Tuesday, November 24, 2015

This Isn't Pretend

Imagine this from the officer's point of view. This lunatic is advancing on you and screaming that he's going to kill you, all the while in a bladed position and keeping one hand on the side of his body you can't see. He then pretends to draw a gun. What would you do in that fraction of a second?



4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Exactly as I was trained to do - in the face of imminent bodily harm I'd shoot first, ask the questions later. Kudos to the officer for the non-lethal shot..though I doubt that was foremost in his mind.

Carolyn said...

I would do exactly what that officer did. No - I would WANT to do exactly what the officer did, because I can't imagine staying that cool in that situation. If I'm honest, I probably would have fired sooner - the way he is moving and holding that arm ... yeah, I would not have had the courage to hold off as long as that officer.

There was no sound so I can only assume that the officer said something to the effect of "stop or I will shoot" - those are your choices, there is no choice C and no write-in option. You stop or you get shot - this guy chose to get shot. The only twinge I feel here is for the officer - guy deserved what he got, I am sorry the officer had to be involved in a shooting at all because no matter how right you are, I can't imagine it feels good.

lbparker said...

Attempted "suicide by cop".

Mad Jack said...

I don't know what I'd do. Hopefully, I'd survive.

Knife attacks are life threatening, and that isn't news to anyone with half a clue. What isn't discussed is that if you suffer a knife attack, you'll very likely suffer a permanent injury, and by that I don't mean a scar that will ruin your boyish good looks. Severed tendons that never really mend correctly are common, and the same goes for muscle tissue. Heaven help you if you suffer a stab wound to the abdomen and your intestines get cut up, as you are now headed for surgery and the ICU. Intestinal wounds are problematic today; 50 years back they were easily fatal.

I don't fault the cop for shooting, by the way.