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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsJust badged VA cop killed on first day, responding to domestic dispute
This is such a tragic story I wanted to post it. There is no racial factor in this story that has been revealed so far. I'm just posting this as a counterbalance to all the posts about how evil the cops are. Not every situation is a cop beating up or killing someone who didn't do anything (or much) wrong.
I'm as virulently opposed to the a*hole cops in situations like Eric Garner and Tamir Rice and Freddy Gray and .... as anybody.
But at the same time I support the cops who are out there behaving decently (at least according to how they've been trained and ordered) and just trying to do a difficult job that we all need done, whether we admit it or not. Sometimes a situation where the cops acted badly, is really a combination of a series of bad decisions based on inadequate training, poor leadership culture, and dealing with a stressful situation that could very well end up like this one. That doesn't mean that the problem cops shouldn't be brought to justice and/or retrained ... just that we should be aware of the many factors that might be in play, particularly when cops respond to domestic calls.
My thoughts go out to the family of this woman, the family of the original apparent victim of the abuser, and the other officers wounded in the incident.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/domestic-dispute-virginia-cop-ashley-guindon-shot-killed/
A county leader said a civilian woman was also killed in the domestic dispute.
Officers received a call around 5:30 Saturday evening in Woodbridge, about 30 miles southwest of the nation's capital, about a "verbal argument," Sgt. Jonathan Perok, spokesman of the Prince William County Police Department, said. It's not clear how the altercation between the suspect and police began but the suspect, a military serviceman, is in custody and was not injured, he said. The condition of the other two officers is not known.
...
Another woman was killed in the domestic call and was dead before police arrived, Stewart said, but police declined to confirm that information. Stewart also said there was a child in the house during the incident who was not harmed.
Neighbors told CBS affiliate WUSA in Washington, D.C., that a violent scene unfolded as cops showed up.
...
The shooting occurred in the Lake Ridge neighborhood, on a curving street with $500,000 suburban houses with brick and siding exteriors, manicured lawns and two-car garages about a five-minute drive from the county office building.
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imanamerican63
(13,820 posts)Praying for her and the other officers involved.
What's even sadder is there are posters on DU who would celebrate cop deaths.
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cwydro
(51,308 posts)He's gonna rot in jail.
Bonx
(2,075 posts)Crabby Appleton
(5,231 posts)The Army says the shooter is an active duty staff sergeant stationed at the Pentagon working in IT.
Bonx
(2,075 posts)MH1
(17,608 posts)I've self deleted my related replies.
I guess it was the same name? Really sucks to share a name with a cretin, I guess.
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)Surprising that he would be sent out to one on his first day. Sort of like putting a brand new nurse on a patient who's unpredictably violent.
MH1
(17,608 posts)Probably not considered the most dangerous duty. But if they were the closest car when the call came in, of course they responded.
noamnety
(20,234 posts)and I'm certainly not one celebrating cops' deaths.
But since you chose to include the commentary about the few bad apples, I can't let that go unchallenged. The issue is not just the few bad apples. When you phrase it the way you did, you put the focus on individuals, not the systemic problems which police departments as a group uphold.
The systemic problems include a system of lying to cover each other's asses, a culture of lying on reports, a culture of not dismissing the cops caught lying on reports, on and on.
MH1
(17,608 posts)A lot of what you mention falls under what I call "poor leadership culture". Of course that's a simple phrase to write, that covers a lot of the systemic ills.
I just wanted to focus on the fact that there are good, idealistic individuals who go into policing with the honest intention of serving the public. I think the kind of systemic problems you describe cause all but the highest integrity individuals to slip at least a little. Those with weak integrity slip more than a little, and those become some of the bad apples. Then there are a few that get through the screening and are rotten to start with, who go into policing for all the wrong reasons.
That said, until we do something about the systemic issues, it's going to be tough for the "good apples" to balance out the "bad apples". The system is stacked against them, even if they survive the real criminals they have to face in their jobs.
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tabasco
(22,974 posts)thanks in large part to our lack of rational gun restrictions.