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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]MADem
(135,425 posts)57. According to passers-by/tourists, he was lunging at people with the knife.
You have to get fairly close-in to use a taser--it's not like Star Trek. Twenty feet doesn't seem like much when a guy has a big knife, just saying...and of course, if the cops doing the shooting don't HAVE a taser, that option is off the table.
Did you see the knife? It was a very WIDE thing with a six inch blade, silver and dramatic looking.
This wasn't just about the officers, it was about the tourists, who, from all accounts, were terrified.
And it could be a "suicide by cop" scenario. Who knows? The guy has had brushes with the law before, one where he did the same thing with a screwdriver. He was clearly disturbed.
It is a sad situation.
Two responding cops pulled their patrol car onto the sidewalk on Seventh Avenue between 37th and 38th streets, where they helped corner the ranting Kennedy, who was yelling, Shoot me! Shoot me!
The officers got out of the car. As a result, [Kennedy] approached the officers with the knife. They had no place to go; they fired their weapons. Its unfortunate, the commissioner said....One of the two officers who fired, a 40-year-old with 18 years on the job, shot three times. His partner, 30 and a seven-year cop, fired nine times. They were two to three feet from Kennedy, said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne.
Kennedy was hit at least seven times, Browne said, including three times in the chest, twice in the left arm, once in the groin and once in the left calf.
Kelly insisted 12 rounds was not excessive, and he said none of the cops involved could have used a Taser for one simple reason: They didnt have one.
The officers got out of the car. As a result, [Kennedy] approached the officers with the knife. They had no place to go; they fired their weapons. Its unfortunate, the commissioner said....One of the two officers who fired, a 40-year-old with 18 years on the job, shot three times. His partner, 30 and a seven-year cop, fired nine times. They were two to three feet from Kennedy, said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne.
Kennedy was hit at least seven times, Browne said, including three times in the chest, twice in the left arm, once in the groin and once in the left calf.
Kelly insisted 12 rounds was not excessive, and he said none of the cops involved could have used a Taser for one simple reason: They didnt have one.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/thug_had_done_it_before_Z3WFEdFnsyqE4l0SfhH77H#ixzz23SBbAgiN
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Family of deranged man fatally shot by cops in Times Square upset over use deadly force [View all]
TomClash
Aug 2012
OP
I have no idea what the "deal" was, there, of course--I wasn't there. But I have been to
MADem
Aug 2012
#55
Cops (and gun carriers in general dont shoot to wound that a hollywood falsehood)
Missycim
Aug 2012
#27
If the cops were any good, they'd have shot the knife out of his hand
JustABozoOnThisBus
Aug 2012
#49
cops shooting a deranged man 12 times because he is waving a knife around is not justified. Ever.
Proletariatprincess
Aug 2012
#22
It's not like they shot him once, waited to see what would happen, shot him again, waited, etc.
AtheistCrusader
Aug 2012
#47
They had no taser, they were a couple of feet away and backed up against their patrol car.
MADem
Aug 2012
#58
And two professionally trained officers couldn't find a nonlethal way to subdue him
primavera
Aug 2012
#70
I find unnecessary police violence horrendous, but in this case it appears to be necessary.
PBass
Aug 2012
#23
if this backwards country had anything close to competant, adequate mental health facilities
SemperEadem
Aug 2012
#31
From the video, there were approximately 8 cops. Two felt it was necessary to shoot.
jerseyjack
Aug 2012
#32