In the video below, police appear to shoot a man in a wheelchair who was armed with knives and may have stabbed an officer. There are a number of questions raised by this video over the use of lethal force.
What is curious is that citizens were next to the man when the police arrive and traffic is still moving by the scene despite the possible use of the weapons. The greatest concern is why the police did not use non-lethal force such as a taser or isolate the man while they cut off traffic and tried to reason with him. There were people standing around the scene shortly before the shooting and cars passing by.
One account states that the police first used pepper spray and fired a non-lethal ‘beanbag’ round. Some witnesses state that the man had only been slashing tires and had already thrown his knives to the ground when he was shot. However, the San Francisco papers are reporting that the man had stabbed a police officer in the shoulder at a mental health services center and that he threw a knife before being shot in the groin.
Under constitutional law and common training rules, officers are generally allowed to use lethal force when they are being threatened or to protect others. This can include a fleeing armed suspect. The question is whether the use of additional non-lethal force would have ended the standoff since the man was armed with a knife rather than a gun. With at least seven officers present at the scene, he could have been isolated to protect the public. There is a reluctance, however, to second-guess officers in such a situation. If he did stab an officer and was waving a knife, most courts would find the force justified. This assumes that reports that he had thrown away the knife are proven incorrect. That would leave the question as to whether, as a policy matter, the officers should have opted for less lethal means to subdue the clearly disturbed individual.
Ah, he a good guy and won’t mind. He is probably busy with his weekend guest blawg posts.
FFLEO,
Here we are taking rafflaw’s name in vane and he’s probably stopped reading the thread ….
Blouise, you were actually correct the first time..
Raff could be called a law dog = ruff-law…
… which is better than ruffleslaw, I suppose … still, my apologies
Poor rafflaw … it’s a simple name and I misspell it all the time. In my mind I even call him roughlaw
I am not now, nor have I ever been a member of the Communist Party. (or the Better Business Bureau) 🙂
The conservatives call me liberal, and the liberals call me conservative. I think that means I am like most (about 80% of) Americans.
BBB, your an idiot. Yeah they supposedly use pepper spray and the bean bag but they also shot him twice in the groin with BULLETS at least one from a service pistol. Wake up, unless he had a firearm there was NO justifiable reason to shoot a man in a wheelchair with real bullets! You must be a cop yourself.
BBB (I now assume that does not stand for Better Business Bureau and that you are not a conservative Republican plant)
You did not say anything to prompt those “leaving” comments. Everyone simply wanted to ensure you knew—unequivocally so—that you are welcome here and will soon become a trusted regular.
I don’t know what I said that left the impression that I was contemplating departure. I was not and am not. I enjoy reading everyone’s point of view, and I like to have a place to present my own. Most of all, I like it when others don’t share my views; that’s when I can learn from them and they can learn from me.
Thanks to all of you who take the time to share your thoughts and wisdom.
Morning all,just catching up on the back and forth between BBB,FFL and others who got into the mix just verifies why I really like this “blawg” always being respectful to one another and listening to each side of a discussion with out passing judgement and still being able to embrace points of view that opens up ones eyes to a subject that may have previously been closed.
Hope I’m making sense so early in the morning.
rafflaw,
It appears Blouise thinks you might be getting a little ‘ruff’ around the edges of your law…
I second rufflaw’s comment
Stick around Triple B. This is a good group with good hearts. We don’t always show it, but hang around and I think you will see it and others will see it in you.
BBB,
You revealed an abundance simply with your CERT association.
FFLEO.
No thanks required, but you are most welcome.
I was merely giving credit where credit was justly due.
This blog is a better place from your presence and we regulars are all richer for your fellowship.
The flip-side of being the sarcastic skewer of misinformation and acerbic tormentor of those who would mislead is that I can be brutally honest. You’ve said before you think you’d have liked my grandfather. I can say without a doubt he’d have liked you. That is no idyll phrase but an honest complement fully meant and well earned. You, sir, are a man of good character and anything I can say in defense of that is my honor and privilege.
One lives to be of service.
This is me after a CERT refresher.
http://s1108.photobucket.com/albums/h407/BBB541/?action=view¤t=fd_loadout.jpg
BBB,
Actually, I did not read that specific comment and I most assuredly did not forget it…
Blouise, my dear,
I prefer to remain friends.
My apologies gentlemen … I’m getting slap-happy
BBB
1, January 6, 2011 at 11:09 pm
Former Federal LEO,
A while back when I disclosed that I had played some semi-pro football, did that help you to understand that I might have taken a few too many blows to the head? 🙂
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Aha … that explains the unicorns!
FFLEO,
” …. from their agedness and experiences.”
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Hey, wait just a minute … are you calling me old?