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This video starts with the situation well advanced. The cops are already outnumbered and surrounded and the guy in the white shirt is mobile and aggressive. We cannot tell what actions the cops have already taken, but it is evident they did not work towards calming the situation.
It appeared to me that White Shirt was working himself up and enjoying the attention from the crowd. The longer the cops allowed this to continue, the greater their danger became. I agree that he showed poor judgment in allowing a physical engagement when other means of subduing White Shirt may have been available, but time was not on the side of the cops and a taser may not have been on hand. For a crowd of this size and given the unruly nature of the scene, backup seems advisable. IF backup was not available soon, IF no taser was available, then the cop did what he had to do to control the scene. He saw an opportunity to grab control and took it, albeit in a somewhat risky manner given the crowd and how quickly others can become participants.
Obviously the guy squaring off with the cops is an idiot, but the officer did a terrible job of trying to diffuse and contain the situation. He acted inappropriately, and could have put other people in danger by playing a part in escalating the situation instead of ending it. The inaction of his fellow officers is also disappointing.
I don't think that this necessarily warrants a severe reprimand, but the officers (all involved) should be required to complete additional training in crowd control tactics.
If a guy raised his fists to an officer on Bourbon Street (18th in Adams Mo is about the closest equivalent we have), that guy would have been sitting on the curb with cuffs on before anyone had time to record a thing on their phone.
That could have turned real ugly with that kind of crowd cheering stuff on, having cellphone cameras on it all, etc.
Notes:
-everyone probably saw the police as losing control of how to handle the situation properly, and went down many notches to idiot territory. The officer allowed self-pride to take over.
-the idiot guy in the white shirt lost the 'fight', but gained in the fact he was able to get an officer to react in such an unprofessional way. Ideal for stories.
Cops are only human, I think some folks think they are some superhuman species.
I long ago stopped judging cops since they deal with people I choose to have nothing to do with it on a daily basis. Sure they signed up for it but such prolonged contact with the dredges of society would have a perverse impact on even the strongest of minds.
So did the cop behave questionably? Yup. Do I care? Nope.
This video starts with the situation well advanced. The cops are already outnumbered and surrounded and the guy in the white shirt is mobile and aggressive. We cannot tell what actions the cops have already taken, but it is evident they did not work towards calming the situation.
It appeared to me that White Shirt was working himself up and enjoying the attention from the crowd. The longer the cops allowed this to continue, the greater their danger became. I agree that he showed poor judgment in allowing a physical engagement when other means of subduing White Shirt may have been available, but time was not on the side of the cops and a taser may not have been on hand. For a crowd of this size and given the unruly nature of the scene, backup seems advisable. IF backup was not available soon, IF no taser was available, then the cop did what he had to do to control the scene. He saw an opportunity to grab control and took it, albeit in a somewhat risky manner given the crowd and how quickly others can become participants.
They both acted foolish but some1 armed with a gun, a baton, mace, but then decides to just throw them thangs....thats goin hard........anywhere else dude woulda been killed or beat off the break by the police...this coulda gone terribly wrong earlier than it did
or Boston, NYC, or Philly.
Police up there look for reasons to f**k someone up... especially an out of control young black male.
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