoot to knock the gun out of the bad guy's hand or shoot to wound. To prove this important point, the FBI set up a very life-like full scale video on a wall with a very real looking and feeling fake gun that interacted with what was being shown. We each took turns as an FBI agent deciding if, when and whom to shoot. It was so real many of us were shaking during our turn as the video was played. Our first guy up shot the bad guy one time, and as the bad guy fell, he turned to us and smiled as he blew the imagined smoke from his gun barrel. Unfortunately for our "pretend" FBI agent, as the bad guy fell, he emptied his revolver into the back of the "agent."

At first the Black activist refused to role-play, but eventually did. He was shaking as he kept yelling, "FBI, drop the weapon!" When he finally decided to shoot, he not only emptied the gun's 8 round capacity, he reloaded and shot a couple more times. (They still talk about this in that FBI office.)

I asked a question. How do you know when to shoot? The FBI agent handed me the fake gun and said I was an FBI agent and I just caught a bad guy (him) robbing a bank. As the bad guy, he walked across the room away from me and put a fake gun to his head. I yelled, "FBI, drop the gun." He started yelling he was going to kill himself and walked toward me with the gun at his head. In less than the blink of an eye, as he got 10 feet away, he turned the gun on me, shot me, and said "You're dead." I had been ready to pull the trigger the moment he made a move. But I am now a dead FBI agent.

I am not arguing that all shootings are justified by any means. I'm just saying that those 25 citizens, who went through that training exercise, developed a lot more empathy for understanding how extremely tense those situations are- how life and death decisions have to be made in split seconds that will have ramifications for the rest of people's lives.

Someone is running from police, they’re running from them because they did something they knew they were going to get locked up. Did the FBI train you to be a sniper so you could put a bullet in a spot the size of Nickel. Police shoot to stop someone. You should be thinking why didn’t the person stop, be polite & answer questions they were asked! Police aren’t NAZI’S. I do understand what your saying but if you never ever been a police & have to do what they have to do & sometimes in a split sec. you would see why there’s so many shootings. All people have to do is be a good citizen & maybe some of these people would see how nice the police really are. You should ask yourself, how are you going to protect yourself if they do defund the police? Just saying people only remember the couple of bad things some bad police do & they never remember the one wonderful thing they did to save a family with 5 or 6 children. So how are people going to protect themselves if we don’t have Peace Officers? I’m guessing you can’t & I can’t either & I own 15 guns! You made a great point though.

[Janlindsey4@gmail.com]

This has been the most intelligent and useful information I have read on this site. When dealing with life and death scenarios, sarcasm and joking are unnecessary. Thank all of you for your intelligent and “real, experience” responses. We appreciate what you have been through.

[santiagobob]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

And the cost of that might have been the police officer does not get to come home to his or her family.

If several police officers cannot disarm a mentally challenged person armed only with a knife and resort to shooting him several times, they should not be on the force. All of these replies indicate that the subject is armed with a automatic weapon of some sort, what about the number of mostly unarmed black men shot? many in the back. I don't feel threatened when someone is going away from me or laying face down on the ground.Also , I saw a video of a man approaching some police officers with a machete in his hand and he was not shot but he was disarmed. Oh did I point out that the man with the machete was WHITE

[New Englander]

Originally Posted by noslices1

Here’s an idea. Give all the police “Tranquilizer guns”. Shoot the perp and let him/her wake up in a cell.

That's too violent! I say the police carry guns that only shoot cotton balls. So nobody gets hurt.

[Joe V.]

Originally Posted by santiagobob

If several police officers cannot disarm a mentally challenged person armed only with a knife and resort to shooting him several times, they should not be on the force. All of these replies indicate that the subject is armed with a automatic weapon of some sort, what about the number of mostly unarmed black men shot? many in the back. I don't feel threatened when someone is going away from me or laying face down on the ground.Also , I saw a video of a man approaching some police officers with a machete in his hand and he was not shot but he was disarmed. Oh did I point out that the man with the machete was WHITE

One blistering hot Friday evening in July, 1979, at the 3rd Precinct of the Metropolitan Police Department in DC I witnessed a one armed man, in a wheel chair, loaded on PCP take down 4 other cops and did 25K damage to the desk area. It took over 5 minutes to get him under control. You know nothing about law enforcement.