There is no reason the officer should have drawn his firearm when pepperspray or a baton would have been sufficient in this situation. The tendency to automatically resort to their proverbial nuclear option is ridiculous. We should be training police to effectively use and be comfortable with their entire tool set, rather than just having them default to their firearm.
As a side note, in the confusion of an arrest, it's easy for a suspect to not realize how much the situation has escalated, and for a police officer to repeatedly give conflicting orders to a suspect, both of which result in a needless death.
Here's an idea: Police should have a loud speaker and strobe light on their uniform that trigger when they unholster their firearm. The speaker should repeat over and over until they re-holster their weapon:
"SIREN BLARE A POLICE OFFICER HAS DRAWN THEIR WEAPON. REMAIN STILL UNTIL FURTHER ORDERS OR YOU WILL BE SHOT."
The strobe light should trigger constantly to let the deaf know an officer has drawn their weapon.
There's two reasons for this:
1. It should make it clear to a suspect that they are dangerously close to being shot, and should very quickly change their behavior
2. An officer should not be allowed to give orders to a surrendering and motionless suspect as long as they have their weapon unholstered.
If they wish to give commands to the suspect, they should re-holster their firearm and possibly switch to a less lethal device if the situation calls for it.
No kidding, this is exactly what pepperspray was invented for. Before I was even allowed to touch the stuff in the military I had to read a short history of it and a load of technical facts, oh and then get sprayed in the face before running an obstacle course...
I really don't see how cops are able to have their cake and eat it too, with the whole "gotta do whatever to get home at the end of the day" and "we bravely risk our lives to hold the thin blue line".
"Police should have a loud speaker and strobe light on their uniform that trigger when they unholster their firearm."
Interesting idea, really. In addition to the warnings, the unholstering should also activate body and dash cameras (if not already on), and send a signal of the event to authorities (plural) which records the date/time/lat/lon/etc...
If a police officer is not capable of maintaining their cool and issuing clear commands relevant to the context they're in, they shouldn't be issued a lethal weapon in the first place; a recorded voice shouldn't be a replacement for this, and might just add to the confusion of voices and noises, and wouldn't have understanding of the specific situation (until we get to robocop level AI)
The strobe idea might have some merit for the deaf, or folks who don't understand the local language, so long as there is a long standing education campaign.
Pardon my rant, but...
People say "baton" and I always think of the lightweight tube runners carry around a track. In this context, a baton is a nightstick. Have you ever examined one? A friend showed me his grandfather's. It was about 2 feet long, made of cherry, and filled with lead. It would break down a door or ruin a car. It would certainly break bones. With the lead weight and small diameter, it would be more effective (lethal) than a baseball bat.
"Baton" is just a euphemism that papers over extreme violence.
Yup. Sabre Red 50 grams (with UV dye) works wonders. Every sane, normal person should carry capsaicin spray on their person to non-lethally halt the majority of (usually ambush) attacks by animals, human or otherwise.
I was just about to say I can't understand why police officers in the US just kill things at the first sign of inconvenience, but then I realized I understand exactly why:
When killing something solves every problem you may have and doesn't really have any downsides for you, why wouldn't you?
This bothers me. One of my dogs (Australian Cattle Dog) is very protective of her home. Although she behaves very well at others' homes, in public and in cars, once at home she will attempt to "heel" strangers away from the house. She can appear very intimidating.
I could easily see a police officer shooting her. The thing is, I like that my dog is protective of her home. It's really comforting to know that if, by chance, I forget to lock my door she will absolutely not allow a stranger to enter.
I could easily see a police officer shooting her. The thing is, I like that my dog is protective of her home.
If you choose to encourage your dog to use violence to protect your home, IMO any consequences are on you. Would it be any different, if you shot an intruder without following the rules of engagement?
I've already warned my family to not, under any circumstances, allow the police to enter our home or yard (without a warrant) while the dogs are there, because there's a good chance that our dogs will end up dead.
Even if the officer is there to discuss a robbery, do not allow him in unless the dogs are secured outside the house.
Or if you just want tales of stupidity, Reason has a nice collection http://reason.com/tags/puppycide (if you don't mind the typical Reason editorial positions, and the tone of its coverage). Sample: "Cops Open Gate, Letting Dog Loose, Kill Dog, Cite Owner for Having Dog Loose, Lawsuit Alleges"
No explanation of why the police went over the fence into the yard 20 minutes after the security company had already turned off the alarm and it was known the child activated it accidentally.
This makes me really sad because those dogs probably have have no idea what happened. They saw a person new to them, heard a loud noise and suddenly their face is in excruciating pain and they don't understand why.
Another way tech could help would be putting biometric scanners on cops. If they freak out during medium-level exercises ( lets say a mock-dog attack ), maybe they are not beat cops! Officers should be expected to keep calm, in a sense, their job is delivering calm to situations: de-escalating.
How about not giving cops guns in the first place? It works in plenty of other countries. Of course, you still have armed police and SWAT teams available for more serious situations. I think short of this, nothing will solve any of the police shooting problems here in the states.
This actually isn't true. It is a federal offense to attack a police dog but it doesn't come with nearly the same level of penalty as attacking a human.
I got bit a neighbor's dog when I was 5. I have very dim memories of it (because it's been a billion years) but he knocked me down and bit me on the back while a group of us were running away.
I got home crying and my dad took me back to confront the owner. According to my dad, we were standing in his yard and he had the dog on a leash. He tried to explain that his dog was friendly and let go of the leash. The first thing the dog did was come over and bite my wrist. (I do remember that part!)
Apparently 5-year-old me was bacon flavored or something.
BTW: If you think this was an exception, you are dead wrong. It's very common for cops to kill a suspects dogs when serving an arrest warrant at their property. The victims often say their dog wasn't aggressive, the cops always say it was. This footage is a reminder that sometimes the cops lie.
But the bigger problem is the war on drugs. It gave us "no knock warrants". So cops bust down your front door without notice, and have murdered hundreds of innocent homeowners doing it at the wrong address or on a bogus warrant, when the homeowner reaches for a gun not knowing if it's a home invasion robbery or not.
How many dogs do you think they've killed doing no knock raids? Any dog that is there.
> Dog owners: Do not bring your volatile, weaponized AI into public spaces.
Weaponized AI?
> How we arrive at the conclusion that the police are the problem is nonsense.
I think the last paragraph of the article is justified:
> If there are no consequences for filing police reports that do not reflect what actually happened, expect America’s police officers to keep filing them at the current rate.
[+] [-] Apes|8 years ago|reply
As a side note, in the confusion of an arrest, it's easy for a suspect to not realize how much the situation has escalated, and for a police officer to repeatedly give conflicting orders to a suspect, both of which result in a needless death.
Here's an idea: Police should have a loud speaker and strobe light on their uniform that trigger when they unholster their firearm. The speaker should repeat over and over until they re-holster their weapon:
"SIREN BLARE A POLICE OFFICER HAS DRAWN THEIR WEAPON. REMAIN STILL UNTIL FURTHER ORDERS OR YOU WILL BE SHOT."
The strobe light should trigger constantly to let the deaf know an officer has drawn their weapon.
There's two reasons for this:
1. It should make it clear to a suspect that they are dangerously close to being shot, and should very quickly change their behavior
2. An officer should not be allowed to give orders to a surrendering and motionless suspect as long as they have their weapon unholstered.
If they wish to give commands to the suspect, they should re-holster their firearm and possibly switch to a less lethal device if the situation calls for it.
[+] [-] woodman|8 years ago|reply
I really don't see how cops are able to have their cake and eat it too, with the whole "gotta do whatever to get home at the end of the day" and "we bravely risk our lives to hold the thin blue line".
[+] [-] eplanit|8 years ago|reply
Interesting idea, really. In addition to the warnings, the unholstering should also activate body and dash cameras (if not already on), and send a signal of the event to authorities (plural) which records the date/time/lat/lon/etc...
[+] [-] askvictor|8 years ago|reply
The strobe idea might have some merit for the deaf, or folks who don't understand the local language, so long as there is a long standing education campaign.
[+] [-] prestonbriggs|8 years ago|reply
"Baton" is just a euphemism that papers over extreme violence.
[+] [-] bluedino|8 years ago|reply
Sure, your pitbull might be a lover but this type of dog is frequently in the news for biting people and killing children/elderly.
[+] [-] rayiner|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] normalocity|8 years ago|reply
As far as being comfortable with, and trained to use all the tools at their disposal (which should include better deescalation techniques): agreed.
[+] [-] tdeck|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] valuearb|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] burntrelish1273|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pandaman|8 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] StavrosK|8 years ago|reply
When killing something solves every problem you may have and doesn't really have any downsides for you, why wouldn't you?
[+] [-] jxramos|8 years ago|reply
I don't think police get pleasure from doing this sort of thing, they're amped up and trying to defend life in the end.
[+] [-] ourmandave|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] leesalminen|8 years ago|reply
I could easily see a police officer shooting her. The thing is, I like that my dog is protective of her home. It's really comforting to know that if, by chance, I forget to lock my door she will absolutely not allow a stranger to enter.
[+] [-] sliverstorm|8 years ago|reply
If you choose to encourage your dog to use violence to protect your home, IMO any consequences are on you. Would it be any different, if you shot an intruder without following the rules of engagement?
[+] [-] Johnny555|8 years ago|reply
Even if the officer is there to discuss a robbery, do not allow him in unless the dogs are secured outside the house.
[+] [-] __jal|8 years ago|reply
I wish I lived in a world where I trusted the police.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8z7NC5sgik
[+] [-] martalist|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] vkou|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mberning|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] maxxxxx|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] DINKDINK|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mmanfrin|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] gorbachev|8 years ago|reply
"Last year, Reason dug up records showing that two Detroit police officers had killed 100 dogs between them over the course of their careers."
If you were to consider your pets as just property, that's going to amount to quite a lot of property damage alone.
[+] [-] fennecfoxen|8 years ago|reply
Or if you just want tales of stupidity, Reason has a nice collection http://reason.com/tags/puppycide (if you don't mind the typical Reason editorial positions, and the tone of its coverage). Sample: "Cops Open Gate, Letting Dog Loose, Kill Dog, Cite Owner for Having Dog Loose, Lawsuit Alleges"
[+] [-] ajeet_dhaliwal|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Sohcahtoa82|8 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] danschumann|8 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] lowbloodsugar|8 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] ourmandave|8 years ago|reply
I got home crying and my dad took me back to confront the owner. According to my dad, we were standing in his yard and he had the dog on a leash. He tried to explain that his dog was friendly and let go of the leash. The first thing the dog did was come over and bite my wrist. (I do remember that part!)
Apparently 5-year-old me was bacon flavored or something.
[+] [-] girvo|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] valuearb|8 years ago|reply
But the bigger problem is the war on drugs. It gave us "no knock warrants". So cops bust down your front door without notice, and have murdered hundreds of innocent homeowners doing it at the wrong address or on a bogus warrant, when the homeowner reaches for a gun not knowing if it's a home invasion robbery or not.
How many dogs do you think they've killed doing no knock raids? Any dog that is there.
[+] [-] valuearb|8 years ago|reply
Doesn't that seem to indicate to you that it's not the first time cops killed dogs that aren't dangerous and then lied about it?
[+] [-] pdonis|8 years ago|reply
Um, how about the incident that was the focus of the article?
[+] [-] martalist|8 years ago|reply
Weaponized AI?
> How we arrive at the conclusion that the police are the problem is nonsense.
I think the last paragraph of the article is justified:
> If there are no consequences for filing police reports that do not reflect what actually happened, expect America’s police officers to keep filing them at the current rate.