| The situation of the police shooting and killing what the press consider an innocent person, shows: 1) the power of the press to sway public opinion. In times like this, the public need to protective services more than ever, and not be displayed as incompetent and trigger happy; and 2) that people judge the actions of the police - after the fact. Even, as a retired police officer, I would not make any judgement on the police. Why? I wasn't there. I did not witness the bombings, find the bombs in the next attempt, nor witness what actions occurred prior to the shooting. But, from what I have read, heard and know from my experience is this: 1) there was a bombing in which 57 people died and a large number wounded; 2) there was another attempted bombing shortly thereafter; during a period of hot weather, the police observe someone who could easily be mistaken as middleastern wearing a heavy jacket; when they approach him, he flees; 3) after they catch him in the still crowded area, the suspect is shot, apprarently 5 times in the head.
What do I think? I believed that the police thought that they had another bomber. Even after they had subdued him, they thought that he could trigger the bomb, which would kill the police and any innocent bystanders.
You have one nanosecond to make a decision and act. What would you do?
I heard this statement a million times during the course of my career. "What takes a police officer a nanosecond to decide and do, takes the courts years to decide if it were the correct or incorrect action to take."
Gary
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"Let your words be soft and sweet. You never know when you will have to eat them!" |