Discussion: "I Shot Him. I'm Sorry."

Discussion for article #235230

I know many men in their 70s, some very vital, others frail. But I cannot think of any of them - certainly not when you do police work essentially as a side hobby - who should be carrying and using a firearm in what is the inherently fast moving and stressful work of suspect apprehension, under any circumstances.

Lets extrapolate on this, what about a president in their early 70s?

The article said he was an undercover volunteer officer as part of the Violent Crimes Task Force. WTF is that. Again I would have thought this was an article in the Onion.

Bates, a Tulsa insurance company executive, was working undercover as a member of the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office Violent Crimes Task Force, according to Tulsa World.

He had received specialized training in “homicide investigation, meth lab identification and decontamination,” according to Tulsa World.

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I’m pretty sure that the President, despite being Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, does not actually fight with them in war. This guy was; not just as an unexpected thing that came up as an auxilliary deputy, but he was reportedly part of the Violent Crimes Task Force working undercover on drugs. So, not exactly surprising that he might be dealing with unpredictable, potentially violent situations.

But the president may have to make quick life threatening, nation threatening, decisions under extremely stressful conditions. If 70 is too old to handle the sudden situations confronting police then we should also consider other positions requiring action under pressure.

Look at commercial pilots. They must retire at age 65. They must have a co-pilot under 60 years old. During critical parts of the flight , such as below 10,000, a pilot under 60 must be at the controls. From 60-65 additional mental exams are required to ensure “skill and judgment continue at acceptable levels.”

Many of us will recall Ronald Reagan’s decline during his presidency.

Quick for a president means minutes to hours. Quick for a cop means less than a second. That’s a considerable difference. It’s also the difference between being sound of mind and sound of body; the latter is more certain to decline after 70 or so.

Why would you make a 73 year old guy an undercover cop on a Violent Crime Task force? So he is a campaign contributor so the sheriff lets him to be a thrill seeker undercover cop at 73 carrying a gun and a taser. Is this George Plimpton fantasy camp?