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Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA
It is, however, actionable to fail to obey a lawful command by a sworn officer.
You fuck up -- and this guy did, by presenting himself as a likely threat -- then that can go very badly for you.
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Cross your legs, keep your hands up, and crawl toward me are contradictory commands.
They played Simon Says with him for like 10 minutes. At some point you're going to get a command wrong. They had multiple opportunities to cuff him and chose not to because they were not interested in that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BYU 14
Your analogy about the hands in pockets is apples and oranges. Knowing he had a weapon, not knowing where it is or if he has others means you don't wait until it is pointed at you to shoot, otherwise odds are you take a bullet too. The law in this case left no room to convict the officer once he went for his waist band, it is sad, but that is how it is.
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No it's not. Anyone in that state can carry a gun at any time. Anyone an officer comes across or sees on the street could have a weapon on them. If the argument is that the theoretical possibility that a gun exists out of sight gives justification to shoot, then it would apply to much more than this.
My point is these self-defense claims would never fly with the average citizen. If you or I shot someone because we thought maybe they had a gun, we'd be in jail. We'd have to see the gun, likely even see it aimed at us.
As an officer, you should have to meet a similar burden of self-defense. You should have to either see a weapon or see what can be construed as a weapon before using deadly force. I know we've propped up this false claim that being an officer is extremely dangerous. But it's really not when you remove vehicle deaths. And if someone feels it is too dangerous, they should find a safer career path.
Demand more from your law enforcement. Wannabe Rambos who couldn't make it a week in basic don't belong.