imported post
Like I said, I wasn't there. However, I stand by my statement that if this kid was, in fact, playing cops & robbers and not a violent sociopath, I would have
done my duty as a police officer and laid my life on the line long enough to find out before I shot him.
That's the whole reason we have police: someone skilled and confident enough that they don't just shoot at the first sign of danger, like a citizen might do in a panic.
As it stands, it's exactly the opposite. As a citizen, you'd better hope the guy you shoot in self-defense isn't carrying a toy. As a cop, well...
If this is how police are going to behave, I say society would be just fine relying on armed citizens for crime deterrent and prevention.
With all that said, none of us were there. It's possible this kid was anything but "playing cops and robbers". But from what little we're given in this news article, this just sounds like yet another incident of a cop with either too little restraint or not enough balls to do the job.
And for all those apologists out there, I will reiterate that I have nothing against police in principle. I do have major problems with what the police have become in modern America, and as such, individual officers who act in accordance with what I view to be the problems with modern policing will suffer the brunt of my criticism.