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[BorkBorkGoesTheCode]

There's a media shit-storm over it now. Everyone is quick to call racism. Headlines are always 'Cop shoots Black man' and not 'Person believed to be reaching for firearm shot; actually reaching for wallet.' No media shitstorm happens if a black cop shoots a white man.

That was last century.

[birdy51]

Problem is, anyone who has a concealed-carry weapon is required to disclose the fact that they have a gun if they are stopped by law enforcement. Which makes sense. The police need to know if there is a weapon in the car to prevent incidents like this one.

And yet, this officer perceived that the standard declaration of a concealed carry weapon as a threat.

Whatever else happened, I can't say. What I can say with certainty is that nobody should have gotten shot in that situation. And that is my WTF.

[Execute/Dumbo.exe]

No, see, it's not about how 'he would knowingly risk his career' to kill a black guy, that's retarded, and not the problem people are talking about.
The policeman shot him, if he pulled his gun out and aimed it at him, maybe a bit extreme if he already had a taser, sure, but that's fine, some reasonable precaution to take, but when he shot him it meant that his instant reaction to any suspicious movement is to fire on someone.

Now I'm not talking about if this bullshit about racism is true or not, I don't care about that, what people are talking about is if this is there's a bais towards black people in our society knowingly or not, most racist people do not twirl their evil moustache and cackle menacingly, those who do are the minority, most are normal people who, in a given situation, are more likely to think that a black person is going to do something bad compared to a white person, that's racism.

Fuck, look, I'm not trying to argue with you, I just want you to know that when people call racism they aren't trying to say that that policeman killed black people on purpose, they're saying that his actions were influenced by their skin colour that nudged him into panicking and firing on them prematurely, and that that's a bad thing.

[Jopax]

Yeah, that definition of racism you got there is rather limited and very specific which kinda makes it unfit for a real world application.

This wasn't the conscious racist killing where the guy was out to bag a black man but rather the unconcious one where certain preconceptions of a race are formed, wether justifiably or not, which affect how someone reacts to a certain situation.

Also the victim in question did his best to not appear threatening, doing what he was legally obliged to do and even going so far as to state that he's going to reach for his ID (which the cop asked him for I assume).

But I guess you can follow the law to the letter and still get shot in the US, just gotta be a minority.

[Orange Wizard]

Put yourself in the cop's point of view. You've pulled someone over and they say that they have a gun in the car, then reach down (ie move the hand out of sight). A logical on-the-spot thought would have been "He's reaching for a gun. Do what I'm trained to do."

My WTF is that cops are apparently trained to shoot to kill at the the possibility of trouble.

[NullForceOmega]

That would be my WTF here as well.  Police are supposed to be trained to defuse situations, not kill people.

[SOLDIER First]

They are trained to diffuse situations, but apparently there are some situations that "just can't be diffused" so they decide to kill the person instead of shooting to incapacitate.

[NullForceOmega]

They used to be trained to defuse situations, now they get a two-year law degree from a community or online college, have a week or two of 'on beat' training, then get sent out to deal with things they aren't at all prepared for.

[hector13]

You can't shoot to incapacitate. You might get sued.

Also, training.

More pointed lessons come in the form of hands-on exercises. One common scenario teaches officers that a suspect leaning into a car can pull out a gun and shoot at officers before they can react.

Though for balance, if you don't read the bloody article:

In most police shootings, officers don’t shoot out of anger or frustration or hatred. They shoot because they are afraid. And they are afraid because they are constantly barraged with the message that that they should be afraid, that their survival depends on it.

[Wolfhunter107]

They are trained to diffuse situations, but apparently there are some situations that "just can't be diffused" so they decide to kill the person instead of shooting to incapacitate.

Shooting to incapacitate is a myth. You either shoot to kill, or you don't shoot at all.

[Teneb]

They are trained to diffuse situations, but apparently there are some situations that "just can't be diffused" so they decide to kill the person instead of shooting to incapacitate.

Shooting to incapacitate is a myth. You either shoot to kill, or you don't shoot at all.

Doesn't shooting someone in the shoulder prevent them from properly moving that arm (thus incapacitating) without being instantly fatal (instead only potentially)?

[NullForceOmega]

Wow, nice article, well written and it covers the problem very nicely.

I agree with every sentiment in that article, and wish that more police agencies would take that kind of constructive criticism to heart.

[Wolfhunter107]

They are trained to diffuse situations, but apparently there are some situations that "just can't be diffused" so they decide to kill the person instead of shooting to incapacitate.

Shooting to incapacitate is a myth. You either shoot to kill, or you don't shoot at all.

Doesn't shooting someone in the shoulder prevent them from properly moving that arm (thus incapacitating) without being instantly fatal (instead only potentially)?

It's pretty much impossible to reliably hit something like that, especially when whoever you're shooting at is moving.

[Orange Wizard]

If you're shooting at all, you've already lost.

[Teneb]

-Quote Pyramid-

It's pretty much impossible to reliably hit something like that, especially when whoever you're shooting at is moving.

In most cases I agree, but wasn't the officer at pretty much point blank and the target sitting in a parked car? Granted that I may not know much about firearms other than what they sound like and what to hide behind when shots are being fired, but still.