Chicago-area police officer to stand trial in bean-bag death
Jan 13, 2015 11:08:21 GMT -6
whitealice likes this
Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2015 11:08:21 GMT -6
I think there is a legitimate point in a situation where a person's age and frail condition are not simply 'a' factor, but are THE factor in getting things under control.
Imagine this...say an elderly relative got a bit batty and lost their temper. 95 years old, for an age on this secnario. Lets say, in your home, the relative picked up their trusty cane, grabbed a knife and came at ya? What do you do? Well...With bare hands, I guess you do whatever you have to, and try and minimize damage (as the only appropriate word) to the elderly person you either disarm or die from.
What do you do when you have a Batman belt with every toy and tool of modern law enforcement, multiple officers, and it is an assisted living home? Do you...
A. Use your Baton or Night-Stick to disarm the old guy and possibly (or very likely) break an arm in the process?
B. Tazer the elderly gentlemen and see how strong his heart REALLY is?
C. Disengage and isolate the crafty codger until his little storm burns itself out?
D. Fire a bean bag stun round into his stomach and see what happens?
The cop in this case chose (D)....and he'll now stand trial for that bad judgement.
Source
It is a short story, so I can't quote much and still be proper about it.
I would hope, in the interest of human decency, most people here would consider C, and fall back to A if no other option would work. It'll be a bitch to break a man's arm, knowing in advance that your action will almost certainly result in that on the first strike ...but I cannot even FATHOM the idea of firing ANYTHING into the body of a 95 year old man or woman, unless killing them was a perfectly acceptable result for the circumstances.
Was killing the guy the intent? If so..it would raise it's own set of serious problems and probably a more serious charge, actually. It seems it was just the typical "Me Cop! You Peeon! You Comply or Me Hurt You!" that we're coming to see form a norm on the street these days.
Comply...or Die. That seems the message contained in the reckless indifference they treat a situation like this with.
Imagine this...say an elderly relative got a bit batty and lost their temper. 95 years old, for an age on this secnario. Lets say, in your home, the relative picked up their trusty cane, grabbed a knife and came at ya? What do you do? Well...With bare hands, I guess you do whatever you have to, and try and minimize damage (as the only appropriate word) to the elderly person you either disarm or die from.
What do you do when you have a Batman belt with every toy and tool of modern law enforcement, multiple officers, and it is an assisted living home? Do you...
A. Use your Baton or Night-Stick to disarm the old guy and possibly (or very likely) break an arm in the process?
B. Tazer the elderly gentlemen and see how strong his heart REALLY is?
C. Disengage and isolate the crafty codger until his little storm burns itself out?
D. Fire a bean bag stun round into his stomach and see what happens?
The cop in this case chose (D)....and he'll now stand trial for that bad judgement.
MARKHAM, Ill. (AP) — A Cook County judge will decide if a suburban Chicago police officer is guilty of reckless conduct in the fatal shooting of a 95-year-old World War II veteran with a bean-bag gun in 2013.
The trial of Park Forest Police Officer Craig Taylor is scheduled to start Tuesday in Markham before Judge Luciano Panici.
The trial of Park Forest Police Officer Craig Taylor is scheduled to start Tuesday in Markham before Judge Luciano Panici.
It is a short story, so I can't quote much and still be proper about it.
I would hope, in the interest of human decency, most people here would consider C, and fall back to A if no other option would work. It'll be a bitch to break a man's arm, knowing in advance that your action will almost certainly result in that on the first strike ...but I cannot even FATHOM the idea of firing ANYTHING into the body of a 95 year old man or woman, unless killing them was a perfectly acceptable result for the circumstances.
Was killing the guy the intent? If so..it would raise it's own set of serious problems and probably a more serious charge, actually. It seems it was just the typical "Me Cop! You Peeon! You Comply or Me Hurt You!" that we're coming to see form a norm on the street these days.
Comply...or Die. That seems the message contained in the reckless indifference they treat a situation like this with.
