# American Police Kill a Lot of People **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 15, 2017, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-police-kill-a-lot-of-people/789011 "2017-06-15T04:42:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2017, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-police-kill-a-lot-of-people/789011/41 "2017-06-19T22:07:09Z")
Well British police are unarmed, but very often have weapons in the boot of their vehicles for easy access. Nonetheless a cop shooting you is maybe the chance of a rabid mouse biting you. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2017, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-police-kill-a-lot-of-people/789011/42 "2017-06-19T22:11:34Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > Well British police are unarmed, but very often have weapons in the boot of their vehicles for easy access. > > Nonetheless a cop shooting you is maybe the chance of a rabid mouse biting you. Whereas in even the brutal US you are 8 times more likely to be injured choking on a toothpick than killed by a cop. 😛 Statistics are always so fun. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2017, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-police-kill-a-lot-of-people/789011/43 "2017-06-19T22:20:09Z")
Still doesn’t mean when we emerge from our British houses in the morning, we declare “ **This is a Good Day to Die.** ” In the varied risks of everyday life It just might be an idea for the USA to taking killing by cop out of the loop. And SWAT Teams. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2017, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-police-kill-a-lot-of-people/789011/44 "2017-06-19T22:46:49Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > Still doesn’t mean when we emerge from our British houses in the morning, we declare “ **This is a Good Day to Die.** ” > In the varied risks of everyday life It just might be an idea for the USA to taking killing by cop out of the loop. > > And SWAT Teams. Seems such a small probability that I doubt many Americans actually worry about it either. I mean, you are 6 times more likely to die or be killed by some idiot texting while driving than killed by a cop, after all. Hell, if you are visiting Africa you are 2.8 times more likely to be killed by a hippo. 😛 You are as likely, in the US, to kill yourself by autoerotic asphyxiation as by a cop. As I noted above, I don’t think that ‘the USA to taking killing by cop out of the loop’ is a realistic ideal or expectation. The US is not the UK, and taking guns from cops won’t make us the same either. There is no simple solution to our issues, and comparing the two is pretty much apples to orangutans, so is pretty pointless. ---
**Author:** ![Hocus\_Pocus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/41988e/32.png) [@Hocus\_Pocus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hocus_Pocus)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2017, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-police-kill-a-lot-of-people/789011/45 "2017-06-20T06:36:08Z")
Ask UK Constable Keith Palmer how he feels about British cops not having guns. Oh, wait… ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2017, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-police-kill-a-lot-of-people/789011/46 "2017-06-20T18:20:47Z")
> [@Hocus\_Pocus](#): > > Ask UK Constable Keith Palmer how he feels about British cops not having guns. > > Oh, wait… Eh? It’s like saying ask Keith Palmer what he feels about padlocking gates, or using turnstile entrances, or excluding the public from Parliament, or making democracy less accessible, etc. But actually it’s stupid, pointless and point scoring on the internet, because this would be a collective decision made by the people and politicians - as is the decision to not arm all Officers. Well done you for invoking Keith Palmer’s name for your agenda - that’s heroic. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-police-kill-a-lot-of-people/789011/47 "2017-06-21T00:57:17Z")
> [@Hocus\_Pocus](#): > > If people don’t want to get shot they need to comply with the officers’ orders. Yes, it is that simple. No, that is not to imply that every LE shooting is justified; as long as humans do LE there will be mistakes made (as in any other occupation). But the vast majority of shootings by American LE are justified uses of deadly force. Don’t buy the sensationalism that the American media spews out. I regularly point this out in various FB debates, im pretty sure 90% of police shootings would disappear overnight if people followed your advice. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-police-kill-a-lot-of-people/789011/48 "2017-06-21T01:11:51Z")
> [@drachillix](#): > > I regularly point this out in various FB debates, im pretty sure 90% of police shootings would disappear overnight if people followed your advice. To be fair, 75% of criminals (if I recall my statistics correctly) are drunk while being arrested, so this might be asking a bit much. Though, as a non-drinker, I suppose I have no particular objection to the idea of being shot mostly because you were drunk and couldn’t properly obey the police. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-police-kill-a-lot-of-people/789011.md?page=2)