Originally published at: Texas police chase ends in deadly shootout with suspect | Boing Boing
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Everything is bigger in Texass. /s
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Though I’m not at all a fan of autopilot in cars, or autonomous features of most kinds - I welcome the ability for police to remotely disable a fleeing vehicle - especially from a pursuit helicopter.
Strand the bad guys in the middle of nowhere while the squad cars catch up.
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for some definition of bad guy, determined by some group of arbitrarily defined good guys
currently police throughout the us pull over disproportionately high numbers of black drivers, even where provably higher percentages of white people are committing vehicle infractions, carrying drugs, etc. ( ex. see minnesota’s statistics, but really pretty much anywhere ) - so let’s not give police any new powers please
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As I stated in the other thread, any tool that can be exploited by the police can also be exploited by criminals (including criminal police).
What happens when carjackers get their hands on a device that can stop any vehicle, anywhere?
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@gatto Yes - you raise a great point.
But I’m thinking of using such a technology under specific circumstances like high speed chases and by a small group of users like helicopter pilots.
@Brainspore - you are also right. But I think you could say the same about any technology or weapon. Something like what I suggest would need to be highly regulated/controlled - but what do you do when the ‘controllers’ are the crooks? Not sure.
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If you’re wondering why the officer decided to take on an armed suspect alone after being warned about him over the radio, I imagine he’s asking himself the same question.
Super bad tactics. Remain under cover. That was a lot of blood, I suspect he got hit in an artery.
No thank you. The cops have weaponized enough things.
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Police do not have a great track record of restraint when given fancy new tools intended for specific circumstances.
Tasers, pepper spray and tear gas are theoretically supposed to be used only in situations where deadly force would be the only alternative. Instead they are regularly used as tools of compliance or even just a way for sadistic cops to torture people who pissed them off. Police dogs are used to maim people the cops don’t feel like chasing down. No-knock warrants and asset forfeiture are abused every single day.
If you give cops a new tool, it’s safe to assume they won’t be shy about using it whenever the fancy strikes them.
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While acknowledging the structural racism of police departments and US policing, and while wishing this could have ended peacefully, this particular person attempted to murder a police officer who was attempting an arrest in part to protect other people - a difficult and dangerous job. I hope the officer is ok.
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If they have an eye in the sky already, there is no need for a high speed chase. With the tech available, they can track a vehicle at will and even have software that coordinates surrounding the vehicle with squad cars so that they get cornered somewhere.
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A reminder that shootouts are quick. Not 5 minutes like in the movies.
That was hard to watch. I don’t like seeing anyone shot.
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*Boingboing: faces of death wasn’t something I thought I’d see happen.
Not even in the top 10 for most dangerous jobs. Also, COVID killed more cops than any other means last year, and is on track to repeat this year.
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Yup. And before COVID, traffic accidents were the most common fatality among police.
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Any power given to police will be abused, exploited & used to the detriment of anyone they don’t like.
Sounds nice, but we both know it won’t stop there.
It never has.
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