LogFAQs > #966340447

Look folks, I'm at the leading edge of the All Cops Are Bastards parade but this one is a clear case of "Play stupid games, win stupid prizes" and can be held up as Example #1 of why I wait for clear intel before forming an opinion. It doesn't matter a gnat's whisker if other people had less deadly interactions with police for equal or greater levels of stupidity. We judge this instance on the merits and it comes down to this:

1) Suspect was felony fleeing

2) Suspect discharged a weapon from his vehicle

3) Suspect attempted to flee on foot

4) Cops attempted a non-lethal takedown

5) Suspect made a suspicious hand gesture

In this instance, cops were absolutely justified in using lethal force. There were 4 points where this young man could have made a different choice and possibly still been alive at the end. It is a very unfortunate end, but again: Play Stupid Games, Win Stupid Prizes. If he had surrendered at points 1-4 and still got shot up (which I realize is absolutely possible) I'd be calling for the death penalty for the cops who shot a surrendering suspect, but that is just not the case here.

Some of you are so entrenched in your viewpoint that cops cannot ever be right that this means nothing to you. You are (generally) my brethren and I say to you: If you cannot see that this was a very sad Fair, Next you are part of the problem. If we ever want to HAVE good cops at all then they need room to sometimes be forced to do shitty things for the public good, such as executing what they thing is an armed and dangerous suspect. They need to be held to the highest possible standard, every single instance of a discharged weapons (lethal or non-lethal) investigated in full, but sometimes that is gonna be the correct decision in the heat of the moment. Pick and choose your battles, brothers. Remember that defund the police does not mean eliminate the police and we're gonna want good cops on the other side of eventually.