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Did They Have to Shoot? by Joel B. Pollak

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mystery-ak:
http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2013/10/04/Did-They-Have-to-Shoot

Did They Have to Shoot?
by Joel B. Pollak 4 Oct 2013, 5:35 AM PDT

Becoming a parent really does change your perspective on things. And there's no way for me to look at that picture of police taking Miriam Carey's 18-month-old daughter--the same age, roughly, as my own daughter--out of her bullet-riddled Infiniti without wondering if it was really necessary to shoot an unarmed mother.

Others are asking the same question. Obviously, police would have careful after the Navy Yard shooting. And it's not clear that they did anything wrong. Still, it's not clear that Miriam Carey needed to die to end the situation. I'm not trying to make this about race, or police brutality--just asking a question that troubles me.

sinkspur:

--- Quote from: mystery-ak on October 04, 2013, 03:40:26 pm ---http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2013/10/04/Did-They-Have-to-Shoot

Did They Have to Shoot?
by Joel B. Pollak 4 Oct 2013, 5:35 AM PDT

Becoming a parent really does change your perspective on things. And there's no way for me to look at that picture of police taking Miriam Carey's 18-month-old daughter--the same age, roughly, as my own daughter--out of her bullet-riddled Infiniti without wondering if it was really necessary to shoot an unarmed mother.

Others are asking the same question. Obviously, police would have careful after the Navy Yard shooting. And it's not clear that they did anything wrong. Still, it's not clear that Miriam Carey needed to die to end the situation. I'm not trying to make this about race, or police brutality--just asking a question that troubles me.

--- End quote ---

Crazy people do crazy things.  The problem with something like this in Washington DC is that the first thought is of terrorism.  And terror threats, even suspected terror threats, have to be neutralized as quickly as possible.

ABX:
Honestly, after watching the videos, I would have taken the same actions as the police. They didn't have a time machine or mind reading device. what they had was an active threat in front of them and a fast decision to make before she became more of a threat to the public or other officers. All of this talk about how they 'should have shot the tires out' is Hollywood, not real life. They had no clue if she was armed or if her car was a bomb. She was given the opportunity when they blocked her in to get out of the car and stop, but she didn't. Instead she rammed them, tried to run them over, and kept going. How would that be different than, for example, a suicide bomber trying to get through?

But what if they did 'shoot her tires out' and it actually worked (which it doesn't work the way people think). They knew there was a child in the car and that could have resulted in a hostage situation with the child, with far worse results.

Considering reports have about a dozen shots being fired yet the child was unharmed shows a carefulness on the police's part.

I'm giving the police the benefit of the doubt in this sad situation.

ABX:

--- Quote from: sinkspur on October 04, 2013, 03:49:13 pm ---Crazy people do crazy things.  The problem with something like this in Washington DC is that the first thought is of terrorism.  And terror threats, even suspected terror threats, have to be neutralized as quickly as possible.

--- End quote ---

If she were a suicide bomber attempting to get a vehicle close to the Capitol, how would she have acted differently? Her actions were a immediate threat.

GourmetDan:

--- Quote from: AbaraXas on October 04, 2013, 04:11:43 pm ---Considering reports have about a dozen shots being fired yet the child was unharmed shows a carefulness on the police's part.

--- End quote ---

No.

We used to have a legal-system that was required to sentence people to death.

Now, you can be justifiably executed based on the mindset of the police officer(s) alone.

There is something fundamentally wrong with that...

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