Discussion for article #227662
The manâs death was tragic and apparently unnecessary.
Nevertheless, the message here is : DO NOT EVER MESS WITH COPS.
Iâm not saying itâs right. I wish I did not have to say it.
But itâs real. And it is important.
Donât mess with cops
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judging by the profile of the âofficerâ on the left in that photo â oh yeah, this department inspires all kinds of confidenceâŚ
thug culture has become deeply ingrained in the police departments across the united states.
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Is there anything in the article that suggests he âmessed with copsâ other than the copsâ own description of his actions? Personally, I do not automatically assume that any narrative released by a police department has much truth behind it.
And the reason you donât âmess with copsâ is that we let them get away with murder, often literally.
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In most states, the law lets police shoot to kill if they feel like their life or someone elseâs in in danger of death or serious bodily injury. Since an inordinate percentage of Americans seem to be afraid of black men, period, its no wonder so many get shot. And then when the case comes to court, you get a bunch of jurors who think black men are scary and they put themselves in the cops shoes and justify the shooting.
This is why Zimmerman is still free to terrorize the streets of Florida, and why the cop in Ferguson is unlikely to be convicted, and why black parents still have to give their sons the talk. As long as cops know they wonât be punished for shooting black men, they will keep shooting them.
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Look at the belly fat on that guy! I think cops, as public servants, should at least be conscious about what they are putting in their bodies. Core belly fat and swollen jowls like that are excellent predictors of heart disease. Such perverse body shape sends the scary message that the person doesnât pay attention very well generally. Moreover, should something like a foot pursuit come up, thereâs no way that guyâs going to be going strong at the 1,000 meter mark. Rather than fire such tubs, however, police might have a kinder, gentler approach such as assignment to bike patrol until the officerâs BMI is under, say, 28, which isnât even great.
Well so far, the only witnesses, i.e., the police, said:
When the officers made contact with Mr. Hunt, he brandished the sword and lunged toward the officers with the sword, at which time Mr. Hunt was shotâŚ
Is anyone else saying otherwise? You are assuming that, in the absence of any contrary evidence, the police statement must be false. How do arrive at that conclusion?
And sure, Hunt knew that the sword didnât have a truly sharp blade, but did anyone else? Whomever called the police in the first place sure seemed to think that a guy walking around waving a Samurai sword might, just maybe, be a cause for concern.
And to some of the other posters here, does the fact that one of the cops has a âfront porchâ make all of the cops involved untrustworthy? Are you sure about that?
Mister Neutron, I thought I was clear. The poster said donât mess with the cops. I was trying to merely point out that the only narrative presented in the article was from the cops, who, 1), are hardly a disinterested party in the affair, and 2), have some history of lying when a person ends up dead at their hands (Fred Hampton, Michael Brown, and so on, and so on). Not to mention that I always hear the same boiler plate description of the dead in Chicago as pointing a weapon at an officer, whereas the local residents frequently tell a different story. Am I assuming that the cops are lying any more than you are assuming that theyâre telling the truth?
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Thatâs a pretty big brush youâre using there! All cops, everywhere. Got it.
Did the police make a very poor decision in this case? Yes, thatâs entirely possible. In fact, Iâd say probable. Maybe weâll know more, in time.
But by now, the lesson should be clear. When you go walking around your little town, leave your guns, swords, and large knives at home. You donât need them. This is not Mogadishu. Do not force the police into the position of having to make these kinds of decisions.
When you purchase a sword, and the shopkeeper offers to wrap it up for you, the correct response is not, âNo thanks - I plan to start brandishing it right away.â
And if you are confronted by a group of armed cops, getting combative is a bad idea. Trying to run away from them is a bad idea. You drop the sword, put your hands up, and say, in a loud, clear voice, âItâs just a toy.â
We seem to be expecting the police to make excellent decisions when confronted by behavior that might be homicidal, or might just be spectacularly stupid. Thereâs no need to create these situations.
What ever happened to shooting someone in the leg or somewhere where it wonât kill them? Why do they have to shoot them so many times? Surely a guy with a sword would be disabled if he was shot in the shoulder or the leg or somewhere???
In Utah? No one should be surprised when this happens in a state where gunz rulz âŚ
You might add to your list âdonât pick up a toy gun at Walmartâ if you want to stay alive. And you know what the common demoninator is between the Walmart shooting, the Ferguson shooting, and the Utah shooting? The victims were all people of color. Rummage around on the internet; you might find another example or two. Call me a broad brush painter, but you canât swing a dead cat around a donut shop without hitting a racist cop. So while itâs practical advice not to provoke the police in any way, donât you find it a bit troublesome that this wisdom seems to be aimed primarily to black and brown people?
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Yeah, but thereâs another common denominator. Each of the three victims was doing something really, really stupid.
Somehow when white people do stupid shit around cops, they usually live.
Go figure.
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Cops are not trained for trick shotâs was what I was told by an ex girlfriend that was a copper, they are trained to shoot at the body below the head above the waist. No offence to the decent coppers but she was the only one I ever liked.
Police are only trained in kill-shots. Upper body, from waist to shoulders. Body mass targeting. They never shoot to wing a perp, always to stop them cold. Itâs a policy not likely to change. Tasing is their only real alternative, and apparently itâs not convenient for some police departments to deploy non-lethal weapons.
So true.
I no longer have respect for our law enforcement officials. They behave like the thugs they arrest! I also do not believe their statements about what led to them shooting and murdering citizens who pay their salaries.
Itâs a crapshoot. Sometimes they get shot. Happens to whites, hispanics, and blacks.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/10/25/police-shoot-man-with-toy-gun-in-waistband/
The list goes on.