Police shoot an "armed" middle school student

[Something Amyss]

Incidents like these always make me feel angry when people campaign against tasers. If a cop feels threatened, he will pull a weapon. However, if tasers have been banned the only choice is to shoot the person in the chest. Tasers may not be perfect but in incidents like these it is preferable to killing the youngster.

I heard about a killing in my province where a kid was waving a painted black airsoft pistol at police.

Of course, simply creating policies of proportional response would solve both issues. Both not having kids shot over pellet guns and not having people get pissed off because cops would rather tase first and ask questions later.

But there I go again, actually addressing the underlying cause rather than quick-fix solutions.

Captcha: ofxpac mean(x

I don't know what X-Pac has to do with this, but he was a mean X.

 

[Something Amyss]

As tragic as this is, if he was carrying what looked like a real gun I don't know that I can really fault the officers for their actions.

I will echo Redlin's sentiments that police should have non-lethal options. I like to think our law enforcement can be a bit more nuanced than that in the Fallout games.

If they misttook it for a firearm, then they would have used firearms anyway. If they didn't, then there would be no need for either.

You just UNDERMINED Redlin's argument, and for that I thank you.

 

[Fishyash]

Stupid kid waving what probably looked like a real gun, and then having the audacity to ignore the police's demands to lower it, BUT...

I am not sure if shooting was the most necessary course of action. It is definately the most effective way to eliminate a threat, but couldn't they have rushed the kid with tazers? It would be a safer alternative for the child at least, even if it would be a lot riskier for the police officers (if the gun was real).

 

[Kopikatsu]

Stupid kid waving what probably looked like a real gun, and then having the audacity to ignore the police's demands to lower it, BUT...

I am not sure if shooting was the most necessary course of action. It is definately the most effective way to eliminate a threat, but couldn't they have rushed the kid with tazers? It would be a safer alternative for the child at least, even if it would be a lot riskier for the police officers (if the gun was real).

If you read some of the responses in this thread, you'll know why both using tasers and rushing the kid are a bad idea.

 

[Gardenia]

*snippety*

Good point, sir. Allow me to rectify my previous comment, and say "history" instead of "politics" ^^

 

[Something Amyss]

Stupid kid waving what probably looked like a real gun, and then having the audacity to ignore the police's demands to lower it, BUT...

I am not sure if shooting was the most necessary course of action. It is definately the most effective way to eliminate a threat, but couldn't they have rushed the kid with tazers? It would be a safer alternative for the child at least, even if it would be a lot riskier for the police officers (if the gun was real).

Why should the police take extra risk in a case where they believe the weapon is lethal and a legit threat?

I understand and agree with the notion that the police accept risk as part of their job, but why heap on additional risk?

 

[S_SienZ]

3 shots from 2 police officers isn't in any way excessive at all.

Police are decently trained but they can't read each other's minds e.g. "It's cool brah, I got this."

 

[hazabaza1]

If you're going to point something that looks like a genuine gun at someone who has a real gun, and refuse to lower it, this is really all you can expect.

 

[Cid Silverwing]

Kid is stupid for bringing pellet gun to school. Cops are pigs for not using less-than-lethal methods like a taser, pepper or beanbags.

Go Texas, and America for that matter.

 

[Ithera]

In a land full of guns and weapons, one should not be surprised when these things happen. The police deal with heavily armed desperados everyday and do not Fu%$ around when people are waving guns around.

 

[Fishyash]

snip

If you read some of the responses in this thread, you'll know why both using tasers and rushing the kid are a bad idea.

That was a terrible idea I used. But I would have hoped they had a less violent alternative to shooting the kid to death.

snip

Why should the police take extra risk in a case where they believe the weapon is lethal and a legit threat?

I understand and agree with the notion that the police accept risk as part of their job, but why heap on additional risk?

Man these repsponses were more or less instantaneous hehe.

Both of you were right, and I was thinking before speaking. I guess I was just upset over the fact that the child died over a situation that could have turned out to be completely harmless.

 

[Kopikatsu]

Kid is stupid for bringing pellet gun to school. Cops are pigs for not using less-than-lethal methods like a taser, pepper or beanbags.

Go Texas, and America for that matter.

Police are trained to match force. Kid had what they thought was a gun, they used their guns.

Police don't use non-lethal methods on targets using lethal weaponry. It would be stupid to expect them to.

Both of you were right, and I was thinking before speaking. I guess I was just upset over the fact that the child died over a situation that could have turned out to be completely harmless.

7,000,000,000+ people in the world. Getting upset over one stupid kid is silly.

 

[Slash Dementia]

I don't fault the police at all for doing what they did. The kid was waving a gun (pellet gun, but even so) at the officers. It's not their fault at all--they were doing what they deemed necessary to protect themselves from what looked to be a threat. I actually don't think there was any other way, from what information there is, to have done things differently. One shot could have missed, and if that gun were real, well, it could have been worse.

 

[RaeveSpam]

It's his own damn fault, if you wave what seems to be deadly weapon at armed officers who've ordered to drop the weapon, then you're going to be shot, they have the right to defend themselves and the people around them. They can't see the difference between a confused kid with an airsoft gun and a homicidal maniac with a 9mm, so they have to expect the worst.

 

[randomsix]

snip

If you read some of the responses in this thread, you'll know why both using tasers and rushing the kid are a bad idea.

That was a terrible idea I used. But I would have hoped they had a less violent alternative to shooting the kid to death.

snip

Why should the police take extra risk in a case where they believe the weapon is lethal and a legit threat?

I understand and agree with the notion that the police accept risk as part of their job, but why heap on additional risk?

Man these repsponses were more or less instantaneous hehe.

Both of you were right, and I was thinking before speaking. I guess I was just upset over the fact that the child died over a situation that could have turned out to be completely harmless.

Someone being swayed by an argument on the internet? The world really is going to end this year.

OT: Most if not all of the obvious arguments for and against have already been made, so I'll switch it up a bit.

Why do we allow companies to sell products which resemble real firearms? I understand that there are arguments to be made for allowing manufacturers to do this, and that perhaps some (or most) individuals would prefer to purchase one of these products over a more whimsical rendition, but it seems to me that one would not use a pellet gun for the same purpose as one would use a real gun, so there is really no reason for the pellet gun to mimic a dangerous weapon to the extent that it becomes nearly indistinguishable from the real thing.

Considering that we refuse people the right to copy the aesthetic (clothing) of a police officer (for example) it seems like we should refuse that which is not a firearm to copy the aesthetic of a firearm.

 

[Omnific One]

The police did the right thing. He was threatening other students with what looks like a real weapon, so he deserved to get shot. I cannot have any sympathy for this kid, at least until we know the reason behind it.

 

[slackbheep]

Suicide by cop. Tragic that the child didn't have the chance to turn his life around, but he didn't give the officers a choice. I'm generally fairly hard on law enforcement around issues like this, but this seems pretty clear cut.

 

[Thetwistedendgame]

Why do the cops never aim for the childmaker?