quote:


Macklin said his nephew was not taking medication and just needed help, so for an officer to shoot, he believes, was not justified.

“James is a good person. He’s a kind-hearted person. He would do anything he could for anybody, but James has a mental problem,” Macklin said.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Real0ne

do you have any idea how easy it is to take a knife away from someone?

not to mention an obviously very sick man.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Just0Plain0Mike

quote:

ORIGINAL: Real0ne

do you have any idea how easy it is to take a knife away from someone?

not to mention an obviously very sick man.

Ahh, read the other articles. That makes a big difference. The guy was making threats and tried to attack the officers. They could still have Tased him, but depending on the size of the room, there might not have been time or room.

Ummm, no where in the article did it say he was an obviously sick man. Even if he was mentally ill, which does seem likely, that doesn't make him physically ill. Taking a knife away from someone, without getting cut, isn't all that easy. This is especially true of someone with no concern for their own life.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Real0ne

quote:

ORIGINAL: Just0Plain0Mike

quote:

ORIGINAL: Real0ne

do you have any idea how easy it is to take a knife away from someone?

not to mention an obviously very sick man.

Ahh, read the other articles. That makes a big difference. The guy was making threats and tried to attack the officers. They could still have Tased him, but depending on the size of the room, there might not have been time or room.

Ummm, no where in the article did it say he was an obviously sick man. Even if he was mentally ill, which does seem likely, that doesn't make him physically ill. Taking a knife away from someone, without getting cut, isn't all that easy. This is especially true of someone with no concern for their own life.

shit they wear kevlar

according to his family he was fucked up as a result of improper medication, so you can justify this license to murder? a guy with a lousy knife????

quote:

ORIGINAL: Real0ne

what did I miss here?

I thought the cops were told he had a knife?

they could have thrown a vase or a chair at him for shit sake!

but instead they chose to murder him.

It should never happen, it happens all the time, in the land of the free, look on youtube its even caught on video!

quote:

ORIGINAL: Just0Plain0Mike

Kevlar doesn't stop knives, or it only stops them as well as any other thick cloth would. Trauma plates would, but not every vest uses these. Actually most don't since they're too heavy and awkward. There are also quite a few vulnerabilities in a vest that are easier to exploit with a knife then a gun.

At close range, a "lousy knife" is often more effective then a gun. Knives are dangerous. It's pretty easy to kill someone with nothing but a "lousy knife".

I'm not trying to be insulting here, just asking a question. Do you have any training or experience with guns or knives? I happen to have training with both. The problem is, to someone who doesn't know better, if you hear that one person had a knife and the other a gun, then it's simple. The gun is so much more lethal that it's no contest, but that's not really accurate. It depends on so many factors; the relative skill of both individuals, the distance between them, etc.

What it's starting to seem like to me, is the guy committed suicide by cop. He already had cuts on his wrists when the police arrived, that sounds like hesitation cuts. When he realized he couldn't do it himself, he charged an armed police officer hoping that he'd be killed. Do I know this for a fact, no, but I think it's a reasonable conclusion.

quote:

ORIGINAL: LafayetteLady

Just as an aside, the man was "obviously a sick man." That doesn't have to refer to physical illness. People can and often are "sick in the head."

quote:

ORIGINAL: kiwisub12

There is no "them". There is a (probably) 20-something faced with a crazy acting man, who had to make a judgement call.

How well would you do in the same situation.

There is no government evil conspiracy, or malicious individuals - there is one crazy man and one guy whose responsibility is to protect lives. He made a judgement call, and now the Monday night quarter backs are coming out and saying how terrible this is, and why didn't he do this or this, or gee, this.

Way to go guys. Lets support our boys in blue, who no-one respects until they need them, and gosh, then its "they did this wrong" or "why didn't they do this?"
Until you walk in their shoes, i don't think you can criticise these men and women. They are just like the rest of us - they are trying to do their job the best they can. No-one gets up in the morning and thinks to themselves that today is the day they get to shoot someone. Mostly, they worry that they are going to have to draw their guns and worry wheither or not they can make the right call.

There are bad cops - but mainly they are lazy, or willing to take a bribe, or a free cup of coffee - they aren't out there to kill everyone they can. Cripes, the average cop isn't a psychopath!


(gets off soapbox and quietly walks away)