The police need to hire some Madison Avenue people to come up with better ways to describe these incidents. In a confrontation, the bad guy either lunges or reaches into his waistband, when they're running away, they always "turn around and point a gun."The incident happened before 8:30 p.m. in the 5300 block of West Van Buren Avenue. Preliminary reports said Austin District officers were responding to a call of a person with a gun and heard shots fired, police said.
The officers saw a male suspect who tried to flee when they approached him. Police said the suspect turned and pointed a gun in their direction. One of the officers fired their weapon striking the suspect.
Chicago Fire Department spokesman Rich Rosado said one person with gunshot wounds was taken in serious-to-critical condition to Stroger Hospital.
Police said a weapon was recovered at the scene.
Color me sceptical.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
I am definitely skeptical as we all know Chicago has practically banned handguns from the public. How would this guy get a gun? The obvious answer is the police were too lazy to chase this guy down so instead they just shot him.
ReplyDeleteIs that how it went down in your mind Mike?
Fleeing suspects who simultaneously shoot at their pursuers is sometimes a bullshit excuse for shooting someone in the back. If the guy ends up in possession of a gun all the better, if not, a cell phone will do or the car keys.
ReplyDeleteWhat are you saying, Jim, that the cops don't do this?
People that run from the cops have a much higher chance of being shot by the cops than those that simply stop and do what they are told. Why would someone run from the cops? Most likely they are a wanted criminal. Knowing they are most likely chasing a wanted criminal, I would expect cops to be a little more on edge and take any gesture by the fleeing criminal to be a potentially fatal move on their part.
ReplyDeleteAgain, this scenario usually begins with someone refusing to show the cops their hands, running from a cop, or refusing to drop a weapon. All of these actions are the fault of the criminal in question, not the cop. The cop has to handle the situation so that the public and his life are kept as safe as possible.
Jim, You seem to be agreeing that the cops sometimes kill people for disobedience and you're actually saying it's OK. It's the criminal's fault if he gets shot by a trigger happy cop just because the criminal failed to do one of those things you mentioned like showing his hands or stoppinig when told to do so.
ReplyDeleteThat's murder, Jim, plain and simple. Or, maybe it's manslaughter, but one thing it ain't is self defense or justified.
Again Mike - When chasing a criminal, is it incumbent on the police officer to let the criminal shoot or stab him first before he is allowed to use deadly force? The officer has to react to what the criminal is doing. Should he wait to see if he gets shot when the guy points back at the officer with something in his hand? How would you handle this situation?
ReplyDeleteMy point is that the cop has the right to protect himself. The criminal establishes intent to harm when he fails to obey a simple and direct order from the police. "Show your hands" "drop your weapon" and "Stop" are not unreasonable requests from a police officer. Failure to obey means you could be dangerous, and the cops are going to respond accordingly. It is automatically self defense when the criminal is not cooperating with your reasonable orders.