Police Shoot and Kill Homeless Man... AGAIN

by Dominic Mapstone · 2009-07-07 20:26:00 UTC
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A knife wielding homeless man was shot and killed by Police in Philadelphia on Friday.

The 20 year veteran Police didn't elect to use a Taser, they didn't use a night stick, they didn't retreat to a safe distance. They did what they were trained to do = use deadly force / shoot to kill with a gun.

All Police are trained to use deadly force under certain conditions. What that equates to from one Police force to another varies.

A highly ranked Cop explained to me that if a person with a knife runs at Police, in his jurisdiction (not Philadelphia) Police are trained to draw their gun and shoot to kill as soon as the person is within 100 feet of them.

Why shoot to kill? Because Police are not very good shots he said, they have to aim for the torso, it's not like they can shoot them in the leg like in the movies.  The adrenalin kicks in and they are scared.

Why from 100 feet or closer? Because by the time it takes an officer to draw their weapon and shoot at least a few shots, at someone running towards them they could miss he said. So it could take a few shots.

I asked but can't the Police retreat away from the person with the knife? Answer: That's not how we operate. The training is to shoot to kill.

For Police involved in any shooting I'm sure it's a horrible experience that haunts them and it's no greater injustice that the life lost was that of a homeless person.

Tasers are supposed to provide a safer option of subduing a person. Not sure why they were not used in this case.

At any rate, I think Police training could be improved when dealing with a person with a knife. Retreat and defuse should be given to them in their training.

The only reason why the training is so old school is because the first priority is to keep Police alive and the benefit of the doubt is not given to officers that they would be able to judge themselves how best to handle life threatening situations and retreat to safety.

If I was a Cop I'd rather Taser someone or belt them with a night stick than shoot them with a gun if they were after me with a knife.

But what do I know, I'm just a bleeding heart Social Worker.

Should Police be credited with intelligence and permitted to retreat to safety? I think so.

What's your take on this Police killing of a homeless man in Philadelphia? Or other killings by Police, especially of homeless people?

Oh, by the way I notice a teenager got life in prison for killing a homeless person but that's a different issue.

Current and formerly homeless people are invited to join the Homeless Forums. 

 

 

Dominic Mapstone is the director of Rebeccas Community, an Australian non-profit, and admin at the International Homeless Forum.
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