That means the shooter is held pending a decision to press charges. That one step would change the entire mindset of officers toward discharging their weapons.

And I like it.

The issue is whether the homicide is justifiable.

There is such a thing as due process and it applies to everyone.

Shooting an unarmed person might be justifiable, and shooting an armed person might not be. The fact that the person was unarmed does not constitute evidence of an unjustified homicide.

It does provide Due Process. Just as much as anyone else held under the same circumstances. The fact that the victim is unarmed is prima facie evidence of homicide, which is not a criminal charge against the officer, merely a legal status of the deceased that death resulted from the actions of another person, pending a determination of any criminal charges.

Homicide is when one human causes the death of another human. Whether the deceased was or wasn't armed has no bearing on the cause of death.

Does anyone else remember the episode of Adam 12 where Reed shot a guy? I do. Despite the facts that completely backed up his use of force, including physical evidence, they grilled him every which way about the shooting for hours.

They wanted to know what he saw, what he thought, what he felt. Did he see anything behind the shooter? Did he see any other people around? Did he know where his bullets went? As he reached the end of the interview, then, and only then, did the detectives start to tell him what they had already found. That the guy was armed with a rifle, and the structure behind the shooter was a brick wall, as Reed suspected, or perhaps believed. The other cops did not try to assuage his nerves, they wanted him rattled.

That is the fiction, the way it's supposed to happen according to the PTB. This is the reality. Oh take your time writing up the reports, let us gather the physical evidence and then you can adjust your narrative to that. No problem buddy.

I can't tell you how many times I have wished that reality was like the fictional Adam 12. Where professional Police Officers trained to maintain their heads, and keep their emotional response in check addressed problems and incidents with wisdom and respect for everyone involved. Arresting a murderer and they call him sir. Talking to women, of all colors, and they call them Ma'am.

It's a crying shame that reality is the other way. We best call the Police Sir, or Ma'am. Or else. We best be professional and unemotional, and respectful towards the cops. Because we want Reed and Malloy, and we got Stallone's Cobra for every single traffic stop.

If a cop kills a white person, they go in and write a report and the chief speaks briefly to the media. If a cop kills a black person, the chief takes the cop out to dinner a couple of days later and they hash out the details over drinks, I think.

Last edited Mon Apr 13, 2015, 02:47 PM - Edit history (1)

Found this to be interesting: http://original.antiwar.com/mcgovern/2015/04/12/the-nasty-blowback-from-americas-wars/

We can assume that the vast majority of police shootings are appropraite... yet we should also assume that they take a terrible toll on the officer. I don't know about "relaxing", but some down time to deal with post-trauma symptoms is appropriate IMO.

For those shootings where the officer is potentially guilty of a crime, then the same rights that any defendant has apply... and they can avoid answering question absent obtaining legal advice. Similarly, investigators should have time to gather evidence to make the questioning more effective.

Caveat - I recognize the name involved, but know almost nothing of the specifics of this case.