amlevin
Regular Member
In the wake of last years police killings, the 4 in Lakewood, one in rural Pierce County, and one in Seattle (forgive me if I overlooked others in WA), are Police officers more likely to use Deadly Force when encountering armed subjects. More recent cases involved a man with a gun in Spokane Valley and a man with a knife in Seattle. Police shoot into vehicles, killing drivers/occupants. There appear to be more stories in the last 6 months were Deadly Force was used by police officers and I was just wondering if this was a result of the losses to their ranks.
Did the shootings of their fellow officers have the effect of making them more "on edge" and less likely to attempt de-escalation before shooting? I certainly don't know but recognize that it could be a factor.
On this note there may well be an important message here for those of us that go about our business armed. One that would tell us it could be a very bad idea to allow any contact with a LEO to become a confrontation. We all are irritated over being "disarmed" during a contact and it may well be beyond the officer's authority. But is it a good idea to resist, even verbally? Gather info and deal with them through their superiors.
Just some food for thought because to me, it is apparent that any threat, by anyone, will more likely be met by Deadly Force than in the past. Either that or the recent news is just an anomaly. We all sort of cheer when one of society's "pieces of excrement" are sent off to another world. We don't need it to happen to any law-abiding citizens just because they didn't exercise good judgement.
Did the shootings of their fellow officers have the effect of making them more "on edge" and less likely to attempt de-escalation before shooting? I certainly don't know but recognize that it could be a factor.
On this note there may well be an important message here for those of us that go about our business armed. One that would tell us it could be a very bad idea to allow any contact with a LEO to become a confrontation. We all are irritated over being "disarmed" during a contact and it may well be beyond the officer's authority. But is it a good idea to resist, even verbally? Gather info and deal with them through their superiors.
Just some food for thought because to me, it is apparent that any threat, by anyone, will more likely be met by Deadly Force than in the past. Either that or the recent news is just an anomaly. We all sort of cheer when one of society's "pieces of excrement" are sent off to another world. We don't need it to happen to any law-abiding citizens just because they didn't exercise good judgement.