Ghoti Ichthus
Pray so they do not serve alone. Ephesians 6:10-20
I remember a few months back seeing a local news report of a police shooting in Phoenix. A young man and woman (both white) were in a motel room at night playing a video game and getting loud. Someone heard them and thought it might be a domestic violence incident going on (it wasn't), so they called the police. Two officers came and knocked on the door, standing out of the way where the person inside couldn't see them if he looked through the peephole. When he answered the door he had a pistol in his hand, not being held in a threatening manner; this is prudent if someone knocks on your motel room door at night. As soon as the police saw the gun in his hand they opened fire on him, killing him. Even though the guy was not threatening them in any way the shooting was called justified (I haven't heard any more about it so I assume that hasn't changed).
If the guy shot by the police had been black, the incident would have made national news, and liberals would be outraged over what they would call another racist killing by police. Similarly, if George Floyd had been white, but everything else was exactly the same, his death would not have made national news.
Whether or not the above shooting is justified depends on applicable State statutes. Had this incident been in Illinois, this would have been a big problem for the officer. Had it been in Missouri, probably not a problem for the officer. No idea the law in Arizona at the time of the above incident.
I got yelled at for not shooting someone with a gun the morning after, but I had been able to de-escalate and resolve the situation without resorting to force. The guy was known to me as mentally ill and based on what I observed on scene, didn't deserve or have to die. Had I not worked in Illinois, with its very restrictive/specific laws concerning police use of deadly force, before this incident (in Missouri), based on training and experience in Missouri, there's a good chance I would have shot the guy. Also, had I not had a laser on my duty weapon, there's a good chance I wouldn't have been able to de-escalate the situation. Chief was happy when he found out all the details and "unyelled" and the guy was able to get the help he needed
Laws, department policies, training, experience, and equipment can and do make a huge difference in outcomes. Sadly, in many places, training is not what it should be, and neither is the equipment (some departments do not issue or allow lasers on duty weapons and/or weapons-mounted lights).
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