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Let me make clear that I usually am the type that will defend and respect police officers, knowing how hard their job is and that horrible people and crap they put up with day to day. However, there are times where a bad apple does something needless and frankly stupid. This appears to be one of those times.
I understand sometimes you have to think very quickly, you're under extreme stress/pressure due to the situation, etc, etc, etc. But you can not tell me that there was no other way to handle a one arm/one legged man swinging a pen around, other than to shoot him.
I respect our police force, but some people should not be police officers. Unless this story is completely untrue and we are missing something big, I hope he loses his badge.
I hope I did not invite nothing but anti-police types by posting this. Another case of a bad apple/stupid decision that I thought deserved to be noticed. Either he was not trained right, or he ignored his training.
Some people don't handle adverse situations well, and despite what Hollywood would have us believe, most cops never fire their gun, and only pull it when they're following SOP doing a search or something, not because they're drawing on an armed suspect.
I understand the dangers involved in being a policman or women believe me. I know some very fine straight up cops that are good cops.
It just appears lately there are too many of these occurences happening by cops around the Country, it is almost like shoot now ask questions later. When does it stop.
We can give the benefit of the doubt in each circumstance, but how many of these cases, before we stop the cycle.
Considering it was 230am it definitely would have been dark outside. We don't know how well lit the interior of the house was (if it was at all) and/or whether it was clearly evident that the suspect (shooting victim) was a double amputee. The office was cornered in an unfamiliar environment. And a pen can look like a knife if it is being waved about and you can't see it clearly. Until more information is available, I'll give the officer the benefit of the doubt.
[at a minimum, it is an extremely tragic mistake that cost the life of a man who probably harmless otherwise]
All right, I'm willing to give the cop some wiggle room in the dark. I know that sighted people feel compromised in the dark so it's possible this cop was feeling unsure. The cop that almost shot me? That happened in broad daylight in a public cafe while I was sitting at a table with my cane folded up, waiting for my friend to bring us coffees to the table.
How do you explain that?
I am not saying all cops are bad. But I do think there is an issue of some cops being too trigger-happy and that does need to be acknowledged and dealt with. And should a cop really threaten to shoot right away, without checking if the object is indeed a gun, or if the person can indeed physically shoot or physically respond to the cop? Cops are trained to shoot to kill, so if the cop shoots, you can pretty much guarantee the person will be dead.
Last year my deaf classmate got sideswiped by a bullet for the same reason. Police officers just need to be trained in how to check:
1) Whether the "weapon" is actually a weapon
2) Whether the person has the ability to respond to the police officer
3) Whether the person actually has the ability to shoot a gun
Even if the man who is a double-amputee had a gun, I don't even think it is possible for him to shoot it because my friend showed me once that you need both hands to hold a gun in order to counteract the force of the bullet, so the gun doesn't hit you in the face when the bullet goes.
The cop that almost shot at me should have considered how unresponsive I was to a police officer pointing a gun at me and threatening my life. Most people would probably be freaking out or threatening back, so that should have tipped him off to the fact something's up, and then he should have examined closer and would have probably realized it's a blind cane and that I was deaf (I carried around a braille card for communication that explained in big letters that I'm deaf and blind, had a hearing aid, my friend and I were conversing in sign language, etc.)
But even if I wasn't deaf, I did a Google image search of a detailed description of my cane and this is the first result that came up. Every sighted person I asked has told me it looks nothing like a gun.
I do understand that if someone is a real danger with a gun, ignoring the police commands, or threatening murder/homicide, there is no time to take any chances not to shoot. But that goes both ways. That cop should feel VERY sure that they're actually dealing with a person holding a gun before they take any chances to shoot.
Last edited by nimchimpsky; 09-24-2012 at 04:37 AM..
All right, I'm willing to give the cop some wiggle room in the dark. I know that sighted people feel compromised in the dark so it's possible this cop was feeling unsure. The cop that almost shot me? That happened in broad daylight in a public cafe while I was sitting at a table with my cane folded up, waiting for my friend to bring us coffees to the table.
How do you explain that?
I am not saying all cops are bad. But I do think there is an issue of some cops being too trigger-happy and that does need to be acknowledged and dealt with. And should a cop really threaten to shoot right away, without checking if the object is indeed a gun, or if the person can indeed physically shoot or physically respond to the cop? Cops are trained to shoot to kill, so if the cop shoots, you can pretty much guarantee the person will be dead.
Last year my deaf classmate got sideswiped by a bullet for the same reason. Police officers just need to be trained in how to check:
1) Whether the "weapon" is actually a weapon
2) Whether the person has the ability to respond to the police officer
3) Whether the person actually has the ability to shoot a gun
Even if the man who is a double-amputee had a gun, I don't even think it is possible for him to shoot it because my friend showed me one that you need both hands to hold a gun in order to counteract the force of the bullet, so the gun doesn't hit you in the face when the bullet goes.
The cop that almost shot at me should have considered how unresponsive I was to a police officer pointing a gun at me and threatening my life. Most people would probably be freaking out or threatening back, so that should have tipped him off to the fact something's up, and then he should have examined closer and would have probably realized it's a blind cane and that I was deaf (I carried around a braille card for communication that explained in big letters that I'm deaf and blind, had a hearing aid, my friend and I were conversing in sign language, etc.)
I do understand that if someone is a real danger with a gun, ignoring the police commands, or threatening murder/homicide, there is no time to take any chances not to shoot. But that goes both ways. That cop should feel VERY sure that they're actually dealing with a person holding a gun before they take any chances to shoot.
Sadly you can't really train out the adrenaline and tunnel vision that comes when you think your life is in danger. You can train officers to be cool and calm all you want but things are different when you're on the street and thinking something is about to happen to keep you from going home after work.
There are police officers who have shot first and people have died as a result, and that is tragic. But consider how small a percentage of contacts between the police and the public that these occurences represent. We hear about them because tragedy sells.
Sadly you can't really train out the adrenaline and tunnel vision that comes when you think your life is in danger. You can train officers to be cool and calm all you want but things are different when you're on the street and thinking something is about to happen to keep you from going home after work.
There are police officers who have shot first and people have died as a result, and that is tragic. But consider how small a percentage of contacts between the police and the public that these occurences represent. We hear about them because tragedy sells.
Maybe it's because I go to a deaf school, but I hear stories of people being shot at cause they didn't hear the command all the time. It might be extremely rare in the general community, but I am wondering if it's more common in the deaf and disabled communities. My area tried to set up a deaf/hard-of-hearing liaison/division within our local police station, and I was so proud and happy something was being done about the fact many deaf people get shot due to cop ignorance, but then later found out that that "liaison/division" actually amounts to one single cop who doesn't even know any sign language and has minimal contact with the Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing community.
Don't get me wrong. I think that cops are necessary and do great things in many situations. I just think that they need to have more specific training, especially with people who have disabilities, such as the man in the OP article.
I have been in other life-threatening situations and understand what it's like to be operating under those conditions (obviously not as a cop, but in general). I have PTSD. I am not lacking in sympathy or compassion. I am just saying that cops need to be trained to just check for those few things I listed, in the same way they are trained to keep an eye on your hands at all times.
Maybe it's because I go to a deaf school, but I hear stories of people being shot at cause they didn't hear the command all the time. It might be extremely rare in the general community, but I am wondering if it's more common in the deaf and disabled communities. My area tried to set up a deaf/hard-of-hearing liaison/division within our local police station, and I was so proud and happy something was being done about the fact many deaf people get shot due to cop ignorance, but then later found out that that "liaison/division" actually amounts to one single cop who doesn't even know any sign language and has minimal contact with the Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing community.
Don't get me wrong. I think that cops are necessary and do great things in many situations. I just think that they need to have more specific training, especially with people who have disabilities, such as the man in the OP article.
As a nurse I find better training for police in medical and pysch emergencies to be a must. There have been far too many cases of people in a diabetic crisis dying in custody because the S&S of DKA are easily mistaken for intoxication (fruity breath, slurred speech, confusion, altered affect).
The training is coming to a lot of places. There are municipalities with specialized units that respond to psych calls, there are police chaplains going out on patrol, mental health professionals. It's happening more and more each day. Sadly it won't eliminate encounters like this one but with time we'll see them diminish.
As a nurse I find better training for police in medical and pysch emergencies to be a must. There have been far too many cases of people in a diabetic crisis dying in custody because the S&S of DKA are easily mistaken for intoxication (fruity breath, slurred speech, confusion, altered affect).
The training is coming to a lot of places. There are municipalities with specialized units that respond to psych calls, there are police chaplains going out on patrol, mental health professionals. It's happening more and more each day. Sadly it won't eliminate encounters like this one but with time we'll see them diminish.
He means signs & symptoms of diabetic ketoacidosis for those that don't know
"All units! All units! Officer needs backup at 123 Fourth Street! Hostile amputee has officer pinned down! He is waving a writing implement in a threatening manner while using his one leg to tippy-toe his wheelchair forward! Suspect should be considered one-armed and dangerous!"
One arm, one leg and a pen? Unless this dude is some super highly trained operative these cops are punks. Taze the dude, pepper spray or something. Hell shoot him in the good arm holding the pen but you have to be a cowardly a$$ punk to shoot a man in a wheel chair missing half of his limbs and holding a pen.
He means signs & symptoms of diabetic ketoacidosis for those that don't know
Thanks. I get so used to the jargon that it's second nature to me.
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