YASECT: body camera on cop records deadly confrontation

[child of wonder]

I'm no fan of the police, but I don't see that the cop did much wrong here. The guy was advancing on him with a knife. If anything, the cop could have backed out of the house and waited for backup but it was clear the guy with the knife wanted to die.

Sad outcome but I don't think it would have ended much differently even if he had waited for backup.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Is there any reason to believe this guy was mentally ill, other than his actions? The articles I am seeing about this don't indicate that. What I see is an unfortunate situation but I don't fault the officer.

A man holed up inside his house with a knife threatening to kill himself is clearly mentally ill.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

A man holed up inside his house with a knife threatening to kill himself is clearly mentally ill.

I don't follow that logic at all. He may have been situationally depressed and anxious (since he had fled from the scene of an accident), but that doesn't qualify as mental illness. I see nothing indicating that he suffered from a diagnosable personality disorder. It's quite possible he did, but I see nothing indicating that, much less that the officer knew that. To me this would be a very different situation if he had previously been diagnosed with a schizoaffective disorder or something similar, and his family called the police because he was talking crazy. Instead, this was a situation in which he had fled the scene of an accident, and was holed up in a friend's apartment with a knife (actually, two knives) and acting upset. I don't know that he was threatening suicide - the article I have seen doesn't indicate that.

I think it's entirely fair to explore whether the optimal police reaction to a situation like this was for the officer to enter the apartment and confront Johnston, but I think that was a totally reasonable reaction, and the officer did attempt to defuse the situation verbally prior to Johnston approaching him with the knives. Once that aggressive move had occurred, and Johnston refused to stop, I have no problem at all with the officer shooting him.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Consider the situation as a human being rather than an attorney and it may make more sense to you.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Consider the situation as a human being rather than an attorney and it may make more sense to you.

I think considering this situation as an attorney is a useful framework for analyzing it. As it happens I have handled numerous police use-of-force cases on both the plaintiff's and defendant's side, and am very familiar with the concepts in play.

For your part, you have repeatedly referred to police as "gang members," and I'd suggest that your own bias is greatly informing your view of this incident.

 

[Anubis]

seems like a good time to use a taser

 

[Jaskalas]

Woman reported a suicidal person... with a knife. Knife is a valid way to get suicide by cop, I don't see a problem here with that officer. I'm glad there was a video to help corroborate the reality of how restrained and professional he was, but the situation by default lends itself to the police.

seems like a good time to use a taser

That's a huge risk given close quarters, if it misses or does not stop him. However it's a valid concern that there may be other ways to handle the situation, but until such methods become proven and standard practice I will not demand them.

 

[MrPickins]

seems like a good time to use a taser

I was thinking this myself.

Wait for backup and have the man on point use a taser, backed up by officers with sidearms ready in case the taser didn't do the job.

 

[MrDudeMan]

I think considering this situation as an attorney is a useful framework for analyzing it. As it happens I have handled numerous police use-of-force cases on both the plaintiff's and defendant's side, and am very familiar with the concepts in play.

For your part, you have repeatedly referred to police as "gang members," and I'd suggest that your own bias is greatly informing your view of this incident.

The burn is strong with this one. Ouch (and so true).

Edit: damn it, Don! Your original post was so much better.

 

[MrDudeMan]

I was thinking this myself.

Wait for backup and have the man on point use a taser, backed up by officers with sidearms ready in case the taser didn't do the job.

Then the officer would have been blamed when the guy fell on his knife died. There's no way for cops to win.

 

[veri745]

seems like a good time to use a taser

This.

Is the only way to disarm a person with a weapon to shoot them dead? It seems more and more than way in the U.S.

 

[Jaskalas]

This.

Is the only way to disarm a person with a weapon to shoot them dead? It seems more and more than way in the U.S.

It has always been that way, right?

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

The burn is strong with this one. Ouch (and so true).

Edit: damn it, Don! Your original post was so much better.

It was feeding the troll so I deep-sixed it.

 

[rudeguy]

This.

Is the only way to disarm a person with a weapon to shoot them dead? It seems more and more than way in the U.S.

what if both prongs of the taser don't stick? The cop no longer has his gun in his hand and he has a crazy person with a knife less than 5 feet from him and closing.

All of you armchair cops need to think before opening your stupid mouths. Its really getting old and annoying.

 

[PowerYoga]

anti-police? shut your face boy. i provide a public service by calling out bad cops and bad tactics. my threads may save your life.

says the guy who wants police to fire warning shots to accidentally kill more innocent people. You should become a politician.

 

[MrDudeMan]

There's another potentially obvious conclusion. If the guy was truly suicidal, this seems like an easy way to commit suicide by police.

 

[JM Aggie08]

Your trolling attempts have taken a dip in quality lately.

 

[MrPickins]

what if both prongs of the taser don't stick? The cop no longer has his gun in his hand and he has a crazy person with a knife less than 5 feet from him and closing.

All of you armchair cops need to think before opening your stupid mouths. Its really getting old and annoying.

Wait for backup and have the man on point use a taser, backed up by officers with sidearms ready in case the taser didn't do the job.

How about not pressing the situation by entering without backup?

 

[MrDudeMan]

How about not pressing the situation by entering without backup?

And then the cop is blamed when the guy kills himself and wasn't prevented from doing so. Again, the cops can never win.

 

[highland145]

I think a taser would have been a great idea but then the guy would have died from a heart attack and we'd have yasect about cops killing citizens with tasers and the usual crowd would be clamoring for their ban.

 

[MrPickins]

And then the cop is blamed when the guy kills himself and wasn't prevented from doing so. Again, the cops can never win.

It's already been proven in court that police don't have an obligation to protect...

 

[rudeguy]

It's already been proven in court that police don't have an obligation to protect...

ok

So what if the guy kills the person in the house with him that the lady didn't mention because that person had a warrant?

Just STFU already. Its beyond ignorant. Its almost to the point of some kind of mental defect. Just because you play COD and watch COPS doesn't mean you know how to handle things better than a trained person does.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

And then the cop is blamed when the guy kills himself and wasn't prevented from doing so. Again, the cops can never win.

When do cops get blamed under that sort of situation? I keep very close track of these bizarro cop situations and there are very few where any blame is pointed towards the officer if someone kills themselves.


And really, the concern is that if the cop stays outside the guy will knife himself, and you don't want cops blamed for that, so the solution is to enter home and shoot the guy? That's quite a leap.


There are plenty of good cops. The problem isn't the cops, it's the overall culture of always sticking by SOP because we can't afford to lose in court.

 

[Sinsear]

anti-police? shut your face boy. i provide a public service by calling out bad cops and bad tactics. my threads may save your life.

When can we look forward to your threads about the good things cops do everyday?

 

[Kadarin]

While I'm very much against the use of excessive force by police, I don't fault the officer here. He very clearly did not sound like was on a power trip.