However, there is a faint, blurry greyish-blue line here. If they were not, at the time, certain that the sword was bated, one might consider it possible that they were acting to prevent a threat to others in the mall.
That said, I believe that every time the police have to deal with a situation that represents a possible hazard to others, they always should have a negotiator. One out of every three officers on a scene needs to be the guy trying to talk the situation down. Every time.
That’s the thing. At one point people were trained to de-escalate situations. Why is this idea even being questioned by some LEOs and their supporters?
Ok. Let’s look at the situation. You’re a police officer. You are called to a place because people see a guy with a long samurai sword walking around and are a bit concerned. You get there. You call to the guy, and he runs away from you.
Now - do you think the assumption that the guy with the sword is a danger to others (not just to you) and needs to be stopped, with deadly force if necessary, is “reasonable”?
What if the guy is a lunatic, and after you let him get away from you because you don’t want to shoot him, he kills several people with that sword of his? Don’t you think you will be (rightly) blamed for your behavior in not preventing those deaths?
Ah, yes. That hallowed state of killing people based on slippery slope hypotheticals. Because yanno, the cops don’t have the means or manpower to follow and corner the guy, ask questions, figure out what this alien and novel “cosplay” thing is about. It really is undeniably and unquestionably better to just blow everybody away. Don’t y’alls feel so SAFE ? Also FREE ?
Now, of course, some bleeding heart pansies might suggest that they could have approached the guy all friendly-like and ascertained the nature of his sword wieldingness first. To these faggots I say nay nay ! This is a war ! He was the enemy ! Because… something, whatever. The point is, SAFE. Also FREE.
He was running away. He is a young guy and probably faster than the cops. How exactly do you propose they “follow and corner the guy, ask questions”?
And how do you know they didn’t try that before he ran away?
You chase him. No one should be shot in the back and killed over hypotheticals.
Cops have radios. And cars. And helicopters. And the assistance of mall security and its CCTV system. There’s no need for any physical exertion. Especially when the guy with the sword has not demonstrated any propensity for smacking people over the head with it whatsoever.
ETA : on the other hand, adrenaline and stupidity are both pretty harsh mistresses. They don’t even swallow.
A few dozen sobbing liberals who want more people to become criminal victims isn’t “we as a society,” sorry.
Yes, cops should listen to the people who hate them about how to do their jobs correctly.
Don’t run away from the cops and you’ll still be alive. So simple even a liberal could understand it.
Why doesn’t it surprise me that someone like you idolizes people cowardly enough to shoot someone in the back?
Cars, radios and helicopters are no big help if the guy decided to hack a few people to pieces with his sword at that moment (and no, the police apparently had no idea that the sword was for blunted).
Garner v Tennessee.
deadly force “may not be used unless necessary to prevent the escape and the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious bodily harm to the officer or others”.
So - is it reasonable to think that someone that carries a big samurai sword, sees the police and runs “poses a significant threat of death or serious bodily harm to the officer or others”?
Moral of the story: if you carry a sword, and you run at the sight of the police, you are a candidate for the Darwin award.
What kind of ignorant-ass shit is that? Ran at the sight of the cops? The poster-frame still of this video clearly shows that you did not look into the story and just chose to spew out your fuckwit bias about it.
And don’t run away from criminals and you’ll still be alive. (The cop that shot him is a criminal… now.)
The shooting was found, after investigation, to be justified.
You mean the part that says “he was still brandishing the sword as he ran from the cops”?
The mother is right to not roll over on this. Something doesn’t add up.
This youtube video shows a photo of Darrien right before he was killed by the police (fast forward to 0:57). In the photo, he’s standing (and smiling!) with the two police officers who killed him. Moments later, they’re chasing after him and literally he’s running for his life.
WTF.
You want to know what’s ironic? Utah is an open-carry state. Folks shat their pants because he was walking around with a holstered toy sword, but I bet no one calls the cops when they see something like this at the mall.
America is so fucked up. Who needs the Onion when you’ve got the six o’clock news?
If someone was carrying an AR15 and ran from the cops, they would be just as justified to shoot him. Because they would reasonably suspect that such a person “poses a significant threat of death or serious bodily harm to the officer or others”.
“Poster frame” means the frame that the video displays before it gets run (e.g., the video’s thumbnail image), which is typically the frame in the middle. When I see that movie, before I start it, I see the frame that monstro describes (a bystander still shot), where he is standing near the police car (around 0:58) and does not look the least bit fearful. So your “ran at the sight of the cops”) is utterly loathsome bullshit (also referred to as “Terrspeak”).
When Cpl. Schauerhamer and Officer Judson approached Hunt outside a Saratoga Springs Top Stop convenience store, investigators said their entire exchange only last 37 seconds.
Both officers noticed Hunt was carrying a sword in a sheath, and as they spoke, Schauerhamer asked him to put it down.
“I can’t do that,” Hunt said, according to documents. “It’s my sword.”
That’s when Hunt lunged at both of them, according to Buhman.
"As Mr. Hunt was speaking with the officers, abruptly and without any apparent provocation, withdrew the sword from its sheath, and immediately swung or stabbed it toward at least one of the officers,” said Buhman.
In response, Schauerhamer started shooting, prompting Hunt to take off. Both officers chased after him and three more shots were fired as Hunt turned a corner toward the nearby Panda Express restaurant.
In total, seven shots were fired, with only one coming from Judson’s gun. Buhman explained that Schauerhamer was the closest to Hunt and was worried he was heading in the direction of more people as he ran.
WTF is right - but it is the WTF to your WTF.
As in “WTF is wrong with you - do you think that the cops were talking to a smiling guy and suddenly decided to kill him out of the blue?”
Anyone can have a gun on them. Anyone can have a lethal weapon on them that the police don’t know about.
Is death a fair consequence of running away from the police? Wouldn’t resisting arrest only be a misdemeanor, not a capital offense?
We live in the year 2015. Surely we have evolved the technology that could take someone out without frickin’ killing them and putting bystanders in harm’s way?
