Quote:
Originally Posted by Dion
If you have a group of officers at the scene i'm sure the self defence thing is something they get trained for. A simple command of so and so has my permission to shoot if and when he/she feels threatened.
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That is a standing order, actually. All police officers have the right to shoot if they feel they, or any other party, is in imminent danger.
In your scenario, if so and so with the permission to shoot is at the wrong angle and doesn't see the suspect reaching for his gun, or if their judgment is otherwise impacted, you are asking another officer to die needlessly.
There almost certainly was a better way for this entire situation to be handled. But at that flash point where a group of officers, believing a suspect has a gun, is convinced he is reaching for it, they are going to shoot. And well they should.
The incidents leading up to the shooting is what should be assessed, not the shooting itself, imo.