How about we all just agree that there’s too much firepower all around with too many jumpy people desiring to have an excuse to use it? And that the best course of action would be if everyone chilled the hell out and thought first before reaching for their gun.
I found a part of the comment from Ian Adams interesting “The onus is on the person being arrested to stop trying to assault and kill police officers and the innocent public. … Why do some in society continue to insist the problem lies with police officers?”
'. trying to assault and kill police officers and the innocent public. . . '. To me that’s a part of the problem, he views the public as secondary to the police. I know he represents the police, but aren’t they paid to protect and serve ?
A drunk driver kills someone, and they probably end up serving time. A police officer kills someone and the AG says that it’s justified. I don’t recall a recent case in Utah where that didn’t happen. Mind you, I have only lived here since 1998.
Neither does the Tribune story even once use the word 'homicide" to describe the police killings. Why not? Because they are professional journalists.
The only thing stopping a “good guy” with a gun is more “bad guys” with guns.
Or something.
Is it perhaps fair to ask if the Utah results showing police shootings high on the list of homicide causes is a function of low totals for shootings otherwise?
Is Utah an generally non-violent state? Utah on Utah shootings low? Function of an alcohol and drugs-averse culture perhaps?
Just saying police shootings are high on the list without context doesn’t tell us a whole lot.
Truly. And, the same applies to a lot of other professions where the people in those careers usually are members in a professional society (lawyers, doctors) or union (teachers) that help shape the rules regarding identification and discipline (even to the point of expulsion) of the bad actors.
I’d love to include business owners and executives here, but there isn’t any institutional enforcement mechanism.
13 deaths a year … they will never get rid of all of the minorities at that rate - probably need to add in some incentives.
I think it’s more just general article confusion. The headline ties to the current year (I think) while the homicide by police as the #2 slot is the ‘since 2010’. And seriously, does it make any more or less of an impact that it’s #2 in the last four years than just the last year?
So you’re seeing ‘A Clockwork Orange’ as a training video for police recruiters and not a distopian future?
The nature of police work is to enter into conflict, not withdraw from it. So, the conflict will either result in an utter submission by the citizen or by the use of extreme force by the officer. Unless we have a fundamental shift in how we want the police to interact with us, this probably won’t change that much.
Given the small numbers involved, I’m not sure the stats are worth much analysis. It’s more a curiosity than an indicator of some profound societal problem in Utah.