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In reply to the discussion: Family of deranged man fatally shot by cops in Times Square upset over use deadly force [View all]primavera
(5,191 posts)Hopefully those who patrol our streets in uniform are. Hopefully they have at their disposal a variety of ways of handling combative suspects. If they don't, perhaps they ought to. If they weren't wearing protective gear or carrying tools to aid them in the nonlethal suppression of suspects, perhaps they ought to have been. That's the job. The police are supposed to apprehend law breakers so that the courts can determine their fate, not be judge, jury, and executioner. I'm sorry if it's a warm day and wearing protective clothing is uncomfortable. That's the job. I don't imagine that garbage collectors are particularly comfortable on hot days either, but the job still needs to be done, preferably without killing anybody.
Of course, you're right, I wasn't there anymore than you were and I do recognize that police are occasionally required to use lethal force in order to protect themselves and the people around them. And perhaps this was such a case. All I'm saying is that such cases should be extraordinarily rare. Perhaps instances such as this one suggest some deficiency in the training and or equipment we provide to law enforcement officers if the only way they have of subduing someone is to kill them. Constables in the UK do not even carry firearms, yet they somehow manage to perform their jobs. Perhaps there is something we can learn from their example about nonlethal ways of subduing suspects.