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Society's permission to use deadly force is not unconditional. Particularly not in a school situation. I in no way suspect the officer of being an evil killer. I do suspect he acted without proper thought and consideration. Those who become Police Officers sometimes have profiles that lead them to action rather than thinking through the situation.
I think what he did was likely manslaughter if the kid dies. No real intent to do harm. Just unacceptable careless behavior. At the very least he should no longer carry a gun for society. He cannot be trusted.
mmmm. That's a pretty harsh assessment. After looking very closely at the video of this several times I can't agree with this take. Compared with most LE involved shootings we've had discussions about on here this was about the cleanest one to happen in quite some time. I'm not one to jump to defending LE shoots out of hand. Been known to be quite critical actually and believe there is a trend in LE to be a bit over zealous in use of lethal force. But this was not the case here.
The officer fired a single round. From what I saw he was thinking quite clearly and properly. He had to play the hand he was dealt, which was basically holding a pair of deuces with in a high stakes pot. He played it as best as it could have been. One well placed shot stopped the threat. Oh, I believe the decision to fire that shot was as properly and carefully considered as it could have been. At the time this was happening the reasons why the kid was going zerko were irrelevant. It's not as if the officer had the luxury of psychoanalyzing things.
He exercised as much restraint as he could have under the circumstances. The kid had to be stopped and the list of options for dong so was pretty lean on direction. Even with the luxury of hindsight that we have in looking at this I really don't see how it could have been handled differently. Way to many if's involved.
Flash a knife and, refuses to drop it when ordered to do so; force continuum comes into play since within about 20 feet, that person with the blade my be able to get close enough to the cop and, cut him.
The problem is apparently the kid was a regular bullying victim and was defending himself against an attack by multiple people. Now it gets complex. Of course he should not nave had a knife. But of course he should not have been attacked. You really need a full video of what went down to forma an opinion.
And the question is why not a taser or at least words prior to the shot?
You rarely respond to deadly force with a taser. You respond with deadly force.
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The US has different laws in relation to the state taking life to other parts of the world, in this case it would be debatable that a such a shooting would have met guidelines in most European countries, as there was a clear option in relation to the use of non-lethal force and an attempt to stop this individual my non-lethal means would have had to have been attempted before resorting to other means.
In 1989 the US Supreme Court deemed it constitutionally permissible for police to use deadly force when they “reasonably” perceive imminent and grave harm. State laws regulating deadly force – in the 38 states where they exist – are almost always as permissive as Supreme Court precedent allows, or more so.
In Europe, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) which has been signed by some 47 European Countries, makes it abundantly clear in Article 2 that the Right to Life is paramount and that to take a life must be a last resort and that force should be no more than absolutely necessary, whilst there is also a positive duty to protect life. Killings excused under America’s “reasonable belief” standards often violate Europe’s “absolute necessity” standards.
So police in Europe have a duty to try all means in order to de-esculate situations and to use non-lethal force for instance when someone has a knife useing a taser, baton rounds or shields rather than resort to firearms. Indeed far more training is aimed at de-esculation in many European countries than is apparent in the US.
In the UK, all police shootings are investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) rather than the police themselves and the police must be able to justify their actions as absoloutely neccasary having considered all options including non-lethals which are carried by officers and police support units.
The Police Actions adhere to Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) as well as national laws, and if the IPCC is not satisfied then evidence will be gathered and passed on to the Crown Prosecution Service, who will make a decision in relation to any prosecuition through the Criminal Courts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Armed Policing Legal framework - College of Policing (England & Wales)
Absolutely Necessary
The question of whether a use of force was absolutely necessary in the circumstances is one that depends to a large degree on the facts of the individual case.
Key issues to consider include:
* The nature of the aim pursued – is it the protection of a person from unlawful violence which poses a real and immediate risk to life?
* Is the use of firearms or force which has the potential to result in death absolutely necessary in the circumstances, bearing in mind the dangers to the lives of all persons involved?
* What are the risks to others, including the subject of the force and all others in the vicinity?
* What other options were considered before resorting to the use of force?
* What weapons or equipment were available at the time?
* Why were these options discounted?
* Have all relevant decisions been recorded and reported?
The European Court of Human Rights has held in McCann v United Kingdom (1995) 21 EHRR 97 (paragraph 150) that:
in keeping with the importance of this provision [the right to life] in a democratic society the court must, in making its assessment, subject deprivation of life to the most careful scrutiny taking into consideration not only the actions of the agents of the State who actually administer the force but also all the surrounding circumstances including such matters as the planning and control of the actions under examination.
The police also have a duty of care to take reasonable steps to prevent a person self-harming or threatening to self-harm or carrying out acts intended to result in suicide. The force used would then have to be proportionate to the harm anticipated and designed to minimise the risk to the subject.
I do suspect he acted without proper thought and consideration. Those who become Police Officers sometimes have profiles that lead them to action rather than thinking through the situation.
There is no such thing as proper thought and consideration in a situation where someone is actively using lethal force like that. People forget that knives are much more lethal than bullets and can be used to kill very quickly; their limitation is their range.
The boy was critically wounded, but in a situation where he needed only 1-2 seconds per person to kill.
As for questions about less lethal force... all less lethal options require a second officer. One officer deploys the less lethal weapon while the other covers with a firearm.
Why? Because less lethal frequently does not work, especially against a moving person, and you only get one try with it before the person wielding the knife kills you.
If you miss with that baton round from the shotgun, you're dead.
If the taser does not go in, or the person pulls a dart or breaks the wire with their knife, you're dead.
The backup officer with the firearm has to stop them before they kill you.
So police in Europe have a duty to try all means in order to deescalate situations and to use non-lethal force for instance when someone has a knife using a taser, baton rounds or shields rather than resort to firearms. Indeed far more training is aimed at deescalation in many European countries than is apparent in the US.
In the UK, all police shootings are investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) rather than the police themselves and the police must be able to justify their actions as absolutely necessary having considered all options including non-lethals which are carried by officers and police support units.
Part of that framework is sending a minimum of four officers to lethal force situations (at least in the UK).
That simply is not affordable in the US and will never happen. Without those additional officers, there are not other means of deescalation to use.
(People forgot that, when you include killings in the "IRA war", UK police killed at rates equal to those of US cops today. Those killings were considered military actions instead of police actions, something very illegal in the US, to avoid the extra scrutiny. "All means" and "absolutely necessary" has been very fuzzy in the past.)
Police now state that the kid in fact cut a classmate. However it is also reported the knives involved were in fact "butter knives" unlikely to cause great harm.
And it appears the kid was defending himself against being bullied.
I expect any resolution will depend on information not yet available. At the moment we are hearing only from the officials though they have backed off initial claims of a clean shoot.
I would expect a multi-million damage settlement. The kid is apparently badly damaged.
If it was for self defense that would be unfortunate, but from a cop's perspective there is a fog of war problem. Draw a weapon escalates the problem. If you choose to do so make it quick and stand down as soon as possible. Cops can't read minds.
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