General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I fully understand that this post is likely to draw very intense personal criticism but, at my age, [View all]CaptainTruth
(6,588 posts)Consider Tamir Rice. Police believed he was armed, & what did they do when they saw him? Drove as close & possible & jumped out of their car.
Is that how cops are trained to respond to a suspect they believe is armed & possibly dangerous? Get as close as possible & jump out right in front of them, eliminating any barrier that could possibly protect them (like a steel car door), deliberately placing themselves in maximum danger? If "deliberately place yourself in maximum danger" is standard police training, then we have a much bigger problem than I thought.
I studied satellite photos of the park where Tamir was killed & determined the route the police cruiser took into the park & exactly where it stopped. There was nothing in front of it blocking its path. There was a grassy area it could have driven through into a parking lot a short distance from the pavilion where they could have stopped & initiated contact with Tamir.
They said they felt threatened yet they could have removed themselves from the perceived danger if one of them had pressed an accelerator pedal with their right foot while turning a steering wheel slightly to the left, actions that millions of us take dozens of times every time we drive a car.
If their judgement & skill is that bad, I don't want them on the streets with guns.
Edit to add: I realize that is a different case, I'm discussing it because I believe it illustrates how sometimes police have ways to easily mitigate danger (real or perceived) & they choose not to, with fatal results.