Of course letting him get away was an option if the only alternative was potentially lethal force.
An officer of the law should not shoot or tase someone unless that person is posing an immediate and potentially deadly threat. Period.
7 Likes
Yeah - that is why they are supposed to train. And what they train directly effects how they perform under stress. That is why a lot of cops got “Glock leg” and negligent discharges when they switched to semiautomatics from revolvers in the 80/90s . Old habits with new guns led to cops shooting themselves and others when they didn’t mean to when put in a stressful situation.
But the reality is - too many cops aren’t trained that well.
1 Like
Not that well and also with a hostile mindset towards the communities they police. I’m put very much in mind of the Mexican drug cartel Los Zetas which began as a militarized police force, or perhaps even more aptly of the Myanmar military who go through separate schools and are indoctrinated to see themselves as heroic saviors of a population incapable to ruling themselves.
US cops aren’t just poorly trained; they’re corruptly trained. And part of that training reflects a wider problem in the USA: seeing firearms as talismans against perceived chaos despite actual crime statistic trends.
That said, I don’t want a thread about police violence to gravitate into another thread about guns. So I request we shelve this discussion.
8 Likes
9 Likes
That is de-escalation in practice.
11 Likes
Do Tasers also have a safety? Do police officers carry around loaded guns with the safety off?
Tasers do have a safety. It’s on the side of the taser, like the switch to change the direction of a drill.
Police guns also have a safety. It’s part of the trigger mechanism itself.
There’s basically no way you can go to shoot someone with a taser and not realize you’ve got the wrong weapon in your hand. It’s shaped different, it weighs a fraction of the amount, it’s brightly colored on one end, and the safety would tip you off in an instant.
3 Likes
Something I say to people who I believe are doing very important thankless work:
“Thank you.”
5 Likes
I don’t know about Tasers, I imagine at least some models do. But yes, some guns officers carry do not have an external safety. The Glock, for example, doesn’t have a safety that you would flick off. Neither do revolvers.
Here is an article that is echoing basically what I have said above:
Smith said. “It’s a horrible, horrible motor glitch that could happen in high-stress situations."
Kenney added, “I can only assume muscle memory is what happened here.”
the professor said. “That said, it goes nowhere near excusing this mistake.”
https://youtu.be/khyHHjrEdTw - Starts around 9:00
Looking at her mugshot, I don’t personally sense any remorse… but hey, I don’t claim my inherent biases don’t cloud my judgement of LEOs
I don’t know, there seems to be an even simpler solution to a traffic cop not being able to reliably grab their taser or gun when stressed.
3 Likes
4 Likes
Just posting this here to illustrate the real-world implications of police deescalation in traffic stops. The results of a Police Chief prohibiting officers from making stops based on minor, non-traffic related violations (like an air freshener!) has had an astonishing impact in Fayetteville, NC.
Not only did unnecessary searches of Black people decline by 80% (!!!), general traffic incidents and fatalities dropped precipitously as well because the police were focused on stops for actual traffic safety issues like speeding, red light violations and DWI.
It’s also worth noting that this was initiated before the BLM movement really took off and is unrelated to any other reform measures that were undertaken by the DOJ or states since. In other words, these numbers don’t align with the BS right wing talking points of cops being paralyzed by fear of losing their jobs. Basic, practical policy not only reduces the disproportionate impact on BIPOC people, but actually increases motorist safety and frees up the police to do actual investigative and community support work. This graphic really says it all:
3 Likes
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
