Quote:I think you bring up a good point. Cops are human to. They have to make split second decision based on information available as they arrive on scene. Further adding to the pressure is when an individual is non compliant and dangerous. The public is too quick to judge based on race and limited information instead of actual circumstance. Instant media has made everybody an expert.

 

This all happened in the span of what?  2 minutes, if that?  Snap decisions are part of the training for police officers.  From what I can see, they followed protocol by trying to deploy non-lethal methods to contain the suspect.  That failed, and ultimately an armed perp wound up being shot by police.  That's what we actually know.  We don't know the motivations or the mindset of the officers, especially with regard to race.  But, that's always the first conclusion the knee jerk reactionaries jump to in situations like this.  If that's indeed the case, it will come out.  We don't have all of the facts.

 

Quote:Excuse the terrible pun, but it isn't so black and white. It is difficult to specify for those that don't view life through the lenses of color. For those that don't consistently stir racial divide. I view this only as people in a situation. I've seen both sides of racism and I won't pretend it doesn't exist, but to make that a battle cry for every situation involving different races is just irresponsible.  My life has been in the hands of many people of all races and no one is better than the other. There are good and bad people in all races. We simply do not have all the facts. I guess a similar question could be asked of you...What in this situation leads you to believe this was strictly racial?

 

Agreed.  No race has a monopoly on good or bad.  No race has an exception when it comes to being racist or bigoted either.

 

Quote:First of all, for those people that think 5 shots were "excessive", an officer is trained to shoot to "stop the action".  They don't "shoot to injure" or "shoot to kill".  There are cases where someone can be shot multiple times and still pose a threat.

 

Second.  One of the most important things for a police officer to know for his protection is where a person's hands are.  It doesn't matter if it's a traffic stop, an investigation of a burglary or when struggling while trying to subdue a large suspect.  The location of a person's hands is what is important.  If it's known that there is a deadly weapon within reach of a struggling suspect, and his hand is moving towards that weapon then it justifies the officer to escalate the use of force up to and including deadly force.  It doesn't matter if it's a firearm or a knife.

 

Third.  At close range a knife is almost more deadly of a threat to an officer than a gun.  Kevlar will stop a bullet but it won't stop a knife blade.

 

Fourth.  Cops don't want to shoot people.

 

Finally, the race thing is way off base.

 

Thank you.

 

Quote:Thanks for replying. Again, I never asserted this was racially motivated, I simply wanted to know how those who deemed it not being racially motivated knew in fact.


Are you saying all people who are racist having evidence proving they are?


Also, it seems by your wording you've deemed this incident to not be RM, is that what you mean to convey?

 

You're trying to twist my words here.  I've never said it's NOT racially motivated.  What I've said is that all of this will come out in the investigation that is already underway with the Justice Department.  I've said it more than once in this discussion. 

 

In most instances, if someone is a racist, they've expressed their views to others either in person, or in some nuanced way over social media or some other outlet.  It's not a guarantee, but in many instances, they can be identified by their activities or those with whom they associate.  If there's even the slightest hint they're racists, the JD will no doubt pounce upon that information.

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