What position have I locked myself into?
Pro cop. Quite clearly...
I have to disagree with you Ian, unless you were there how can anyone possibly comment on the actions of the officers from grainy piss poor CCTV.
Maybe the two officers were sent to a call to a person armed with a firearm pointing at members of the public.
Maybe the officers saw a person who they were informed was armed reach behind him for what they belived and were informed was a lethal firearm.
Maybe just maybe those officers fired in defence of their own lives because they belived an armed person was reaching for a weapon.
Maybe those officers wanted to see their kids that evening, pay the mortgage that month, do that bit off painting in the garden.
Maybe they didn't want their wives to explain why Daddy wasn't coming home. To why Christmas would be full of awkward silences and red eyes.
Behind the body armour and cuffs and unform we are humans too, just as scared and vulnerable as every one else, yet coppers head towards the gunfire, the knifes, the casualties, because at the end of the day they care.
Over themselves? Better to be tried by 12 than carried by 6
Can't protect anyone if you're dead.
If we're honest if this kid had killed both officers the majority of people on this forum wouldn't know.
I agreed that the situation could of been handled better.
A child is dead, Mike. Child. Dead. I mean, yeah, "could of been handled better" is one way of describing it, but with the gravity of the outcome, I feel that "massive fuck up for which those involved must be held accountable" is better.
As for what the officer perceived to be a threat well unfortunately no amount of training or good will can change a decision made in a split second when exposed to a perceived threat.
If the officer honestly felt that if the kid drew that weapon he would kill someone then how could he not react the way he did?
And yet, when the boot is on the other foot, when John Q Public defends themselves against a perceived threat, the appropriateness of their response is exactly what the cops attempt to determine, in as much minutiae of detail as possible. Particularly when someone has been killed. Quite obviously
if the child drew a weapon, he would be in a position to become a threat to life. However, simply holding what may be a gun. while enough to indicate that someone needs watching, is not actually a threat. It is not until the gun is raised that the threat exists.
Now sure, once the gun is pointed, it may be too late. But you can squeeze a trigger a lot faster than anyone can raise and point a pistol, so it is possible to wait until the threat is undeniable. My point is that when dealing with children, in general, cops should err on the side of caution*. Yes, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that a child may be a stone cold crack shot with lightning reflexes, who may be able to draw a pistol and accurately shoot a cop in the head, but it is unlikely. They have body armour. They have the option to be sure in their own minds that the 'gun' is being raised.
*And yes, that may occasionally cost cops their lives. That is the job. You really do have to be brave to do it. Would i do it? Not unless there was literally nobody else willing and even then, not as a full time job, because I know that I'm not mentally stable enough to be clear headed in the face of threats to my life day in day out and I have no wish to become trained for it.
In this situation, the cops knew that the child had been walking around pointing what appeared to be a gun in a playground. But no shots were fired. What was he doing? He had obviously not taken a gun out with the intention of killing random strangers, or he would already have done so. Maybe he intended to kill someone specific, but in that case why brandish the gun at all? The whole thing is clearly childish stupidity. Hence why the cops should have been even more cautious than when dealing with children per se.
You know why I get to judge? It's like this:
If I go to a game day and see a great paint job on a gun, I may ask the owner who did it. I may then come on here and tell you lot that IMO Dave Picasso does a great job of painting guns.
I am a citizen. I employ cops whether I want to or not. When I see the performance of cops, I have an opinion. There is nothing weird about me telling you that IMO Officer Triggerhappy does a poor job of protecting and serving the public.
I do not have to be any good at painting guns myself for my opinion of Dave's work to be valid. Nor do I have to be a cop to require high standards of policing.
