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In reply to the discussion: Why Many Police Traffic Stops Turn Deadly [View all]Jedi Guy
(3,175 posts)11. And in the moment of confrontation, how is the cop supposed to know whether the person is armed?
Just because their hands are empty at that moment doesn't mean they're unarmed and/or not dangerous. I've seen bodycam footage where officers walk up to a guy in an alleyway in Chicago, and the fellow's hands are empty. Then he dips for his gun, draws, and tries to John Wick all three cops. There was also an officer-involved shooting wherein the person who was shot took a two-handed shooter's stance and pointed an object at officers. The object turned out to be a vape pen.
The certainty that a person is/was unarmed may only come after the fact. This is why use of deadly force is judged to be reasonable or not based on what the officer knew at that moment.
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And in the moment of confrontation, how is the cop supposed to know whether the person is armed?
Jedi Guy
Oct 2021
#11
So you're honestly comparing kids breaking school rules to adults breaking laws?
Jedi Guy
Oct 2021
#27
Yeah but they've lost the benefit of the doubt on that "use of force" now and some are ...
uponit7771
Nov 2021
#31
Yeah, the anti-cop extremism on DU is something else, especially for a "reality based community."
Jedi Guy
Nov 2021
#38
I got away with a lot of shit when I was a wild young thing because I was white.
hunter
Nov 2021
#41
It's their training. Cops are taught everyone presents a threat and all encounters are potentially
sop
Oct 2021
#5
Why? Because police have guns but most of them don't have the temperament or wisdom...
hunter
Oct 2021
#14
Covid has shown that the "feared for their lives" claim is completely bogus.
Crunchy Frog
Oct 2021
#16
"contempt of cop"? More like weak-minded and insecure cops licking their wounds by killing those
Solly Mack
Nov 2021
#33