Philadelphia

[IDM]

The police in the USA have done it again.  I just saw on BBC news about a black man being shot by the police, which included a video of the situation - although not showing visually the impact of the shots.

Apparently the man was wielding.a knife.  Allegedly he had mental health issues but of course the police may not know that.  They told him to drop the knife but when he didn’t they shot him dead.

Several points about this, and it would help folks to see the same clips on the news.

First of all, the man had a knife.  That’s only a threat to life if he could reach someone.  Therefore to remove the stab risk a taser would have been sufficient.

You could argue that the police couldn’t know if the man had a gun too..  But if they can’t see him holding a gun then they are not in immediate danger of being shot.

But let’s assume their rules of engagement allow them to shoot in these circumstances.  Watch the clip and listen.  Just before the shooting starts there are two officers standing open in the middle of the road.  They are not taking cover behind cars for example, so logic says they have no concern about being shot themselves.. If you think you’re being shot at you take cover immediately.

Then listen when the shooting starts.  I counted at least 8 shots.  Eight rounds (or more) from close range to take down one man with a knife.

What’s wrong with taking single aimed shots.?

The first round would probably incapacitate the suspect - then the officers can approach and if the suspect then is still offering a risk to life then there may be a case to shoot again.

You don’t need so many shots to take down a man with a knife..

Take a look at this if you can.. how anyone can justify this is incredible..

[SydneyRover]

It's hard to get your head around it, aboriginals are overrepresented in jails and people get shot because police carry guns, it's like they lose the ability to find another way when they carry a gun.

I'm not sure about being overrepresented in police shootings but too many die in custody.

https://theconversation.com/as-indigenous-incarceration-rates-keep-rising-justice-reinvestment-offers-a-solution-107610

Aboriginal deaths in custody: Black Lives Matter protests referred to our count of 432 deaths. It's now 437
We published a new total of 434 on the day of the protests. But even that is already out of date

Deaths Inside interactive: every Indigenous death in custody since 2008 tracked
Full Story podcast: Australia’s shameful record on black deaths in custody

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jun/09/black-lives-matter-protesters-referred-to-our-count-of-432-aboriginal-deaths-in-custody-its-now-437

[Donnywolf]

Ironic - the City of Brotherly Love !

[drfchound]

The police in the USA have done it again.  I just saw on BBC news about a black man being shot by the police, which included a video of the situation - although not showing visually the impact of the shots.

Apparently the man was wielding.a knife.  Allegedly he had mental health issues but of course the police may not know that.  They told him to drop the knife but when he didn’t they shot him dead.

Several points about this, and it would help folks to see the same clips on the news.

First of all, the man had a knife.  That’s only a threat to life if he could reach someone.  Therefore to remove the stab risk a taser would have been sufficient.

You could argue that the police couldn’t know if the man had a gun too..  But if they can’t see him holding a gun then they are not in immediate danger of being shot.

But let’s assume their rules of engagement allow them to shoot in these circumstances.  Watch the clip and listen.  Just before the shooting starts there are two officers standing open in the middle of the road.  They are not taking cover behind cars for example, so logic says they have no concern about being shot themselves.. If you think you’re being shot at you take cover immediately.

Then listen when the shooting starts.  I counted at least 8 shots.  Eight rounds (or more) from close range to take down one man with a knife.

What’s wrong with taking single aimed shots.?

The first round would probably incapacitate the suspect - then the officers can approach and if the suspect then is still offering a risk to life then there may be a case to shoot again.

You don’t need so many shots to take down a man with a knife..

Take a look at this if you can.. how anyone can justify this is incredible..

I saw that video too IDM.
I was shocked by it too.
The taser would have been another option and it is hard to understand why the officers didn’t use it.

[IDM]

What on earth are the rules of engagement which permit police to shoot someone armed “only” with a knife, at least 8 times.?

[drfchound]

It seems to be the American way doesn’t it.
I think there were more than eight shots too, it sounded more like a dozen to me.