Protests in Ferguson, Missouri

[Professor]

Well, 6 shots from a 9mm or other small-caliber handgun can come pretty quick. You can probably squeeze off 6 rounds before someone has a chance to comply. Almost certainly before you, the shooter, can realize that they are trying to comply.

But, that's kind of beside the point. An officer doesn't use a handgun (or any gun, for that matter) as a means of "compliance". They don't think or say, "Let me wing this guy and see if he complies by getting on the ground." That's what tazers and pepper spray are for. You pull the trigger to kill. That's it.

Now, if you miss your intended target (center mass) and only wing the guy, and realize that he's surrendering, then you no longer have a right to shoot. But, that's a very hard decision to make when you're shooting a gun - to figure out that the situation has suddenly changed from, "my life is in danger and I need to kill this other guy" to "oh, he's not trying to kill me anymore and is surrendering". Tough, but that's why they're paid the big bucks (wait - seems like a conversation we've had before).

To be clear, I'm not saying that it's "OK" when a cop keeps shooting in the first few seconds that a person is trying to surrender. It's definitely not. But, I can understand how his brain simply hasn't switched gears yet. I've been in a fight, both on the street and in martial arts matches, where the other guy "gives up" and I keep going for a second or two, because I'm pumped up on adrenaline and am not thinking rationally/calmly/etc. Doesn't make it OK, but I know the feeling.

[eynon81]

this is interesting:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014 ... .html?_r=1

military surplus dished out by county. interesting for me is that many of the counties (at least in the South-West) receiving significant amounts of military gear are rural and sparsely populated. Also based on the hardware it looks like LA is planning on invading Poland sometime soon.

(heh...South Park has a tank)

[jimmyz]

[Mr.Bill]

This particular case it is complicated. Black on black violence is epidemic in these neighborhoods. And most cops probably don't care, as long as they're killing each other, so what? The PC in me says that's awful.. The realist in me can understand it.. It's no different than years past when the Italian Mafia was at war and killing each other, no one cared, especially the cops, as long as they were killing each other..

Not a day goes by when a black man doesn't kill another black man.. Violence in the Black communities is out of control.. And no one cares, not the so called 'Black leaders' like Sharpton, not the cops.. The cops seldom go into these neighborhoods, some of it is fear, some is apathy.. And then when they do, things like this happen and all hell breaks loose..

Personally I would care more if when I turned on the news everyday someone, anyone was protesting about black on black violence. Instead of just protesting when a black guy is killed by someone who isn't black..

Anyway it is sad... To feed the MIC we are continually at war, and we sell arms to and arm our so called foreign 'enemies', and we arm our police forces to the point where there have more war equipment then some countries.. When these foreign 'enemies' kill Americans with our own equipment we all go nuts and scream how we need to wipe out these 'enemies', hey lets nuke em... But when the cops kill Americans with the very same MIC equipment few care..

[Philly]

Why do you keep repeating this lie Bill? Black leaders like Jackson and Sharpton have been speaking out about black on black violence for years.

http://m.theatlantic.com/national/archi ... ce/255329/

[Mr.Bill]

[Philly]

[eynon81]

black community actually did a lot about it in LA during the 1990s.

[jimmyz]

Can we get back to the facts.

Brown robbed a convenience store.

Brown was shot six times (none in the back).

That's pretty much what we know for sure at this moment. All else is blacks as victims political spin with the surviving parents eye-balling a potential windfall of cash if they can prove criminal shenanigans and/or receive a civil judgement and settlement.

[eynon81]