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| Claudio Trujillo, unarmed Jan. 30, 2011 |
You hear about this, and think, well yeah, big cities, lots of crime, shootouts de rigeur. But little Amarillo, TX is not immune.
Okay, let's play devil's advocate. The officers "thinking the 'suspect' (we're ALL suspects, see wirecutter's story here) has a gun, and they open fire in self-defense." Perfectly reasonable? Right? They don't want to die, even though they signed on knowing they could possibly be shot. So shoot first, take out the "threat" and then sift through the facts without fear.
Wasn't it the common procedure for police to hold fire until an actual threat? Now it's fire at "perceived threats" without hesitation. See Brock's story here.
Don't most/all police wear bullet-proof vests? So even if a "suspect", who 90% of the time isn't a great shot and is usually at a distance, gets off a round, chances are good it won't be fatal even if it actually hits the officer. Once a person gets off a shot at cops, yeah he becomes a true "threat" and it's open season.
This guy in Amarillo pulled a "realistic replica of a pistol" and was summarily executed. Here
In Amarillo. Where the last fatal shooting of an officer was in 1985. As a matter of fact, there have been exactly 11 officers killed in the line of duty in Amarillo TX. EVER. Nine of those by gunshot.
1985, 1980, 1964, 1964, 1960, 1955, 1945, 1934 and 1934. REFERENCE
The Amarillo Police are definitely winning this battle. There have been two fatal shootings by the APD just this week. There were supposed to be "serious procedural reforms" after the fatal shooting of an unarmed man by four officers in 2011. HERE
And the Ice Cream truck incident. HERE
Shall I go on? I think you get the picture. In a relatively small city with low crime, the police have adopted the shoot first tactics gaining popularity. And they're getting away with it.
The no if's and's or but's punishment shold be that the officers involced be executed by a firing squad of their own fellow officers ANYTIME an officer kills a civilian with out a real, as in shots fired, threat of death being involved.
ReplyDeleteThis is all just fuel on the fire...there's going to be a real explosion sometime in the near future, and it ain't gonna be pretty. Whether there is a natural disaster and armed citizens decide that they're not going to stand for martial law and open up on LEOs, or LEOs go one step too far and some kid gets shot (fatally or not, it won't matter), there's a buildup of anger and resentment that's going to let loose. I don't want to be ANYWHERE nearby when it does.
ReplyDeleteJeremy,
ReplyDeleteCops ARE civilians.
Civilians are government employees not in the military.
People not employed by the government are CITIZENS.
"Don't most/all police wear bullet-proof vests? So even if a "suspect", who 90% of the time isn't a great shot and is usually at a distance, gets off a round, chances are good it won't be fatal even if it actually hits the officer. Once a person gets off a shot at cops, yeah he becomes a true "threat" and it's open season."
ReplyDeleteI'm all about jumping on cops when they do wrong, but this has got to be one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. So they're really supposed to stand there and wait until they've been shot before reacting? These are the types of statements that cause people in the liberty movement to be ignored and looked upon like they're batshit crazy.
Anonymous, thank you for your oh so brave assessment. Far be it for you to own such brave statements.
ReplyDeleteMistakes are made, but when you know you'll never be called to answer for "jumping the gun" so to speak, it makes it easier to fire on a citizen you "fear". A water sprayer is a gun? No gun at all is a threat? Why should we give them such broad leeway to gun us down to make things easier on them?
Killing a citizen without a clear threat is unconscionable and cowardly. It's a bully move.
Chris, our police have become militrized by the war on drugs, war on this mentality. Even many cops draw a distinction, and I have experienced it first hand. Not as a victim, but as the mayor of a small town.
ReplyDeleteThey use the term civilian to describe us publicly, and behind our backs, they refer to the down trodden as NHH's for not hardly humans.
Look at what transpired in LA earlier. They had a wackaloon on the loose. They shot up several vehicles they perceived as threats. There were the paper delivery pair, an Army Captain and his NCO passenger, and several others.
What once were local law enforcement have been drawn into the pseudo military of the DHS. The small town near me wher I am fixing to move has a new SUV provided by a DHS grant, and a cop who is a nightmare waiting to happen. I have heard plenty of stories about his conduct that ae not good. Some of these guys fit the pattern that transpired in Germany in the 30's. They are akin to hte SA, SS, and SD of The third reich.
We are all citizens, cops, government employees, military, every one but the illegals whom ObamAA- wants to embrace. We are also sovereigns, and the government who thinks it is master is constitutionally something we can abolish and replace if the situation demands. The danger now is that they are becoming dictatorial, therefore, they need to go and a new bunch put in with shorter leashes, and control collars.