Hofstra Student in Home Invasion Was Killed by Police Gunshot: Officials

[FlynnArcher72]

40. Tragic, but should we blame the cop?

Having read the comments to the news feeds n this, there seems to be very little blame being handed down in the direction of the officer. There are those who believe better training would have helped the situation and perhaps Andrea Rebello would still be alive, but training only goes so far. A gun battle of any kind is not like a Hollywood movie or television show. In these bits, yoou have the tough action hero ducking, diving, driving recklessly, and doing all manner of other crazy stuff while usually pegging the bad guys with perfect shots every time he pulls the trigger. In reality, there are so many stressors and variables involved that can affect the situation. There is fear and confusion, unexpected movements, unfamiliar environments, worry, adrenaline, and so forth. I have no doubt that the police officer who shot both this poor girl and the criminal was trying to do the best he could to do his duty. It would be a poor cop indeed who would enter that scenario with anything but the mentality of protecting and saving the innocent involved. According to a couple of news articles, the perp turned the gun on the officer at the scene, which prmpted the officer to open fire. The cop has just as much of an obligation to protect his own life as well as the lives of others. Had the officer not chosen to pull the trigger, he could have been killed, leaving the criminal in the position to continue holding Angela hostage, possibly leading to her deat as well anyway. Perhaps not. There are so many "what-ifs" and they are all effectively moot at this point. The officer, a 12 year veteran on the force, is likely beating hmself up at this point, running every possible scenario through his head, wondering himself what he could have done differently.

Here is the thing, though, there is another person possibly kicking herself and wondering if she could have done something different. The criminal, under threat of killing Angela, forced an unnamed woman at the house to go to the bank to withdraw money. She had 8 minutes to return or the criminal would kill Angela. On the way to the bank, she called the police. She has to be wondering if she had simply gotten the money and returned if the man wih the gun would have simply left once satisfied and Angela would still be alive. This is not to say she is at fault, not at all. But I mention this only to illustrate how "what-ifs" can dig into us and drive us crazy. We need to keep focused on the facts and the reality of what happened. What if the criminal had never been relaesed? What if there were stricter controls on guns? So on and so on. None of this matters. What matters is that we discover the truth of the matter and then work to correct the inequities that led to this in future cases to prevent it from happening again, which is a tall order considering there will be people on all sides pointing fingers, some with genuine concern, and others trying to promote some agenda. The investigation as to the officer's liability and performance is only beginning, so we will have to wait for the official report on this.

As for myself, I look at this situation and understand that the officer is not Robocop or some fancy action her. He is a human being who made a critical error that tok the life of a young woman. I do not believe he intended this, he was not the criminal holding the girl in a headlock and threatening to kill her. The officer did his best and failed. The criminal's actions are what created the situation, a point that evokes zero sypathy in me for his demise. If there is anyone to blame her, it is the actionas of the man who entered the home with his threats and his gun to begin with.