Sorry,i dont get..

dignin

Last-12-Exit said:

PJ_Soul said:

Last-12-Exit said:

PJ_Soul said:

chadwick said:

Last-12-Exit said:

I would call this suicide by cop. This guy knew what was about to happen.

thank you. this is what i am thinking too

If that's the case, it makes even less sense. If the guy had been standing on a roof the cops would have done everything in their power to stop him from killing himself.

If he was on a rooftop, he wouldn't be threatening the cops with a knife. Bottom line is that this ass hole was charging at the police with a weapon.

That changes nothing. A suicidal person should be helped, not killed. Tasers, pepper spray.... deadly force was not in any way necessary here.

It's not up to the police officers being threatened to decide if the guy is suicidal or not while being charged at with a deadly weapon.

Why not? If the guy said "Shoot me already" and was bringing a knife to a gunfight I think it's pretty safe to say he is suicidal. If a cop can't figure that out, they have no business being a cop.

Indifference71

dignin said:

Last-12-Exit said:

PJ_Soul said:

Last-12-Exit said:

PJ_Soul said:

chadwick said:

Last-12-Exit said:

I would call this suicide by cop. This guy knew what was about to happen.

thank you. this is what i am thinking too

If that's the case, it makes even less sense. If the guy had been standing on a roof the cops would have done everything in their power to stop him from killing himself.

If he was on a rooftop, he wouldn't be threatening the cops with a knife. Bottom line is that this ass hole was charging at the police with a weapon.

That changes nothing. A suicidal person should be helped, not killed. Tasers, pepper spray.... deadly force was not in any way necessary here.

It's not up to the police officers being threatened to decide if the guy is suicidal or not while being charged at with a deadly weapon.

Why not? If the guy said "Shoot me already" and was bringing a knife to a gunfight I think it's pretty safe to say he is suicidal. If a cop can't figure that out, they have no business being a cop.

It's real easy to say all this after the fact. In the heat of the moment when someone is coming at you with a knife, how are you supposed to not defend yourself? Should the cop try to wrestle the knife away from the guy and risk getting themselves stabbed and/or killed?

And this wasn't a "gunfight". The cops were responding to a call and then someone decided to not listen to their command and come at them with a knife.

PJ_Soul

Indifference71 said:

dignin said:

Last-12-Exit said:

PJ_Soul said:

Last-12-Exit said:

PJ_Soul said:

chadwick said:

Last-12-Exit said:

I would call this suicide by cop. This guy knew what was about to happen.

thank you. this is what i am thinking too

If that's the case, it makes even less sense. If the guy had been standing on a roof the cops would have done everything in their power to stop him from killing himself.

If he was on a rooftop, he wouldn't be threatening the cops with a knife. Bottom line is that this ass hole was charging at the police with a weapon.

That changes nothing. A suicidal person should be helped, not killed. Tasers, pepper spray.... deadly force was not in any way necessary here.

It's not up to the police officers being threatened to decide if the guy is suicidal or not while being charged at with a deadly weapon.

Why not? If the guy said "Shoot me already" and was bringing a knife to a gunfight I think it's pretty safe to say he is suicidal. If a cop can't figure that out, they have no business being a cop.

It's real easy to say all this after the fact. In the heat of the moment when someone is coming at you with a knife, how are you supposed to not defend yourself? Should the cop try to wrestle the knife away from the guy and risk getting themselves stabbed and/or killed?

And this wasn't a "gunfight". The cops were responding to a call and then someone decided to not listen to their command and come at them with a knife.

I've read that they shot him 17 seconds after arriving. That tells me that they didn't bother thinking at all. IMO it is part of their job to think. To assess a situation. And also to use their training and use a taser when someone is displaying threatening behaviour unless they are pointing a gun at them or are at the very least close enough to harm them. I love how some people don't think cops are required to use their brains and their training while on the job.

Indifference71

PJ_Soul said:

Indifference71 said:

dignin said:

Last-12-Exit said:

PJ_Soul said:

Last-12-Exit said:

PJ_Soul said:

chadwick said:

Last-12-Exit said:

I would call this suicide by cop. This guy knew what was about to happen.

thank you. this is what i am thinking too

If that's the case, it makes even less sense. If the guy had been standing on a roof the cops would have done everything in their power to stop him from killing himself.

If he was on a rooftop, he wouldn't be threatening the cops with a knife. Bottom line is that this ass hole was charging at the police with a weapon.

That changes nothing. A suicidal person should be helped, not killed. Tasers, pepper spray.... deadly force was not in any way necessary here.

It's not up to the police officers being threatened to decide if the guy is suicidal or not while being charged at with a deadly weapon.

Why not? If the guy said "Shoot me already" and was bringing a knife to a gunfight I think it's pretty safe to say he is suicidal. If a cop can't figure that out, they have no business being a cop.

It's real easy to say all this after the fact. In the heat of the moment when someone is coming at you with a knife, how are you supposed to not defend yourself? Should the cop try to wrestle the knife away from the guy and risk getting themselves stabbed and/or killed?

And this wasn't a "gunfight". The cops were responding to a call and then someone decided to not listen to their command and come at them with a knife.

I've read that they shot him 17 seconds after arriving. That tells me that they didn't bother thinking at all. IMO it is part of their job to think. To assess a situation. And also to use their training and use a taser when someone is displaying threatening behaviour unless they are pointing a gun at them or are at the very least close enough to harm them. I love how some people don't think cops are required to use their brains and their training while on the job.

Did you watch the video? They pulled up and the guy approached them with a knife and didn't drop the weapon like he was instructed. What else is there to assess in this situation?

Pretty sure part of a cops training is to discharge your weapon when you feel threatened and someone is coming at you with a weapon. What happened is very unfortunate, but I'm not putting this on the cops for not trying to wrestle down a guy who was coming at them with a knife.

PJ_Soul

Indifference71 said:

PJ_Soul said:

Indifference71 said:

dignin said:

Last-12-Exit said:

PJ_Soul said:

Last-12-Exit said:

PJ_Soul said:

chadwick said:

Last-12-Exit said:

I would call this suicide by cop. This guy knew what was about to happen.

thank you. this is what i am thinking too

If that's the case, it makes even less sense. If the guy had been standing on a roof the cops would have done everything in their power to stop him from killing himself.

If he was on a rooftop, he wouldn't be threatening the cops with a knife. Bottom line is that this ass hole was charging at the police with a weapon.

That changes nothing. A suicidal person should be helped, not killed. Tasers, pepper spray.... deadly force was not in any way necessary here.

It's not up to the police officers being threatened to decide if the guy is suicidal or not while being charged at with a deadly weapon.

Why not? If the guy said "Shoot me already" and was bringing a knife to a gunfight I think it's pretty safe to say he is suicidal. If a cop can't figure that out, they have no business being a cop.

It's real easy to say all this after the fact. In the heat of the moment when someone is coming at you with a knife, how are you supposed to not defend yourself? Should the cop try to wrestle the knife away from the guy and risk getting themselves stabbed and/or killed?

And this wasn't a "gunfight". The cops were responding to a call and then someone decided to not listen to their command and come at them with a knife.

I've read that they shot him 17 seconds after arriving. That tells me that they didn't bother thinking at all. IMO it is part of their job to think. To assess a situation. And also to use their training and use a taser when someone is displaying threatening behaviour unless they are pointing a gun at them or are at the very least close enough to harm them. I love how some people don't think cops are required to use their brains and their training while on the job.

Did you watch the video? They pulled up and the guy approached them with a knife and didn't drop the weapon like he was instructed. What else is there to assess in this situation?

Pretty sure part of a cops training is to discharge your weapon when you feel threatened and someone is coming at you with a weapon. What happened is very unfortunate, but I'm not putting this on the cops for not trying to wrestle down a guy who was coming at them with a knife.

I don't want to see a man murdered, so didn't watch it, but I read all the posts about what it specifically shows. If police are trained to shoot instead of using a taser when possible, then this discussion should be about how incompetent the training is. No one said anything about the cops wrestling anyone. The use of non-lethal weapons whenever possible should be a given. And it IS possible when a dude is standing there with a knife. It doesn't take any longer for them to pull out a taser and shoot him with that. But they chose the lethal weapon instead. I think that's the wrong thing to do. If the man had had a gun I wouldn't be saying this.

Last-12-Exit

PJ_Soul said:

Indifference71 said:

dignin said:

Last-12-Exit said:

PJ_Soul said:

Last-12-Exit said:

PJ_Soul said:

chadwick said:

Last-12-Exit said:

I would call this suicide by cop. This guy knew what was about to happen.

thank you. this is what i am thinking too

If that's the case, it makes even less sense. If the guy had been standing on a roof the cops would have done everything in their power to stop him from killing himself.

If he was on a rooftop, he wouldn't be threatening the cops with a knife. Bottom line is that this ass hole was charging at the police with a weapon.

That changes nothing. A suicidal person should be helped, not killed. Tasers, pepper spray.... deadly force was not in any way necessary here.

It's not up to the police officers being threatened to decide if the guy is suicidal or not while being charged at with a deadly weapon.

Why not? If the guy said "Shoot me already" and was bringing a knife to a gunfight I think it's pretty safe to say he is suicidal. If a cop can't figure that out, they have no business being a cop.

It's real easy to say all this after the fact. In the heat of the moment when someone is coming at you with a knife, how are you supposed to not defend yourself? Should the cop try to wrestle the knife away from the guy and risk getting themselves stabbed and/or killed?

And this wasn't a "gunfight". The cops were responding to a call and then someone decided to not listen to their command and come at them with a knife.

I've read that they shot him 17 seconds after arriving. That tells me that they didn't bother thinking at all. IMO it is part of their job to think. To assess a situation. And also to use their training and use a taser when someone is displaying threatening behaviour unless they are pointing a gun at them or are at the very least close enough to harm them. I love how some people don't think cops are required to use their brains and their training while on the job.

They didn't have time to assess anything. They were immediately presented with a man charging at them yielding a knife. They did what they are trained to do.

PJ_Soul

Last-12-Exit said:

PJ_Soul said:

Indifference71 said:

dignin said:

Last-12-Exit said:

PJ_Soul said:

Last-12-Exit said:

PJ_Soul said:

chadwick said:

Last-12-Exit said:

I would call this suicide by cop. This guy knew what was about to happen.

thank you. this is what i am thinking too

If that's the case, it makes even less sense. If the guy had been standing on a roof the cops would have done everything in their power to stop him from killing himself.

If he was on a rooftop, he wouldn't be threatening the cops with a knife. Bottom line is that this ass hole was charging at the police with a weapon.

That changes nothing. A suicidal person should be helped, not killed. Tasers, pepper spray.... deadly force was not in any way necessary here.

It's not up to the police officers being threatened to decide if the guy is suicidal or not while being charged at with a deadly weapon.

Why not? If the guy said "Shoot me already" and was bringing a knife to a gunfight I think it's pretty safe to say he is suicidal. If a cop can't figure that out, they have no business being a cop.

It's real easy to say all this after the fact. In the heat of the moment when someone is coming at you with a knife, how are you supposed to not defend yourself? Should the cop try to wrestle the knife away from the guy and risk getting themselves stabbed and/or killed?

And this wasn't a "gunfight". The cops were responding to a call and then someone decided to not listen to their command and come at them with a knife.

I've read that they shot him 17 seconds after arriving. That tells me that they didn't bother thinking at all. IMO it is part of their job to think. To assess a situation. And also to use their training and use a taser when someone is displaying threatening behaviour unless they are pointing a gun at them or are at the very least close enough to harm them. I love how some people don't think cops are required to use their brains and their training while on the job.

They didn't have time to assess anything. They were immediately presented with a man charging at them yielding a knife. They did what they are trained to do.

They had time to pull their guns.... which tells me they had time to pull a taser.

dignin

PJ_Soul said:

Indifference71 said:

dignin said:

Last-12-Exit said:

PJ_Soul said:

Last-12-Exit said:

PJ_Soul said:

chadwick said:

Last-12-Exit said:

I would call this suicide by cop. This guy knew what was about to happen.

thank you. this is what i am thinking too

If that's the case, it makes even less sense. If the guy had been standing on a roof the cops would have done everything in their power to stop him from killing himself.

If he was on a rooftop, he wouldn't be threatening the cops with a knife. Bottom line is that this ass hole was charging at the police with a weapon.

That changes nothing. A suicidal person should be helped, not killed. Tasers, pepper spray.... deadly force was not in any way necessary here.

It's not up to the police officers being threatened to decide if the guy is suicidal or not while being charged at with a deadly weapon.

Why not? If the guy said "Shoot me already" and was bringing a knife to a gunfight I think it's pretty safe to say he is suicidal. If a cop can't figure that out, they have no business being a cop.

It's real easy to say all this after the fact. In the heat of the moment when someone is coming at you with a knife, how are you supposed to not defend yourself? Should the cop try to wrestle the knife away from the guy and risk getting themselves stabbed and/or killed?

And this wasn't a "gunfight". The cops were responding to a call and then someone decided to not listen to their command and come at them with a knife.

I've read that they shot him 17 seconds after arriving. That tells me that they didn't bother thinking at all. IMO it is part of their job to think. To assess a situation. And also to use their training and use a taser when someone is displaying threatening behaviour unless they are pointing a gun at them or are at the very least close enough to harm them. I love how some people don't think cops are required to use their brains and their training while on the job.

They could have chosen any number of options. Taken a step back and given themselves more time. Gotten back in their vehicle. Anything but shooting the guy multiple times.

Seems to me that they escalated the situation by drawing their guns out immediately. If you watch closely he didn't even pull his knife out until they came out guns drawn.

wall232

A man yelling at cops to shoot him and to kill him, who was ordered to stop, take his hands out his pocket and to put the knife down. He ignored all orders and kept walking towards the officers. Seems like he wanted to die, this isn't a situation where you can stop and try and talk him down from a ledge; this was a situation where he was armed and walking towards the officers. From the video he seems to have gotten pretty close to one of the officers, within a matter of 5-6 feet maybe? He could have easily charged at that officer and been on top of him very quickly. The cops did what they had to do to make sure that they made it home to their families; this is not murder, its suicide by cop.

One of the cops did take a step back, and how can you expect officers to just get back in their car after being called? The man escalated this all by stealing and then waiting there for the officers to arrive. In his sick mine he got what he wanted.

pdalowsky

Dimi

dimitrispearljam said:

this called murder..all the rest are bullshit..
if 2 officers,with training dont know how to unarm,or stop someone wtih out shoot to kill,they need
to get retirment..this called murder at the rest of the world,atleast..

1 month ago Greek police arrested number 1 terrorist of the country..he put bombs,he rob banks,attack goverment building,his involved at killing,at kidnapping etc..
they chasing him at the center of the city..he start shooting to police and civilians
3 people,a police officer and 2 civilians got hit
..30-45 minutes running,and shooting to everyone.. all this at the center of Athens..
police??they shot just once..to his arm so drop the gun they put him down...
they said he even had granade on him
now is in jail.after surgery and will be there for the next 150 years..

how many times they shot this poor gut there?seriously..
one word..

Murder

Dude I get your point I really do but your example here strikes me as bizarre. The guy was a clear danger to the public - injuring 5 people - he deserved nothing more than taking down and staying down.

Just my opinion but now you guys can feed him forever and keep him nice and warm at your cost. The video here isn't as clear cut of course.

But I will say the British police screwed up with that Islamic terrorist who beheaded the soldier, I'm a peaceful guy who hates violence and guns bug that verminous piece of shif should have been granted his 'jihad'. Glory or not. He's even making a mockery of UHF system here now by resisting orders in the prison and claiming compensation for injuries...... Whilst continuing his hate crap.... Worthless scum and he got a bullet in the arm...

Seems the situations between that and this should have been flipped but the police are always wrong in someone's eyes.

dimitrispearljam

pdalowsky said:

Dimi

dimitrispearljam said:

this called murder..all the rest are bullshit..
if 2 officers,with training dont know how to unarm,or stop someone wtih out shoot to kill,they need
to get retirment..this called murder at the rest of the world,atleast..

1 month ago Greek police arrested number 1 terrorist of the country..he put bombs,he rob banks,attack goverment building,his involved at killing,at kidnapping etc..
they chasing him at the center of the city..he start shooting to police and civilians
3 people,a police officer and 2 civilians got hit
..30-45 minutes running,and shooting to everyone.. all this at the center of Athens..
police??they shot just once..to his arm so drop the gun they put him down...
they said he even had granade on him
now is in jail.after surgery and will be there for the next 150 years..

how many times they shot this poor gut there?seriously..
one word..

Murder

Dude I get your point I really do but your example here strikes me as bizarre. The guy was a clear danger to the public - injuring 5 people - he deserved nothing more than taking down and staying down.

Just my opinion but now you guys can feed him forever and keep him nice and warm at your cost. The video here isn't as clear cut of course.

But I will say the British police screwed up with that Islamic terrorist who beheaded the soldier, I'm a peaceful guy who hates violence and guns bug that verminous piece of shif should have been granted his 'jihad'. Glory or not. He's even making a mockery of UHF system here now by resisting orders in the prison and claiming compensation for injuries...... Whilst continuing his hate crap.... Worthless scum and he got a bullet in the arm...

Seems the situations between that and this should have been flipped but the police are always wrong in someone's eyes.

the point paul of my exable is,police officer are trained to put a man down with alot of ways
not shoot him 12 times.to kill him..thats the point..
as for the terrorist,noone will blame the police here if they shoot to kill him,after all he did,,but worth more alive
for info,or use him or try to pressure the others worked with him afraid he will snitch etc..
and from the moment u can take someone down and arrest him,why the hell to kill him??
hiow difficult would be to shoot one warning shot in the air to make him put the knife down,?
ore one on the leg??we are talking about so many bullets..seriously..why/?

Indifference71

dignin said:

PJ_Soul said:

Indifference71 said:

dignin said:

Last-12-Exit said:

PJ_Soul said:

Last-12-Exit said:

PJ_Soul said:

chadwick said:

Last-12-Exit said:

I would call this suicide by cop. This guy knew what was about to happen.

thank you. this is what i am thinking too

If that's the case, it makes even less sense. If the guy had been standing on a roof the cops would have done everything in their power to stop him from killing himself.

If he was on a rooftop, he wouldn't be threatening the cops with a knife. Bottom line is that this ass hole was charging at the police with a weapon.

That changes nothing. A suicidal person should be helped, not killed. Tasers, pepper spray.... deadly force was not in any way necessary here.

It's not up to the police officers being threatened to decide if the guy is suicidal or not while being charged at with a deadly weapon.

Why not? If the guy said "Shoot me already" and was bringing a knife to a gunfight I think it's pretty safe to say he is suicidal. If a cop can't figure that out, they have no business being a cop.

It's real easy to say all this after the fact. In the heat of the moment when someone is coming at you with a knife, how are you supposed to not defend yourself? Should the cop try to wrestle the knife away from the guy and risk getting themselves stabbed and/or killed?

And this wasn't a "gunfight". The cops were responding to a call and then someone decided to not listen to their command and come at them with a knife.

I've read that they shot him 17 seconds after arriving. That tells me that they didn't bother thinking at all. IMO it is part of their job to think. To assess a situation. And also to use their training and use a taser when someone is displaying threatening behaviour unless they are pointing a gun at them or are at the very least close enough to harm them. I love how some people don't think cops are required to use their brains and their training while on the job.

They could have chosen any number of options. Taken a step back and given themselves more time. Gotten back in their vehicle. Anything but shooting the guy multiple times.

Seems to me that they escalated the situation by drawing their guns out immediately. If you watch closely he didn't even pull his knife out until they came out guns drawn.

Get back in their car? Really? Yeah, lets just have the cops drive away and leave some guy on the streets who is running around with a knife.

dimitrispearljam

Indifference71 said:

dignin said:

PJ_Soul said:

Indifference71 said:

dignin said:

Last-12-Exit said:

PJ_Soul said:

Last-12-Exit said:

PJ_Soul said:

chadwick said:

Last-12-Exit said:

I would call this suicide by cop. This guy knew what was about to happen.

thank you. this is what i am thinking too

If that's the case, it makes even less sense. If the guy had been standing on a roof the cops would have done everything in their power to stop him from killing himself.

If he was on a rooftop, he wouldn't be threatening the cops with a knife. Bottom line is that this ass hole was charging at the police with a weapon.

That changes nothing. A suicidal person should be helped, not killed. Tasers, pepper spray.... deadly force was not in any way necessary here.

It's not up to the police officers being threatened to decide if the guy is suicidal or not while being charged at with a deadly weapon.

Why not? If the guy said "Shoot me already" and was bringing a knife to a gunfight I think it's pretty safe to say he is suicidal. If a cop can't figure that out, they have no business being a cop.

It's real easy to say all this after the fact. In the heat of the moment when someone is coming at you with a knife, how are you supposed to not defend yourself? Should the cop try to wrestle the knife away from the guy and risk getting themselves stabbed and/or killed?

And this wasn't a "gunfight". The cops were responding to a call and then someone decided to not listen to their command and come at them with a knife.

I've read that they shot him 17 seconds after arriving. That tells me that they didn't bother thinking at all. IMO it is part of their job to think. To assess a situation. And also to use their training and use a taser when someone is displaying threatening behaviour unless they are pointing a gun at them or are at the very least close enough to harm them. I love how some people don't think cops are required to use their brains and their training while on the job.

They could have chosen any number of options. Taken a step back and given themselves more time. Gotten back in their vehicle. Anything but shooting the guy multiple times.

Seems to me that they escalated the situation by drawing their guns out immediately. If you watch closely he didn't even pull his knife out until they came out guns drawn.

Get back in their car? Really? Yeah, lets just have the cops drive away and leave some guy on the streets who is running around with a knife.

ofcourse not..they need to spot him..
stop,put him down,asrrest..not shoot him till they are out of bullets!!!

Wma31394

Get back in the car??... Not an option.. Imagine a video like that going viral were the cops run from a dude branding a knife..nice example of serve and protect.

A shot in the knee caps?.taser? Warning shot?? Perhaps.. But I won't pretend I'm a cop and say what's right and wrong.. Fluid situation.. Adrenalin rush..and fear. According to their captain on CNN last they did the right thing according to their training..he almost seemed to cocky during his interview..

Based on the lack of outcry from this instance it seems like the majority of general public sees no wrong doing..

Tough to say.. Murder?? Probably not.. Could it been handled differently and could death have been prevented?? Probably yes.

pdalowsky

I get it bud. I do.

But the example of the dude in Greece is a wierd one. The guy shot members of the public and officers employed to serve and put their lives on the line .... That guy got too much leeway IMO.

This guy here? Different story... But from watching that video it seems he knew what he was doing ... Almost planned it if I hear him
Right (watched on phone so could be wrong)

Seriously though, as terrible as it is , what else can a guy expect whilst confronting police with a weapon and refusing orders and proceeding?

pdalowsky

Interesting - and although a completely different discussion .... I view the death penalty as murder. Murder without a struggle murder without confrontation, murder with no imminent danger ... And murder in cold blood.

Anyway no wish to derail. There's already an excellent thread on that subject. It's an emotive one and a very difficult one

Thirty Bills Unpaid

dimitrispearljam said:

this called murder..all the rest are bullshit..
if 2 officers,with training dont know how to unarm,or stop someone wtih out shoot to kill,they need
to get retirment..this called murder at the rest of the world,atleast..

1 month ago Greek police arrested number 1 terrorist of the country..he put bombs,he rob banks,attack goverment building,his involved at killing,at kidnapping etc..
they chasing him at the center of the city..he start shooting to police and civilians
3 people,a police officer and 2 civilians got hit
..30-45 minutes running,and shooting to everyone.. all this at the center of Athens..
police??they shot just once..to his arm so drop the gun they put him down...
they said he even had granade on him
now is in jail.after surgery and will be there for the next 150 years..

how many times they shot this poor gut there?seriously..
one word..

Murder

I would say that one word should be 'lucky'. Lucky that nobody was injured in what sounds like a crazy chase.

So, it's lucky that- given the police had opportunities to take him down- some innocent child wasn't killed as police exercised extreme patience trying to be terrorist whisperers.

gimmesometruth27

the video contradicts the account given by SLPD.

living in st louis, this is precisely why the situation in ferguson is what it is.

Thirty Bills Unpaid

dignin said:

PJ_Soul said:

Indifference71 said:

dignin said:

Last-12-Exit said:

PJ_Soul said:

Last-12-Exit said:

PJ_Soul said:

chadwick said:

Last-12-Exit said:

I would call this suicide by cop. This guy knew what was about to happen.

thank you. this is what i am thinking too

If that's the case, it makes even less sense. If the guy had been standing on a roof the cops would have done everything in their power to stop him from killing himself.

If he was on a rooftop, he wouldn't be threatening the cops with a knife. Bottom line is that this ass hole was charging at the police with a weapon.

That changes nothing. A suicidal person should be helped, not killed. Tasers, pepper spray.... deadly force was not in any way necessary here.

It's not up to the police officers being threatened to decide if the guy is suicidal or not while being charged at with a deadly weapon.

Why not? If the guy said "Shoot me already" and was bringing a knife to a gunfight I think it's pretty safe to say he is suicidal. If a cop can't figure that out, they have no business being a cop.

It's real easy to say all this after the fact. In the heat of the moment when someone is coming at you with a knife, how are you supposed to not defend yourself? Should the cop try to wrestle the knife away from the guy and risk getting themselves stabbed and/or killed?

And this wasn't a "gunfight". The cops were responding to a call and then someone decided to not listen to their command and come at them with a knife.

I've read that they shot him 17 seconds after arriving. That tells me that they didn't bother thinking at all. IMO it is part of their job to think. To assess a situation. And also to use their training and use a taser when someone is displaying threatening behaviour unless they are pointing a gun at them or are at the very least close enough to harm them. I love how some people don't think cops are required to use their brains and their training while on the job.

They could have chosen any number of options. Taken a step back and given themselves more time. Gotten back in their vehicle. Anything but shooting the guy multiple times.

Seems to me that they escalated the situation by drawing their guns out immediately. If you watch closely he didn't even pull his knife out until they came out guns drawn.

Fuks sakes, man.

Seriously? Get back in the car? Maybe play 'ring around the cop car' with the knife wielding maniac chasing the backpedaling cops as they keep trying to calm him down? Maybe drive away and look for a more cooperative, knife wielding, looney dude?

I'm flabbergasted. I too would like to have seen tasers and pepper spray, but I haven't lost sight of the fact that this guy was dangerous and looking for a fight. If this was an innocent kid riding his bike home while drinking a squishy... well I'd be the first to say, "Fuck those cops. Let's get them!" But this wasn't the case here. People are calling it 'execution'... I'm calling it self-defence.

Ironically, some of the same people that argue for gun rights- so they can defend themselves- are arguing against the cops defending themselves. Conflicted or what?

Idris

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