News Video of Police shooting man 30+ times

Aries Walker · 08-22-2012, 09:16 PM

Dear people who think they should have shot the legs:

When, during that video, should one of the police shouted out "Shoot for the legs"? There was no time elapsed between the aggressive move and the first shot. If all of those police are trained to wait for the aggressive move, then the command, then for them to hear the command, then for their minds to process the command, then for their hands to aim south, then the firing, that's more time for the aggressive move to play out. That would place the object of his move in more danger.

Also, how would they know that every policeman would hear it? They were on opposite sides of him (including at least one behind the bush on the left).

Who would give that order? I imagine that the one in charge was the one trying to talk the guy down. Should s/he stop and start shouting commands, mid-sentence?

Suppose the mentally unstable guy with the knife heard the command. Now he knows not only that they are about to shoot, but that they're not willing to shoot to kill.

Okay, so you train your police officers to shoot the legs in some situations. What's the line? If it's distance - say, 20 feet - can those cops, under considerable stress, judge whether they're 18, 20, or 22 feet away, without resorting to a tape measure? Do you have them go for the leg shot if there are three or more police on site? If they guy's on drugs; how would they know? Is that an eight-inch knife, or just six? Is he alone? Do you know him? Or would you just have them always shoot the legs?

No. You would not. Police officers are frequently outnumbered, outgunned, and in hostile environments with a lot of moving parts in action during a life-or-death moment. When the time comes for them to take action, they should take swift and sure action and preserve their own safety, and the safety of other people nearby. In other words, don't shoot the leg.

That said, the way to have ended this should have been through less-lethal weapons. If those police didn't have tasers, and maybe a beanbag gun in every police cruiser trunk, they should have.

08-22-2012, 09:16 PM	#1
Aries Walker Back again, again. Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: York, PA Casino cash: $9503357	Dear people who think they should have shot the legs: When, during that video, should one of the police shouted out "Shoot for the legs"? There was no time elapsed between the aggressive move and the first shot. If all of those police are trained to wait for the aggressive move, then the command, then for them to hear the command, then for their minds to process the command, then for their hands to aim south, then the firing, that's more time for the aggressive move to play out. That would place the object of his move in more danger. Also, how would they know that every policeman would hear it? They were on opposite sides of him (including at least one behind the bush on the left). Who would give that order? I imagine that the one in charge was the one trying to talk the guy down. Should s/he stop and start shouting commands, mid-sentence? Suppose the mentally unstable guy with the knife heard the command. Now he knows not only that they are about to shoot, but that they're not willing to shoot to kill. Okay, so you train your police officers to shoot the legs in some situations. What's the line? If it's distance - say, 20 feet - can those cops, under considerable stress, judge whether they're 18, 20, or 22 feet away, without resorting to a tape measure? Do you have them go for the leg shot if there are three or more police on site? If they guy's on drugs; how would they know? Is that an eight-inch knife, or just six? Is he alone? Do you know him? Or would you just have them always shoot the legs? No. You would not. Police officers are frequently outnumbered, outgunned, and in hostile environments with a lot of moving parts in action during a life-or-death moment. When the time comes for them to take action, they should take swift and sure action and preserve their own safety, and the safety of other people nearby. In other words, don't shoot the leg. That said, the way to have ended this should have been through less-lethal weapons. If those police didn't have tasers, and maybe a beanbag gun in every police cruiser trunk, they should have.
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