Police shoot Iraq vet

[ItsBruce]

The deputy has been charged with "attempted voluntary manslaughter"

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/airman_shooting

I'd love to handle his defense. First, given what I've heard about the case on the news, putting on a defense will entail huge legal fees. Second, given what I've seen of the videotape, I couldn't possibly be expected to win.

 

[james croft]

To clarify some questions that were raised here;
1)Knife is dangerous at 21 feet, you cannot stop a person from stabbing you if they are that close or closer
2)Police officers are trained to shoot at center mass, not to "kill" or to "wound"
3)Police officers are trained to shoot until the threat is gone, this is determined by the suspect, if they stop whatever they are doing that is a threat, the shooting stops
4)If you want to get a small idea of the feeling, go out and run a mile as fast as you can, ending 7 yards from a man size target, draw your weapon and fire and see how many times you hit the center
5)Unlike television, in our universe a half ounce of lead is not capable of stopping someone in their tracks, thus multiple rounds
6)When you are shot, unless it is through the brain, the heart, or a large bone such as the femur is shattered, you do not die, you go into shock and do not feel pain, particularly under stress, so you continue whatever it is you were doing
7)There are few experts around in the science of deadly force, the press does not have any on staff, anything the press releases is for ratings, not enlightenment

Adurso,
You are on the money! As a a police firearms instructor I could not have said it better myself. I do not want to second guess someone when I wasn't there. I do know there are good shootings and some not so good. I have been stabbed and shot during my career. Fortunately I just had the bark knocked of me and never was seriously injured. In those cases, when it first occurred, I hardly knew that it happened. Actually I don't consider myself shot, I consider my body weight-integated. Training has changed in the way police officers are trained. I used to be trained how to disarm knife wielding suspects. Now I am trained to shoot them if they are 21 feet or closer. I have learned that I am not bullet proof and can bleed. I am now MORE likely to use deadly force against someone these days than I would have years ago because we are trained to respond to threats differently than in years past. Back before I was shot I felt those things happened to other people. I had to come to face the truth that any one can kill you under the right circumstances. As I became more experienced I learned to recognize threats for what they were and my response to those threats changed. I am just glad that the suspect will probably pull through and hope that the officer made the correct decision.