Police Officer Speaks Out on How to Avoid Getting Shot When Stopped

I wasn't talking about Brown but since you bring it up
If MB was running towards the officer,(no bullets in the back that does back it up.) that right there is a good enough. How big was Brown? Six something and220-300lb? He was a big guy. I am not an police officer but if I have someone like coming at me, I would be scarred too and fire.

And a officer doesn't need to believe that there is a weapon to shoot. Is his life or someone else life in danger? If he as non-lethal great, but here is the thing when it comes that tazer, you don't use one unless you have someone backing you up with a gun. If that tazer fails, you have nothing now between you and that person.

 

Best post of the day. Well stated.

 

There is no one fix for this because it's based in human limitations (in dangerous split second situations even the best trained, best intentioned, most innately capable human beings can make mistakes). It's also rooted in culture, media, race and class. But I think there are things that can help greatly reduce these tragedies.

First hire from the communities that will be policed and make sure promotions are based on merit and not just handed to a guy who has better spelling and grammar due to an otherwise worthless four year degree or the woman who is best friends with the Mayor's daughter. And if more education or training is required for promotion then ensure that all officers, no matter what their economic backgrounds, have the opportunity to get that education or training.

Just as critical is better screening of applicants and periodic re-screening of current officers. Some people do not have the personalities to make good police officers. I'm quite sure I'd be terrible at police work (based on my lack of social skills alone) and I would hope if I somehow forgot that and applied to the force that a screening program would weed me out. Also, while having been in a war zone should not forever bar someone from serving as a police officer, a cooling off period between returning from active duty and working the street should be instituted.

Culture cleanup: This is much harder than screening. Police officers quite naturally form a subculture based on shared experiences and values. Unfortunately, in some cities and towns these cultures have become toxic. Racism, corruption, and disrespect for civil and human rights are taught to incoming officers and reinforced daily on the job. These toxic cultures must be identified and rehabilitated.

Pay: To attract the best candidates for a job in the economic system we have now, communities will have to be willing and able to pay good wages. And it's fair because law enforcement is often dangerous and difficult work. Currently many police officers supplement their low paying law enforcement job with moonlighting work. But this means officers are working well over 40 hours a week. What happens when you work too many hours? Fatigue. What does fatigue lead to? Often it leads to less than optimal decision making. Making bad decisions when filing paperwork is one thing, when handling a car at a high rate of speed or a gun in a tense situation it can be lethal.

Training. Lots of training. The kind that goes way beyond driving, weapon safety, and basic laws.

Police should be trained in effective communication and I don't mean one class one time. I mean with frequent refresher courses taught by experts.

Officers should receive more training in recognizing and dealing with those who have serious mental health issues and should be taught to recognize and seek help for their own issues and receive prompt and non-judgmental help when they need it.

Police officers should also be trained to unflinchingly acknowledge and address all prejudices they come in with or develop on the job.

Police officers should also be taught to hold human and civil rights in the highest regard instead of being taught that anyone who attempts to assert her Constitutional rights is a potential terrorist. And as many officers as possible should be proficient in other languages if not outright bilingual.

All of this asks a lot of police officers, good thing I mentioned higher pay before I got to this part!

Supporting these changes together as citizens will make encounters with police safer for everyone (if that is we're both able to have our will carried out and are then willing to commit the necessary resources). As individuals, I see nothing wrong with being polite and respectful to police officers and not making sudden movements or becoming aggressive. I also see nothing wrong with keeping your drunk or high or bad-tempered butt in your house or in some other contained environment until you sober up or cool off rather than wandering around in public intoxicated and possibly ending up in a bad situation involve police or anyone else. I acknowledge that we need laws and law enforcement for society to function and unless and until humanity evolves to a point where we simply don't have reckless impulsiveness, insanity and/or violent tendencies and plain old human greed we always will need them in some form or other. And I respect people who do necessary work.

 

Who said that? Not me.

 

No....that's ridiculous hyperbole. Of course they can't shoot you for "anything or nothing."

Oh yeah, right. Libs aren't judging the police officer. Just saying he's murdered an unarmed guy in broad daylight for NO reason.

By several accounts the officer tried to get out of his car.....and Brown slammed the door back on him and then beat him on the face. Once Brown put his hands on the Officer it's a felony. Doesn't matter if there was no gun on Brown. He used his size to bully his victims....as seen on the surveillance at the QuickStop just minutes before. Once the Officer gave him the command to "freeze," and he not only did NOT do so, he charged the cop, the officer was defending himself. It's really hard to believe that anyone would take the side of Brown in this incident....other than the fact he's black and they are trying to spin it into a racial issue.

 

NOT in this case. The fact Brown didn't have a gun was irrelevant. He had already beat on the cop at the car, committing a felony, struggled with him over the gun.....and then after walking away, turned back and "bum-rushed" the officer; NOT stopping when the Officer told him to "freeze." BTW, I'm wondering why it is you choose NOT to believe this eye witnesses' account....who happens to be a black guy, BTW? His account was given to others via cellphone just a minute or so after the event. Matches what I've been saying.....and what the Officer's friend said....and what the Assistant Police Chief said.

So, again....why don't you believe THIS eye-witness who was there and witnessed it...and spoke about it just a minute?

http://mrconservative.com/2014/08/4...-michel-brown-attacked-officer-darren-wilson/

 

And most important of all---just don't break the law.

 

Excellent post.

 

So......what do you think about this incident which happened just 2 or 3 days after the Ferguson shooting?

http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnew...lls-unarmed-white-youth-media-and-feds-silent

The officer who was black killed an unarmed white guy. Oh.....yeah, this one didn't make the national news and Al Sharpton didn't show up either.....surprise, surprise. So, no national news, no charge of racism, and nobody claiming the cop should have simply NOT shot the man. Where were any claims that the black officer must have been a racist against whites? Did libs jump to conclusions on this one? Did Dems take the side of the white guy instead? It appears to me that liberals opinions on these issues are anything but consistent....and is all the more reason NOT to take their opinions very seriously.

And BTW, I stand by this black officer too........just like I stand by Officer Wilson.....until ALL the facts come in.

 

How much of an increase in property taxes are you willing to pay for Police officers to be trained to get hurt?? Football players get 6 and 7 digit salaries, can your community afford to pay them that?

 

How much extra in property and income taxes are you willing to pay to get that??

 

They also have to make split-second decisions sometimes. A seconds hesitation could get themselves killed.

 

In all my many encounters with police, all but one displayed the utmost professionalism and courtesy. And they are entitled to kill -- if the citizen in question "step to them." If it comes down to the cop going home to dinner with his family or the perp... I can guarantee you the cop is gonna do everything possible to insure it's him.

 

That's the same advice I got from my father... my white father. Where was this Brown fellow's father?

 

Great video, seriously. When a black guy says it, it's comedy... when a white guy says it? Racism, of course.

 

Oh FFS grow up. You are being stopped because you broke the law.

 

If there are no reasonable grounds to suspect a crime then police should stand down. If there are reasonable grounds call for back up and if threatened use a taser. Gun should be a last resort and if used they should not empty the whole magazine including kill shots to the heart or head.

 

Are you on crack? That's what JP5 just said. Why are they being pulled over? A hot plate... you betcha Barney Fife.

 

Well if they know what to do then they won't get shot, will they? And that is the topic of this thread, eh?

- - - Updated - - -

Funny how that little fact escapes so many, isn't it? And by funny I mean sad.

- - - Updated - - -

Never let something as insignificant as a fact spoil a good argument.

 

Doubt any cop would ever have time to hit the streets after jumping through all those hoops.

 

So true. I've been pulled over by black, white, Hispanic, and female cops -- they run the gamut from utterly professional and polite to hardass rude. But they have a job to do. Let them do their job, get home to their families. Give respect to get respect. Sure, some have attitudes, some are there for the wrong reasons, but I think most cops are pretty much just like the rest of us -- only we trust them with lethal force and ask them to put their lives on the line in the name of public safety each and every day.

Several years ago Phoenix experienced a spate of cops getting killed on the job. There were maybe six in one year? Well the community organized this movement where you would drive with your lights on during the day to show support for the police and to presumably let would-be bad guys know how outnumbered they were. So my mother is out driving with her lights on all day and of course -- like 100,000 other people in town -- leaves her lights on in the parking lot of the mall for a couple hours. Well unbeknownst to her the alternator on her car was close to death but the car started just fine and then about five minutes later, in the middle of a very busy intersection of an 8-lane surface arterial, the car dies and she snarls traffic for half a mile. Within 10 minutes, a motorcycle cop shows up and man is he pissed... He starts into her "do you know what kid of backup you've caused? did you run out of gas? I can cite you for that... etc. etc. etc." My mom has a temper. let's just say. And I've seen her get a little lippy with cops before. But instead she says "officer. I'm really sorry... I was driving around with my headlights on all day for you guys and I must have left them on at the mall... " His demeanor changes instantly. He looks her in the eye and simply says "thank you." He blocked the intersection and asked a couple of guys in a pickup behind her if they would help him push my mom out of the intersection. The guy in the pickup gave my mom a jump, the cop drove away, and everyone went about their business.

The point? Cops are human too. I get as nervous as anyone when I see one in my rearview -- and I'm a white guy in a new Mercedes. But if we don't give them a reason to escalate an incident, it is very likely we will walk away with a simple ticket. In fact, my last two stops resulted in warnings -- both for speed, ironically. Ahem.

 

Uh, newsflash: Shooting you for nothing is called murder. Call us when the shuttle lands, will you?

 

That is simply false. An officer can use lethal force against an unarmed suspect if the situation calls for it -- and that is up to the officer's discretion. If a guy is going after the cop's gun. you can bet the cop is gonna use it on him before the guy can use it on the cop...

 

[video=youtube;ACKmYhlTx5k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACKmYhlTx5k[/video]

Chris Rock - How To Not Get Your Ass Kicked By The Police

Chris Rock said it best....*WARNING! Crude Language*

 

No problem: Suicidal teen shot sixteen times by Kansas police

" ...Jennings was unarmed."