If you review the raw footage (source New York Times) of the witness shooting video you can clearly see the wire from the Taser connected to Officer Slager.
Here is a tip...... Don't break the law and the cops will leave you alone. Been working fine for me for the past 40ish years, cept' for that time I was doin' 90 on the freeway on my bike. But I don't blame the cop for giving me a coupon to traffic court either. I can take my lumps when I'm wrong.
Soft body armor wont necessarily stop a screwdriver.
And, the statement about 'and the screwdriver wasn't going to kill them'. WTF? So youre saying a guy with a screwdriver gets a freebie on me, because 'it wont kill me'? You ever been stabbed by a screwdriver? Come on over. It wont kill you....maybe
Soft body armor genius is what uniformed cops wear. It is not puncture resistant.
As opposed to hard armor which is what soldiers and SWAT cops wear.
Now pay attention. Notice I never said the guys in Dallas, or the SC cop, or that idiot in Oklahoma yesterday, did their jobs correctly. For the record the Oklahoma guy clearly screwed the pooch. The SC guy isn't looking too good either. The Dallas guys? Dunno, could gone either way. What I Do know for a fact, is that YOU wernt there. Maybe the screwdriver couldn't kill me. I don't what a punctured lung either. Or lose an eye. Or any other serious bodily injury. If they thought any of that was going to happen. Somebody's getting shot.
Maybe deploy a taser. Maybe not. Really depends on how quickly things went to sh&t.
One other thing I'd bet a lot of money on. Ive been in a LOT more 'situations' than YOU. If you've spoken harshly (except on the internet of course) to someone since you were 14 I's be shocked.
Oh and 47PILOT, I guess I read that statement perfectly, didn't I?
You two can take your BS Liberal sensitivities and stick em
Soft body armor genius is what uniformed cops wear. It is not puncture resistant.
As opposed to hard armor which is what soldiers and SWAT cops wear.
Now pay attention. Notice I never said the guys in Dallas, or the SC cop, or that idiot in Oklahoma yesterday, did their jobs correctly. For the record the Oklahoma guy clearly screwed the pooch. The SC guy isn't looking too good either. The Dallas guys? Dunno, could gone either way. What I Do know for a fact, is that YOU wernt there. Maybe the screwdriver couldn't kill me. I don't what a punctured lung either. Or lose an eye. Or any other serious bodily injury. If they thought any of that was going to happen. Somebody's getting shot.
Maybe deploy a taser. Maybe not. Really depends on how quickly things went to sh&t.
One other thing I'd bet a lot of money on. Ive been in a LOT more 'situations' than YOU. If you've spoken harshly (except on the internet of course) to someone since you were 14 I's be shocked.
Oh and 47PILOT, I guess I read that statement perfectly, didn't I?
You two can take your BS Liberal sensitivities and stick em
In reviewing all your posts in this thread I can't help but to notice that you never once mention trying to deescalate the various situations as a potential solution.
Just sayin'...
Soft body armor genius is what uniformed cops wear. It is not puncture resistant.
As opposed to hard armor which is what soldiers and SWAT cops wear.
Now pay attention. Notice I never said the guys in Dallas, or the SC cop, or that idiot in Oklahoma yesterday, did their jobs correctly. For the record the Oklahoma guy clearly screwed the pooch. The SC guy isn't looking too good either. The Dallas guys? Dunno, could gone either way. What I Do know for a fact, is that YOU wernt there. Maybe the screwdriver couldn't kill me. I don't what a punctured lung either. Or lose an eye. Or any other serious bodily injury. If they thought any of that was going to happen. Somebody's getting shot.
Maybe deploy a taser. Maybe not. Really depends on how quickly things went to sh&t.
One other thing I'd bet a lot of money on. Ive been in a LOT more 'situations' than YOU. If you've spoken harshly (except on the internet of course) to someone since you were 14 I's be shocked.
Oh and 47PILOT, I guess I read that statement perfectly, didn't I?
You two can take your BS Liberal sensitivities and stick em
I reviewed 'all my posts' too and I really never addressed tactics one way or the other. I corrected misinformation other people were stating as fact. And called out a couple of guy who are talking out their a$$es.
There's a whole buncha ways to handle just about any thing that comes up.
DavidH - Where did I ever say the job was bad? The 'bad' part is people who have no clue trying to tell me how to do it. And I don't really mind the occasional 'situation'...
You two can take your BS Liberal sensitivities and stick em
Soft body armor genius is what uniformed cops wear. It is not puncture resistant.
ok, so this is actually laughable on sooooo many levels.
"armor" isn't puncture resistant??
At the risk of insulting your intelligence, do you see a problem with this statement?
By the way, your attitude, not surprisingly, SUCKS !!
Liberal...LOL
I am a Libertarian and totally against the nanny giveaway state that Obama has built...but I also have a brain. Cops signed on for a dangerous job. If they are shooting a guy when he is more than arm's length away from them, holding a tiny little screwdriver and making no threatening moves or statements maybe they should get a different job.
It sounds like those two signed on so they could wear all that shiny stuff, not because they have any altruistic motives.
You say you'll shoot someone before you expose yourself to any physical danger? That's brave.
And you don't have a clue what I've done in the past. You are the one using the internet to puff up your chest, not me.
Color me unconvinced and I'll remain so until a real media outlet includes this in their coverage.
As I've said earlier in this thread, and in other similar threads, the cops are losing the support of the community. Count me among them. (I have never had trouble with any bad guys. I have had multiple problems with police, near my home and business, in two different states.)
When you lose my support, you guys have lost EVERYTHING. I'm a middle aged, white male, Chamber of Commerce business owner, for Chrissakes. You can't GET more conservative than me!
Take this as a friendly warning: Get your **** together, please. Our country needs you to get this right, or you become the enemy -- and NO ONE wants that.
You really just said that, Tim? "A real media outlet"? LOL. What is that in this day and age?.
Anyone who thinks the bad cop problem stems from low pay needs to look up what cops are paid in the Northeast. Like winning the lottery. Another reason not to mess with the blue line, as these guys wouldn't make that money anywhere else.
You did seem worried about being stabbed with a screwdriver and alluded to the fact that someone was likely to get shot if you were in that situation. I know those weren't your exact words... but that's what was implied. I can't seem to wrap my head around why a person would want to be put in that scenario.
The only conclusion that I've been able to come to is that it is enjoyable on some level... maybe it's the rush of the "situation"
If that's not it... then what is it?
WTF is "soft body armor"? Whatever they were wearing was going to stop a little screwdriver, that is if the guy managed to get the drop on them and plunge it into them with sufficient force which wasn't likely since they were prepared for confrontation. Get real, this BS about the 'strike zone' and how anything is a deadly weapon is overblown crap.
Yeah, a guy standing five feet away from a cop with a four inch long screwdriver isn't going to kill him. There, I said it.
The cops were overdramatic ******* that had been watching too much TV. Two of them with clubs, pepper spray, and Tasers against a befuddled guy with mental problems.
They screamed at him and shot him five times instead of saying, 'Hey, we aren't going to hurt you, let's go outside and talk, OK?'
If they are that afraid of doing their job they need to get a different line of work.
Im concerned about being stabbed by anything, including a screwdriver. Arent you?? I personally am going to take steps up to and including shooting someone, in order to avoid getting stabbed. That said, if theres a better way to not get stabbed than shooting the guy, I'm all for it. Its different for each 'situation'.
I know you cant wrap your head around someone putting themselves in that type of situation. Most people cant. That's why guys like you, need guys like me. Me? I need Firemen. I don't run INTO the burning building. I run OUT of the burning building. And accountants. I run AWAY from the IRS, not TOWARDS them.
And yes, some 'situations' are a rush. I also skydive, so clearly I DO like a rush.
That said, if theres a better way to not get stabbed than shooting the guy, I'm all for it. Its different for each 'situation'.
Now I understand...We have pu##ies for cops. They are scared of everything and the only way to deal with it is with a gun. They can not get hurt if they do not get close. Pi#s one of these guys off and they will shoot you in the back if needed. I totally understand now.
Wow Wow Wow.
There is, and you need some additional training beyond what the academy gives you. I will let a guy come at me with a screwdriver all day, every day and have no issue with it. He'll end up pinned on the ground and the screwdriver will lay harmlessly next to him. No shots fires, no beating the crap out of him, no punching and kicking him. A simple pin, and no injuries unless he continues to struggle.
The close quarters training you guys get is pathetic. I saw that first hand when they would come to class and we would present them with a "how would you handle this?" situation. That was the one plus about teaching MA: Getting to throw the cops around and make them feel a little pain, legally.
JCranford When you became a police officer you understood you might be putting yourself in conditions or places that you might get hurt. If you are worried that much about getting hurt you need a desk job.
Get some training and you will not be scared of some dude with a screw driver. Some person with a screw driver will never be a threat if you know how to handle yourself. I myself would rip someones head off with me hands if they threaten me with a screw driver. I don't need a gun.
But I lived in a time when you got into fist fights walking home from school everyday. One did not turn to a gun, they turned to an fighting instructor or someone to teach them to fight. It sounds like you need some street fight training.
Tony.
Ed, obviously you have some MA training. Youre up north but maybe we can meet in Missouri or somewhere and Ill have a go at stabbing you with a screwdriver. Ill probably lose in the end, but youll still get stabbed a few times. If you believe that your art is sufficient to deal with a street type issue with an armed individual, I submit that you've bought in to the hype of your style and / or train in the dojo too much (this coming from a TKD / BJJ / judo background).
And yes, we both agree that the defensive training supplied to cadets at the academy are pathetic at best. Instead of 'throwing the cops around and making them feel some pain legally', maybe you could have taught them some tactics instead.
Think about this for a second. This forum is mostly white, older, wealthier, and law abiding to a fault. And cops have a PR problem here, much of it based on personal experience. Wonder how the rest of the country feels about them? Police no longer have the Barney Fife default moral high ground. And will never have it again in this empire.
JCranford When you became a police officer you understood you might be putting yourself in conditions or places that you might get hurt. If you are worried that much about getting hurt you need a desk job.
Tony.
Big talk about ripping people's heads off . Taking the job "to protect and serve" does not mean you eliminate all of your personal concern and self-preservation instincts. It means you accept the possibility, but will take appropriate steps to mitigate or eliminate the threat. It's always easy to play "armchair LEO" after the fact, and claim you would have taken the guy with a screwdriver/knife down with one arm tied behind your back. However, the reality is often that people are unpredictable both in their mental processes and their fighting tactics. When you corner many animals, they will fight in a precarious manner.
Most of the police officers I personally know are excellent LEOs and excellent humans in general. There are always guys who abuse the badge or escalate situations unnecessarily, which is true of most any job. I firmly believe that, for most departments, the bad ones are much more the exception than the rule.
Depends on your definition of bad. For me, if you are a 'good' cop, and turn a blind eye to the 'bad' cops in your department, then you are just as bad as the bad cop you are ignoring. Clean out the damn system already.
That's GOT to be an intentional misreading of what he just wrote.
Does it not?