Interesting standard you have there. One cop, by himself, against a dozen or so angry, shouting, people who are trying to break down doors, to get to the elected officials that cop is charged with protecting and defending. One cop, doing the Horacio on the Bridge routine.
You say he was too much of a coward. The cop fired one shot. One. He didn’t empty his magazine at the crowd. He fired one aimed shot at the first person to cross the line of the door. One shot.
You see, I also watched the videos. And I wasn’t happy with the death, but like many, I can’t find fault with the cop. He didn’t empty his magazine into the crowd. He fired one round. Now, I might be able to be convinced the single round was an error. He was stressed out and screwed up and put the trigger finger on the bang switch when he should have had it along the side of the weapon. But even so, if the round was unintentional, he would have to say something about that, or have video that contradicted his story.
One round and the crowd fell back, ceasing the attempt to get to the Elected Officials.
In California, Police fired a combined 600 rounds of ammunition at four bank robbers holding a hostage. The police killed three of the robbers, and the hostage. The reconstruction of the shooting clearly showed that several officers fired despite not being able to see the baddies. They fired perilously close to fellow officers, if that officer in front of them had moved a foot left or right, they would have been killed by friendly fire.
The more than 600 rounds that Stockton police fired during a rolling gun battle with bank robbers last year that left a hostage dead by officers’ bullets was “excessive” and “unnecessary,” an independent review found.
www.latimes.com
Now, I have issues with that shooting. Firing when you can’t see the baddies is dumb. Firing perilously close to your fellow cops is incredibly dangerous and idiotic. And the review agrees with me. Those cops were shooting like mad, and I’m sure it resembled a mad minute at a Military Range where they are expending all the ammunition not required for qualification. If you didn’t serve, you get to load up as many mags as you can, and go and dump the round down range as fast as you want. The idea is to finish the range with zero unexpended ammunition.
So six hundred rounds fired by the police at four bank robbers holding a hostage. But that isn’t among the worst examples of excessive force. During the Dornier Manhunt two cops fired over a hundred rounds at a pick up truck holding two women delivering newspapers. They managed to wound one of the two women. I’m fairly certain that if they carried enough ammunition to kill both occupants that the cops would literally be staggering under the load.
I can name a lot of examples of excessive force or bad shootings. I can give you examples where the shootings were justified. Even if we failed to learn lessons that would prevent them from happening again.
But I find it interesting that you called the cop at the Capital a coward. He stood alone against multiple people. People who assaulted police officers to gain entry. Who had already demonstrated a willingness to injure, and perhaps kill cops to get what they wanted. And in that situation he fired a single round at the first person to cross the line. A single round.
To me, that sounds like restraint. He didn’t run from the crowd. He didn’t flee from the same group that had already assaulted other cops. He didn’t empty his magazine and reload to get those fuckers who were beating cops. He fired one round.
If you had a mind capable of discussing the matter, I might be willing to explain why I would be willing to consider it an unintended discharge of a round. But you are a radical and motivated by political idealism instead of a desire to be honest.