Police shoot man who stabbed student in synagogue

[branford]

165. Really, that's your criticism?

Simply Google his name or search online about the incident for multitudes of information about it. The man became a hero because of his extraordinary skill, training and a great deal of luck.

Do you really expect every police officer in the country to be expert SWAT team snipers and routinely make shots that are so impressive that there still the subject of articles and videos? We do not live in a Hollywood movie or possessed of magical technology. Few men and women are possessed of inborn aptitudes of special forces soldiers.

The overwhelming majority of potentially lethal encounters are extremely quick, terribly uncertain, and can only be judged with the knowledge possessed of the parties at the time. Moreover, very few individuals possess the skill, training and inherent aptitude and ability of people like Mike Plumb, and we do not possess phasers that can be set to stun, magic, instantly effective, non-lethal tranquilizers or other science fiction gadgets.

Nevertheless, police routinely arrest dangerous individuals, often a great risk to themselves, above and beyond their duty, without killing or seriously injuring an assailant. I commend the police when they can do so, but certainly do not demand or expect it in all circumstances. The synagogue stabbing is the perfect example. The police even re-holstered their weapons once the assailant dropped his knife in order to diffuse the situation. They only fired after he grabbed the knife and lunged at them.

You are free to believe that killing is never justified, but I find such a position absolutely ludicrous and irrational. In this instance, the attack on the man in the synagogue was unjustified, and it would be similarly unjustified for the police to unnecessarily risk being stabbed by a known and immediate threat, particularly after they tried repeatedly to peacefully resolve the situation.

You can throw your life away if threatened based upon your beliefs, but you have no right to demand or expect others to act in a similarly suicidal fashion.