since9
Campaign Veteran
"Oakland Police Say Officer Acted Within Policy Detaining Firefighter And His Kids"
I wasn't aware it was policy to draw firearms upon initial contact with ANY civilian and his two children who are exhibiting zero signs of hostility.
The Oakland Police Department say's they're "transparent," but refuses to disclose their General Orders. I called them this morning and they responded, "General Orders are for internal use only. They are not for public dissemination."
Meanwhile, MOST police departments disclose their General Orders, like Davis California, about an hour away from Oakland:
My police department, for example, posts them online, in two sections: Operations Manual and Field Manual.
While drawing a firearm is not itself considered lethal force, it is nevertheless totally unwarranted when encountering a calm adult male accompanied by his two children, even if they are entering an open side door to a fire department. Heaven help the poor old grandmother who encounters a "transparent" Oakland police officer while returning through the side door of her house after taking out the garbage.
My question is this: What's REALLY going on here? Is it poor training? Is it aspirations of being a hero? Is it paralyzing fear?
If the latter, I would argue while it may have played a role in the cops drawing their firearms on an innocent man and his two children, it would only have resulted in what actually happened if it had been accompanied by poor training.
I suspect it may very well be that this is how they actually train their officers to respond, that this really is the policy of the Oakland Police Department. If so, they have some very serious system-wide issues.
I wasn't aware it was policy to draw firearms upon initial contact with ANY civilian and his two children who are exhibiting zero signs of hostility.
The Oakland Police Department say's they're "transparent," but refuses to disclose their General Orders. I called them this morning and they responded, "General Orders are for internal use only. They are not for public dissemination."
Meanwhile, MOST police departments disclose their General Orders, like Davis California, about an hour away from Oakland:
C. Use of Lethal force is justified in the following circumstances:
1) An officer may use lethal force to protect themselves or
others from what they reasonably believe would be an
immediate threat of death or great bodily injury.
2) An officer may use lethal force to affect the arrest or
prevent the escape of a suspected felon where the officer
has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses an
imminent threat of death or great bodily injury to the
officer or others. Under such circumstances, a verbal
warning should precede the use of lethal force, where
feasible.
1) An officer may use lethal force to protect themselves or
others from what they reasonably believe would be an
immediate threat of death or great bodily injury.
2) An officer may use lethal force to affect the arrest or
prevent the escape of a suspected felon where the officer
has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses an
imminent threat of death or great bodily injury to the
officer or others. Under such circumstances, a verbal
warning should precede the use of lethal force, where
feasible.
My police department, for example, posts them online, in two sections: Operations Manual and Field Manual.
While drawing a firearm is not itself considered lethal force, it is nevertheless totally unwarranted when encountering a calm adult male accompanied by his two children, even if they are entering an open side door to a fire department. Heaven help the poor old grandmother who encounters a "transparent" Oakland police officer while returning through the side door of her house after taking out the garbage.
My question is this: What's REALLY going on here? Is it poor training? Is it aspirations of being a hero? Is it paralyzing fear?
If the latter, I would argue while it may have played a role in the cops drawing their firearms on an innocent man and his two children, it would only have resulted in what actually happened if it had been accompanied by poor training.
I suspect it may very well be that this is how they actually train their officers to respond, that this really is the policy of the Oakland Police Department. If so, they have some very serious system-wide issues.
But almost always win in court.
