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Some police departments teach cover or concealment instead of instantly approaching a car in close proximity with guns drawn
Sometimes you have to approach with guns drawn. But if you instead take cover behind a car door or other obstacle in the area then there is an opportunity to more safely give a command to exit the vehicle.
They may not follow such commands, then there may have to be an approach with guns drawn.
But in some of these traffic stops some cops will approach with guns drawn first thing.
It may not even be clear if they have the right person at this point.
So guns are drawn, the slightest move by the person in the car could then set off a barrage of gunfire.
Yes the person should be still the whole time with their hands on the wheel but the situation is very precarious and can sometimes be avoided
That's why traffic stops are usually done by at least 2 cops. The other partner will cover.
I have a friend who is an Army veteran and they did traffic stops all the time in Iraq. Talk about tense situations. Then he became a cop. Maybe that is part of the reason? Police departments LOVE to hire veterans - especially those who were active duty. This may not be such a great idea. I think some vets have PTSD and treat every traffic stop as a war zone from Baghdad or Kabul. They should be assigned to a desk job instead or something non confrontational like Park Ranger.
Any cop still fighting crime is a fool. Hopefully the last straw for people like that is bills removing qualified immunity, but honestly if they haven't gotten the message yet, I don't have expect that they ever will.
Any cop still fighting crime is a fool. Hopefully the last straw for people like that is bills removing qualified immunity, but honestly if they haven't gotten the message yet, I don't have expect that they ever will.
what were the straws before that? concrete stuff, policy changes in effect over the past year or two?
Enough pontificating and let's get down to specifics. I notice that when this question arises, people tend to stutter step and shy away from providing a detailed, concrete, and indepth answer.
Now, if I'm a cop on patrol, and I encounter a situation that I cannot say without absolute fact that a crime was committed against someone--why would I take the risk of arresting them only to be found guilty and thereby losing my career?
Now mind you--in a crime ridden busy command, cops encounter probably around 20 more situations per day...so the odds are not in their favor of being 100% right in every situation.
Why would they take the risk and do anything in most of those encounters?
Enough pontificating and let's get down to specifics. I notice then when this questiona arises, people tend to stutter step and shy away from providing a detailed, concrete, in depth answer.
Now, if I'm a cop on patrol, and I encounter a situation that I cannot say without absolute fact that a crime was committed against someone--why would I take the risk of arresting them only to be found guilty and thereby losing my career?
Now mind you--in a crime ridden busy command, cops encounter probably around 20 more situations per day...so the odds are not in their favor of being 100% right in every situation.
what were the straws before that? concrete stuff, policy changes in effect over the past year or two?
Providing evidence to convince you is a pointless waste of time. Cops are making this decision on their own. What you think doesn't matter. Whether society wants to convince them to police again or not (or convince young people that becoming a cop is a sane career path) is the issue.
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