Texas Officer Shoots, Kills Mentally Ill Man Holding a Spoon

a reply to: Shamrock6

Fine an educated guess, he was still wrong.

I don't know what would happen to me if I did that, guess it all depends on the cop that showed up.

I'll get back to you if I ever cross that bridge.

I have no duty to retreat from an attacker who is coming at me. Maybe where you live, you do. But I don't. I don't get to run away from things or people that wish to do me harm.

So again, a different set of laws.
I know you will come back with a "what if that person goes onto hurt another person, then it is my fault"
Which is understandable but it is a two way street with the opposite being having the same chance of occurring.
And for what it is worth I am against most stand your ground and castle laws.

a reply to: Domo1

Kind of hard to shoot a foot let alone a leg when the person is running at you and if you don't have much time to aim. And if you miss I can imagine the person would still be a threat.

originally posted by: Domo1
a reply to: Shamrock6

Why can't you just shoot them in the toe while they're running at you?

Did that once. Even curved my shot around light pole too. Got written up for it because other guys were jealous of my skillz

a reply to: Yeahkeepwatchingme

I think you missed domo's sarcasm

a reply to: Sremmos80

Uh...yea. You have a different set of laws regarding what you can do facing a threat than a cop does. I wasn't talking about castle laws or stand your ground. I was talking about a cop doesn't get to run away from things.

Cop doesn't get to say well hey this guy tried to break in to this house and he has a big shiny object in his hand and now he's coming towards me lemme run around for a bit and hope for the best. Civilians can.

a reply to: Shamrock6

You don't do tickle shots? I'm pretty sure with your skillz you could pull it off. Aim for the armpit and make the bullet tickle the guy until he's laughing too much to be a threat.

a reply to: Shamrock6

What would happen to you if you tried to break into somebody's house in the middle of the night, and when confronted by police you ignored their commands to drop the shiny metal object in your hand, and then advanced on them in an aggressive manner?

In a lot of cases, depending on the jurisdiction, a homeowner would be arrested if he did the same thing.... in his garage.
Police show up and investigate. The homeowner says... 'Yeah, this guy wouldn't listen to my commands and he had something in his hand. So I shot him.'
The cops find a spoon in the dead guy's hand.
In his house, no problem... in most jurisdictions. In a detached garage, there are problems with using deadly force. Many men have went to prison for shooting a person trespassing on their property. Police don't have to worry so much about that kind of thing.

a reply to: Shamrock6

You have a different set of laws regarding what you can do facing a threat than a cop does.

Exactly, why?

That is a major issue people have, cops are above the law that the rest of us have to follow.

I was talking about a cop doesn't get to run away from things.

They also shouldn't get to kill anyone in a situation they do not understand or are unsure of what is happening.

originally posted by: Sremmos80
a reply to: Shamrock6

You have a different set of laws regarding what you can do facing a threat than a cop does.

Exactly, why?

That is a major issue people have, cops are above the law that the rest of us have to follow.

Is it your job to protect the community? Is it your job to answer calls from homeowners in the middle of the night when somebody is breaking in to their house? Is it your job to respond to bank robberies? Is it your job to respond to an active shooter in a mall? No? Then that would be why there is a large difference between your right to protect yourself and a cop's responsibility to protect the community. And why there is a large hole in your attempt to put the two on equal footing.

originally posted by: roadgravel

I was talking about a cop doesn't get to run away from things.

They also shouldn't get to kill anyone in a situation they do not understand or are unsure of what is happening.

What did he not understand? That the guy had a spoon and not a knife? Yes, he should've waited till it bounced off his chest to determine the nature of the shiny metal object.

a reply to: Domo1

I do, but only on my off time. I also put cool lines in hair if you want

That whole thing about cops not getting to run away....
There is nothing preventing them from retreating.

There are plenty of laws broken by cops every day anyway.
Are they allowed to do that? No. But they do it every day.

a reply to: Shamrock6

Did some one force you to take that job?
Did they not tell you the risk involved when you did?

I get that you have a dangerous job, but you are not the only one.

But cops are the only one's with special laws to combat that danger.

Well outside of maybe a solider in a warzone, which cops are not.

a reply to: butcherguy

You're right they can retreat. Retreating isn't the same as running away. And where was this officer supposed to retreat to? The front yard? The street? Down the block?

a reply to: Shamrock6

Is it your job to protect the community? Is it your job to answer calls from homeowners in the middle of the night when somebody is breaking in to their house? Is it your job to respond to bank robberies? Is it your job to respond to an active shooter in a mall? No? Then that would be why there is a large difference between your right to protect yourself and a cop's responsibility to protect the community. And why there is a large hole in your attempt to put the two on equal footing.

It is nice to think that you do all that.
But most of the time, cops are writing tickets for things that do not prevent any injuries or deaths.
When you do have to go to a crime scene, you are typically performing investigative duties and filling out paperwork.... 75% of felony crimes go unsolved too.
There are a lot of jobs out there that are much more dangerous than being a cop.

originally posted by: Shamrock6
a reply to: butcherguy

You're right they can retreat. Retreating isn't the same as running away. And where was this officer supposed to retreat to? The front yard? The street? Down the block?

Why are none of those viable options when a homeowner may be obliged by the law to do exactly that?

a reply to: Sremmos80

Nope nobody forced any of us into it. Did I imply that they did? Was I whining? Nope. You completely missed the point: you are not required to answer dangerous calls. Cops are. A cop choosing to be a cop is immaterial to his inability to say "ooo, that call sounds scary, I think I'll ignore it." Because cops CHOSE a profession that requires them to not ignore calls like that. You don't want todeal with, or can't handle, calls that may be dangerous then don't be a cop.

You're trying to compare apples (a civilian and their ability to deal with a threat that has confronted them) and oranges (an officer who is obligated to deal with a threat on behalf of others) and it's not working.

originally posted by: butcherguy

originally posted by: Shamrock6
a reply to: butcherguy

You're right they can retreat. Retreating isn't the same as running away. And where was this officer supposed to retreat to? The front yard? The street? Down the block?

Why are none of those viable options when a homeowner may be obliged by the law to do exactly that?

No idea. Ask your state legislature. Where I live, homeowners aren't obligated to do any of that

ETA: Yep there are jobs more dangerous than being a cop. Yep there's a lot of paperwork. Yep there's a lot of time doing things that make up the definition of "routine." Seeing as I was referring to the non-routine things cops have to deal with, that's all pretty moot. Your bad day at the office is a copier running out of ink. A cop's bad day is an officer involved shooting.

originally posted by: Sremmos80
a reply to: Shamrock6

You have a different set of laws regarding what you can do facing a threat than a cop does.

Exactly, why?

That is a major issue people have, cops are above the law that the rest of us have to follow.

Who makes the laws that the police have to follow? Who protect the police who step out of line?

Politics is the problem with our police state! Those who play into the political church and their doctrine are MORE guilty than the enforcers who commit the immoral act!

For Christ's sake! Have we become that dumbed down by the MSM that we can't even see where the root of the problem comes from??????

Your blindness to the problem is quite obvious!

The justice system and the law makers (politicians) who allow and protect bad behavior is the root of the problem!