Reality Check- Ref the Florida Airline shooting

[NJmaverick]

I think it is important that we put the blame where it belongs. The dead man and his wife are to blame. He didn't take his meds. I will repeat, he didn't take his meds. His wife knew he was unstable. An unstable man has no business getting on an airliner. That is dangerous to himself and the fellow passengers.
The Air Marshals did what they had to do. If he said "bomb" or they thought they heard the word "bomb" they had little leeway. A bomb is unlike a gun or a knife. With a gun, unless it is pointed as someone is not a danger, a knife is even less threatening. A bomb on the other had has a million different ways to be dentonated. So from the Marshal's point of view as long as that person is free to move in anyway, there is a serious threat. They don't even know how big of threat because they Marshals have no way of knowing how much explosives are involved.
Because of that, the Marshal's responsibilities are to get the man out of the plane (to try and protect the passengers as much as possible) and then subdue the man as quickly as possible (this may mean killing him if he does not immediately cooperate) as he is still a danger to at least the Marshals and likely others.
Now a thorough investigation may reveal that the Marshal made a mistake, but don't until then try not to judge their actions too harshly. Remember these guys get extensive training, but they don't get much practical experience. Anyone in law enforcement or similar fields will tell you there is no substitute for experience. Also remember that these Marshal's motives were to protect the passengers in their charge as well as themselves. If there was a mistake, it was an honest mistake. They are human just like the rest of us and they can make mistakes like the rest of us.