If cops are fragile enough to burst into tears over a late Egg McMuffin,

[Aristus]

30. Once again, it comes down to how group-think can influence individual decision-making.

It's become all too common to see videos of cops making an arrest of a suspect who is clearly not resisting, and the cops start yelling "Stop resisting! Stop resisting!" right before beating the crap out of him. This is, of course, supposed to indemnify them against disciplinary action for police brutality.

That, and the not-always-objective claim: "I was in fear for my life!", which brings us back to the original argument; if a cop 'fears for his life' when no deadly action on the part of the suspect is being taken, then that cop is not fit for law enforcement. No cop should be utterly fearless; that leads to a different kind of rash decision-making. But cops should be imbued with the idea that not every situation requires deadly action, and that the empowerment to take deadly action is, or ought to be, a heavy responsibility. If a cop is not capable of shouldering that responsibility, he/she should turn in their badge.