blood thirsty cops

[breakingtime91]

Shooting someone isn't awesome. Guy obviously wanted to commit suicide and the cop seemed to have control over the situation(if he had to put him down he could). Gun trained on the suspect who was only threatening enough to get shot, never pointed the gun at the officer. I have a feeling if the suicidal man would of pointed the gun at the deputy or began to present it, he would of shot him.

[TGS]

Shooting someone isn't awesome. Guy obviously wanted to commit suicide and the cop seemed to have control over the situation. Gun trained on the suspect who was only threatening enough to get shot, never pointed the gun at the officer. I have a feeling if the suicidal man would of pointed the gun at the deputy or began to present it, he would of shot him.

I did not percieve him to have control over the situation.

Dude wasn't obeying his commands, retrieved a weapon when the cop arrived, was walking around with the gun in his hands, and was meandering around almost as if the cop wasn't there.

That's not what I think could be considered control over the situation.

[breakingtime91]

I did not percieve him to have control over the situation.

Dude wasn't obeying his commands, retrieved a weapon when the cop arrived, was walking around with the gun in his hands, and was meandering around almost as if the cop wasn't there.

That's not what I think could be considered control over the situation.

Ok, so what I meant was from the standpoint of the guy went to shoot, he could put him down. Hopefully that clears my view on it up.

Also I don't think he's gonna win a lawsuit if he sues

[SLG]

I'm not going to guess about what the deputy thought, or judge what he did.

I will say that I would have drawn my gun the second the guy went into the back seat, and I would not be standing where the deputy was standing. I would not have shot him, based on that video. The perp never had control of the gun to where he could have shot very quickly. Not to say it wasn't dangerous, and if he had been holding it differently, I would likely have shot. But in this case, seeing what I saw, I would not shoot.

Also, good capitalization (may not be the right way to use that word) on the part of the deputy to go from gunpoint to tackle so quickly. Many people under stress cannot stop doing what they are doing, in order to do something more effective. I know a lot of guys who would have simply held their ground and kept issuing commands while the perp picked the gun up again.

[Dagga Boy]

Ok, so what I meant was from the standpoint of the guy went to shoot, he could put him down. Hopefully that clears my view on it up.

Also I don't think he's gonna win a lawsuit if he sues

Actually....no. I have seen all sorts of folks miss at that range, not get solid hits, have malfunctions or failure of their gun to fire, and crooks not impressed with pistol bullets, so "putting him down" is not a given at all. I had multiple officers have to go to head shots at those ranges due to solid hits not dropping a felon or stopping their actions. I had a kid I mentored for years and brought up from a puppy recently have to kill a suicidal subject in a very similar scenario. Two other officers were on scene. One fired three misses and malfunctioned his pistol, one fired a miss, and my kid fired a single shot that dropped him in place with one of the best descriptions of doing things right I have ever heard in a post shooting debrief. So, these are not a given, and those "shoot me" folks are very tough to deal with and highly unpredictable.

[breakingtime91]

Actually....no. I have seen all sorts of folks miss at that range, not get solid hits, have malfunctions or failure of their gun to fire, and crooks not impressed with pistol bullets, so "putting him down" is not a given at all. I had multiple officers have to go to head shots at those ranges due to solid hits not dropping a felon or stopping their actions. I had a kid I mentored for years and brought up from a puppy recently have to kill a suicidal subject in a very similar scenario. Two other officers were on scene. One fired three misses and malfunctioned his pistol, one fired a miss, and my kid fired a single shot that dropped him in place with one of the best descriptions of doing things right I have ever heard in a post shooting debrief. So, these are not a given, and those "shoot me" folks are very tough to deal with and highly unpredictable.

Roger. I'm just saying I wouldn't have shot him from what I saw. It's ok that we disagree, we come from different back grounds

[Hambo]

At the same time if he shot him I wouldn't be criticizing him, and he shouldn't be criticized for not shooting him either.

Great post. I knew one guy who didn't shoot in almost the exact same situation as the video. He was certainly willing, as he had shot people before, and he was at low ready the whole time in this incident. He just didn't think the guy was serious enough to need shot. On the other hand I knew a cop in another department who smoked a mentally ill dude who was brandishing a pistol without much of an attempt to do anything else. Both did what they thought was right in the moment, but both could have ended the opposite way.

[jlw]

As I was watching the video the first time and the guy came out of the truck with the firearm, my mind flashed "Dinkheller". From the comfort of my keyboard I write, "I would have shot him then.", but Lt. Hess was actually there dealing with the situation. I know him. I recommended his promotion to Lieutenant. I know his family.

I'm thankful he is alive today.

[SLG]

As I was watching the video the first time and the guy came out of the truck with the firearm, my mind flashed "Dinkheller".

My exact thoughts.

Lucky for the deputy, that was not the case as he would have been way behind the curve here, it appears to me.

[GardoneVT]

The only comment I can offer is this- the female could have done serious damage had she come out the door shooting.

Moral of the story; domestic calls are always high risk for LE.