Quote:
Originally Posted by Derek Sutton
Until he took the weapon from the police, assaulted the police, ran and turned and fired it at them.....
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Even there, in my judgment, he's probably not going to hurt a member of the public with it. He's basically just trying to get away from the police. I mean you can see their conversation with him, he's coherent, can form rational thoughts. He just really, really doesn't want to be arrested, which is certainly grounds for an assault charge or two, but the question is whether it was a justified use of force to shoot him while he tries to escape.
It used to be acceptable to shoot fleeing suspects who don't stop running away when you yell "freeze", or "stop or I'll shoot", but it isn't anymore. On the whole, while recognizing some of the potential issues it might cause that I identified when this was first brought up, and subject to certain exceptions, I'm fine with that change in procedure.