General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Police shoot 17 year old girl armed with knife [View all]sarisataka
(18,500 posts)-the officer's initial command to drop the knife and sit down were delivered clearly, with pauses between. There was nothing confusing about what he was saying.
-as she continues to approach he draws his gun and backs away. He keeps repeating drop it.
-when she says just shoot me, he backs up further, still repeating the words drop it
-by the time she starts to run at him I estimate he has backed up 100 yards or more
-as she starts to run he tells her to drop it one last time
-she takes 4 running strides, knife in hand, between the last command to drop it and the first shot
While 20/20 hindsight always allows options to criticize, it appears the officer was trying to buy time for backup to arrive and employ a less lethal alternative. I cannot fault the officer for shooting when he did. I do not think he is required to be stabbed a few times before defending himself.
Hopefully the young lady will recover and get the help she needs.