Post by MARIO on Mar 13, 2006 18:51:10 GMT -8
The guys who run, and the cops who shoot them
T.R. Fehrenbach
Web Posted: 03/12/2006 12:00 AM CST
San Antonio Express-News
Lately there's been a rash of cop-bad guy shootings in the news.
Officers seem to have got four out of six. There were two misses, and those officers probably should be required to take further marksmanship training.
The emphasis of most news stories on this subject, here and elsewhere, is that police should take more care. Get sensitivity sessions on when and where (and who) to shoot or not to shoot. Every time these incidents make the news, various PDs review their practices, issue new instructions and generally make things worse.
First off, let's face a salient fact: If you allow cops to carry, somebody is going to be shot. (If you don't allow them to carry, it will invariably be the cop.) There are a lot of crooks and crazies with guns out there. Most policemen are courageous (if not, they shouldn't take the shield), and faced with run or fight, they'll fight. When in doubt, it is usually safer to shoot than be sorry. Any lawman worth his salt will obey the dictum: Better to be judged by 12 than carried by six.
I think the emphasis upon cop shootings (that is, shootings by cops) is all wrong. It should not be on the shooter but the guys getting shot. Usually a little investigation shows that these are felonious, intemperate, stupid or impolite, even when not armed. Most are not really worth the powder and lead to blow them up.
Unfortunately, sometimes companions or passengers are hurt, but here is where dumb comes in. People who associate with people who are potential cop targets have to take their lumps.
The same goes for police chases. These have been virtually halted in many places because instead of making it more perilous for a suspect to run, we have hampered the pursuit. The media should hammer on suspects who try to escape, pointing out that they endanger themselves, presumably innocent bystanders and certainly the police.
I would be enraged if I were in authority and told a man to "freeze," and he thumbed his nose figuratively by leaving the scene. I fully understand why cops who've chased a suspect for miles, tying up tons of law enforcement and wasting gas, feel like beating him up when they catch him. Frankly, however, police need better training to learn not to do it with a potential picture-taker within five miles.
Lawyers have fixed it so that it's hazardous for police to shoot anyone, especially on the run. The argument is that shooting inflicts the death penalty for lesser crimes. I agree that this argument is valid. The solution would be to make fleeing from law officers a capital crime.
The fact is, while we have strict laws about leaving the scene, failing to halt, etc., these are almost never enforced. I've never seen a few years tacked on for trying to escape. (We do this after incarceration, but not on the street.) This tells miscreants that there's no harm in running from cops, even if they're caught.
And, no, it is not human instinct to run from cops when a person is not guilty (of something if not the immediate crime). It is actually perverse to resist arrest in civilized society. We need to stress this. One good way would be to make everyone afraid of being shot if they make police give chase.
Fear does work in law enforcement. Harsh penalties against drunken driving, enforced on all citizens with or without lawyers, terrorized society to where Scandinavians dare not drive and drink. A judge or politicians won't take a chance on being de-licensed for life. Does not stop drinking, just DWI.
Think how much simpler and safer life would be for all if suspects were simply too terrified even to think of creating a chase.
www.mysanantonio.com/global-includes/printstory.jsp?path=/opinion/stories/MYSA031206.3H.fehrenbach.84ef41e.html
T.R. Fehrenbach
Web Posted: 03/12/2006 12:00 AM CST
San Antonio Express-News
Lately there's been a rash of cop-bad guy shootings in the news.
Officers seem to have got four out of six. There were two misses, and those officers probably should be required to take further marksmanship training.
The emphasis of most news stories on this subject, here and elsewhere, is that police should take more care. Get sensitivity sessions on when and where (and who) to shoot or not to shoot. Every time these incidents make the news, various PDs review their practices, issue new instructions and generally make things worse.
First off, let's face a salient fact: If you allow cops to carry, somebody is going to be shot. (If you don't allow them to carry, it will invariably be the cop.) There are a lot of crooks and crazies with guns out there. Most policemen are courageous (if not, they shouldn't take the shield), and faced with run or fight, they'll fight. When in doubt, it is usually safer to shoot than be sorry. Any lawman worth his salt will obey the dictum: Better to be judged by 12 than carried by six.
I think the emphasis upon cop shootings (that is, shootings by cops) is all wrong. It should not be on the shooter but the guys getting shot. Usually a little investigation shows that these are felonious, intemperate, stupid or impolite, even when not armed. Most are not really worth the powder and lead to blow them up.
Unfortunately, sometimes companions or passengers are hurt, but here is where dumb comes in. People who associate with people who are potential cop targets have to take their lumps.
The same goes for police chases. These have been virtually halted in many places because instead of making it more perilous for a suspect to run, we have hampered the pursuit. The media should hammer on suspects who try to escape, pointing out that they endanger themselves, presumably innocent bystanders and certainly the police.
I would be enraged if I were in authority and told a man to "freeze," and he thumbed his nose figuratively by leaving the scene. I fully understand why cops who've chased a suspect for miles, tying up tons of law enforcement and wasting gas, feel like beating him up when they catch him. Frankly, however, police need better training to learn not to do it with a potential picture-taker within five miles.
Lawyers have fixed it so that it's hazardous for police to shoot anyone, especially on the run. The argument is that shooting inflicts the death penalty for lesser crimes. I agree that this argument is valid. The solution would be to make fleeing from law officers a capital crime.
The fact is, while we have strict laws about leaving the scene, failing to halt, etc., these are almost never enforced. I've never seen a few years tacked on for trying to escape. (We do this after incarceration, but not on the street.) This tells miscreants that there's no harm in running from cops, even if they're caught.
And, no, it is not human instinct to run from cops when a person is not guilty (of something if not the immediate crime). It is actually perverse to resist arrest in civilized society. We need to stress this. One good way would be to make everyone afraid of being shot if they make police give chase.
Fear does work in law enforcement. Harsh penalties against drunken driving, enforced on all citizens with or without lawyers, terrorized society to where Scandinavians dare not drive and drink. A judge or politicians won't take a chance on being de-licensed for life. Does not stop drinking, just DWI.
Think how much simpler and safer life would be for all if suspects were simply too terrified even to think of creating a chase.
www.mysanantonio.com/global-includes/printstory.jsp?path=/opinion/stories/MYSA031206.3H.fehrenbach.84ef41e.html