[video=youtube;kTabhmmcHGs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTabhmmcHGs[/video] This next one starts at the :30 mark. ENLIGHTENMENT! [video=youtube;Nt8dJB5N9A4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt8dJB5N9A4[/video]
These shoot / don't shoot scenarios have been around a long time, it helps people understand how complicated a shooting really is.
Says You and you are wrong, I can tell you from experience, many situations are very hard to handle, and I have handled quite a few.
Pretty sure every profession has "situations that are hard to handle". I'm pretty sure there is WAY more to a garbage man's job than picking up garbage. And I'm pretty sure that I would fail hard if someone took me on a "garbage man for a day mission". You see, I would be a bad garbage man because I would have no training, no expertise, etc. And if I was a garbage man who screwed up, I would rightfully be criticized. So let's apply this to a cop. All these videos demonstrate that an untrained person would shoot someone. So are you saying that tall cops are basically like this untrained "cop for a day", and that cops should be above all scrutiny because "it's hard out there". No, if a cop screws up they DESERVE to be criticized no matter "how hard it is". Everybody has a "hard job". This doesn't putt them above criticism especially when you're FORCED to pay for them. This IS propaganda in it's most shameless form.
Pretty sure every profession has "situations that are hard to handle". I'm pretty sure there is WAY more to a garbage man's job than picking up garbage. And I'm pretty sure that I would fail hard if someone took me on a "garbage man for a day mission". You see, I would be a bad garbage man because I would have no training, no expertise, etc. And if I was a garbage man who screwed up, I would rightfully be criticized. While I can see the truth in your analogy, it doesn't help your argument that you compare being a police officer to being a "garbage man". Intentional or not, it tends to color your argument even before you've expressed your opinion. Since you brought up the garbage man angle though, I have to say, that it doesn't take a lot of training to be a garbage man. At most you'd be learning to drive a truck and maybe operate the machinery on that truck. I don't know about garbage men where you live / work, but here they don't even get out of the truck when picking up trash cans anymore. They use a picker / crane type attachment made onto their garbage truck. I happened to be at the mailbox one early morning when the guy picking up our trash showed up. We don't have trash service run by the city / county, so I pay a company around $20 a month to pick up my trash once a week. I used to go to the county landfill myself, until they raised the price of entering the country landfill and actually shortened its hours and days of operation. After that it actually made more sense (time wise and financially) to simply pay the money each month. After a pretty lively conversation, I asked about the machinery he was using. He showed me how it works. I have to say, it is not complicated so I doubt that I would "fail hard" if I was on the "garbage man for a day mission". So let's apply this to a cop. It colors your argument, as I already mentioned, but I'll play along. All these videos demonstrate that an untrained person would shoot someone. Actually I would disagree with this statement. These videos show that not everything is cut and dried. Monday-morning quarterbacking is easy - you are not the guy being pursued by 300lb men who move like men half their size and hit with the force of a small car at speed. Simple fact is that the 'X' factor in situations (such as the videos show or even actual confrontations with police) is a person's reaction to THAT PARTICULAR given situation while being bombarded by an adrenaline dump and the body's natural fight or flight response. Hindsight is always 20-20. Truth is that NO ONE knows for sure how they will react in a high stress situation. I can tell you that I witnessed the same people react DIFFERENTLY to high-stress situations on different days when I was in the military. So are you saying that all cops are basically like this untrained "cop for a day", and that cops should be above all scrutiny because "it's hard out there". Me personally? No I'm not saying that at all. What I am saying is that cops are human. They make mistakes. But our own legal system shows us that intent can be just as important as our action / reaction. Special Operation combat units in the military spent HUNDREDS of hours training. Doing some of the same things OVER and OVER again. The entire premise being that if you perform an action enough times, eventually it becomes ingrained and when you have to react / act in a live situation, you do it without really consciously thinking. Even so, with all this training, these highly trained operators are human and even they make mistakes. Do you think that police departments spend as much time / money and training as special operations units in the military do? Honestly, I'm shocked that there aren't more police-involved shootings, especially with local police departments. Budgets have been slashed all over the country. I know police departments that have had to actually remove some of their restrictions on applicants, just so they actually get applicants to start the Police academies. No, if a cop screws up they DESERVE to be criticized no matter "how hard it is". Everybody has a "hard job". This doesn't putt them above criticism especially when you're FORCED to pay for them. This IS propaganda in it's most shameless form. Depending on the locale of course, we expect police officers to wear a multitude of "hats" and take on various roles every day they are on the job. All the while reducing the initial and ongoing training that these same police officers receive. If a cops breaks the law, of course they should be punished. But on that same page, I would challenge people to do put themselves in a cop's shoes before rushing to judgement. We ask that of everyone when making assumptions and jumping to conclusions when speaking of other professions, but somehow cops are magically immune from this? Honestly, I think if EVERY police department in the country was required to wear either a body camera, and that footage routinely released for mass public viewing, I think A LOT of people would be shocked by what many cops face every day and I don't just mean potentially violent situations either.
If a cop screws up. That's pretty black and white. These videos were shown to educate people that no situation is black and white but that every situation has its variables and has to be judged on the reasonableness or otherwise of the cop's actions in a situation. Every cop should receive due process. Nothing less, nothing more.
