Is anyone else struggling with our country’s latest tragedy?

I live near the epicenter and I watched the graphic video of him being shot. God, I wish I hadn’t.

Ever since, I feel like a cat on a hot tin roof.

He’s being treated at the hospital where my mom recovered from her heart attack, where they’ve delivered children in our family and saved my life from severe pneumonia, so all this feels too close to home literally and figuratively.

Is anybody else struggling a lot with this shooting?

Ohdeargoodness nli Wrote:
------------------------------------------------------
> Is anybody else struggling a lot with this
> shooting?

If you lose sleep over every nasty piece of news out there, you'll lose your head. Especially this year. The news is too depressing - so much much horror and manipulation of the public.

Unfortunately, I’m a classic empath, so I mostly don’t read the news.

I just can’t handle it. This was just literally too close to home though.

Thank you for the advice though. I know I need to protect myself better... I just can’t seem to grow a thicker skin. :(

My niece lives 5 blocks from where the shooting took place. She is very frightened as well as she has a one year old and a baby on the way. Your feelings are normal. The niece left her home and went to her mother's which is 20 miles away.

This has been a horrible year with the pandemic, economic and political issues. Many of us are stressed. Perhaps search for online resources to deal with the stress. I have been trying some meditation. Walking is also helpful. Last year I installed a sauna. We were fortunate to have a location for it that did not require a great deal of remodeling. There was permanent storage room built on the back of the garage that just collected junk. The sauna is a wonderful place to unwind. No lights other than the control panel. A nice smell of cedar. No noise. I feel better after 30 minutes of that relaxation. We all need to find something to help us deal with all the anxiety around us.

As an empath as well, I have some suggestions. Smudge the outside and inside of your house well, preferably with sage. Line your windows and door frames with a little salt. Smudge yourself daily. When you take your shower or bath imagine the water clearing both your body and aura and imagine all that filth going down the drain.

And definitely limit your watching of the news.

You take an lighted incense and sweep the smoke over something. Youself, a circle around your house, your rooms, windows, doors, things you want to purify. It can be used for both purification and blessing. Sage is a strong herb for purification, blessing and taking away harmful entities or vibes.

I especially got angry when I heard he was handcuffed to the bed. For cripes sake. He's paralyzed, so it's not like he's going to walk out and hide in the woods. Sheesh.

I'm angry because this is getting framed as a need to control mobs instead of addressing the reasons the mobs are forming.

I feel anxiety thinking about my black coworkers (now friends) and how helpless I feel knowing the fear they must feel. I feel helpless and ashamed at the state of things.

You are not the only one Ohdeargoodness.

You sound like a bunch of mormons defending a guy who raped a 14-year-old girl. Or was she just months from her 15th birthday?

I have a son who's a criminal attorney --meaning he's the criminal. He does horrid things with his children in the car. He won't listen to me. I know that the only thing that will stop him is for someone to really, really, hurt him.

That will happen eventually. Our whole family will be broken-hearted, but we came to a point where we had to sleep at night.

All I can say is "Don't Break The Law."

"All I can say is 'Don't Break The Law.'"

Tell that to Breonna Taylor. Oh wait, you can't.

logged out today Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Tell that to Breonna Taylor. Oh wait, you can't.

She probably would be able to if Breonna wasn't allowing her residence to be used as an illegal drug/cash receiving and distribution point by her ex. Do you even know why the police knocked her door down? Oh wait. you don't.

Jaxson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> logged out today Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Tell that to Breonna Taylor. Oh wait, you
> can't.

> Do you even know why the police knocked her
> door down? Oh wait. you don't.

Because police went to the wrong address?

Nope. Right address. Wrong address rumor is "fake news". Make Google your friend.

Look, Jaxson / St Floyd / Snopes is true / whatever sock puppet you're using -

We already know that you enjoy watching militarized police units "light up" peaceable unarmed residents. IOW, you're a sadistic authoritarian. You would have gone far in the Stasi.

Taylor was not living with her drug dealer ex. She had no criminal record and no drugs were found inside. And yet she is dead through no fault or actions of her own.

You are the type who will use any possible excuse, no matter how flimsy, as justification for deadly police action, because you get a kick out of it.

logged out today Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Look, Jaxson / St Floyd / Snopes is true / whatever sock puppet you're using -

You're funny. Too old for a sock puppet and really don't give a shit if anyone cares for my opinions or not. I've been around theses parts a lot longer than you have child.

> We already know that you enjoy watching militarized police units "light up" peaceable unarmed residents. IOW, you're a sadistic authoritarian. You would have gone far in the Stasi.

Yeah. I have no problem with authorities "lighting up" most unlawful situations and when being shot at. And the problem is....?

> Taylor was not living with her drug dealer ex.

No one said she was. There is evidence however that drugs and drug money was being delivered and distributed from her apartment. Several times in the past she used this drug money to bail her "drug dealer ex" and his thug partners out of jail.

> She had no criminal record and no drugs were found inside.

True. Not all searches produce results.

> And yet she is dead through no fault or actions of her own.

True dat! But that one little detail about her boyfriend firing on police first and them returning fire (as instructed to do in nearly every police department in the country) kinda gets in the way don't it.

> You are the type who will use any possible excuse, no matter how flimsy, as justification for deadly police action, because you get a kick out of it.

Nope. I'm the type who investigates a situation and relies on facts for my direction. That is what I get a kick out of. I used to rely on flimsy justifications when I was a member of the church. Not any more though. Sounds like you still do. Don't give up just yet on your recovery from Mormonism. Best of luck to you.

Whatever, Jaxson. In civilized countries, even criminals have the right to due process, which shooting people before asking questions is NOT. There's too much shooting in your country.

Soft Machine Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Whatever, Jaxson. In civilized countries, even criminals have the right to due process, which shooting people before asking questions is NOT. There's too much shooting in your country.

Agree. And if Breonna's boyfriend would have asked questions before shooting she might be alive today.

You think a person should ask questions before shooting when an intruder breaks unannounced into his or her home in the middle of the night?

Door crashes in.

Jaxson: "excuse me masked and armed intruders, but you aren't by chance police are you?"

Intruders: "no we are gangsters who intend to rob and then kill you."

Jaxson: "Well then, step back, I say, while I cock my pistol and point it menacingly in your direction!"

Is that how it is supposed to go?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/2020 04:15PM by Lot's Wife.

Nope. If my house is being broken into I'm firing away as well. Unless it is announced that it was the police (a "he said/she said" argument that is being disputed in this case).

On the same point, if I am a police officer being fired on, I'm not stopping to ask questions either.

Jaxson Wrote:
-------------
> Nope. If my house is being broken into I'm firing
> away as well. Unless it is announced that it was
> the police (a "he said/she said" argument that is
> being disputed in this case).

Yes, it is disputed. That's why it's curious that you have assumed the truth of one side.


--------------------
> On the same point, if I am a police officer being
> fired on, I'm not stopping to ask questions
> either.

Yes, as a practical matter. But if a cop illegally breaks into a person's home, that person starts shooting in self-defense, and the cop kills him, the cop is going to jail perhaps for the rest of his life.

Again and again conservatives tell us there is a legal obligation to obey the police no matter what they do. Assuming without evidence the truth of one side of the story and saying the police can shoot a civilian without inquiring whether the police had acted lawfully in the first place represents undue deference to authority.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/2020 04:59PM by Lot's Wife.

Lot's Wife Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Jaxson Wrote:
-------------
> Nope. If my house is being broken into I'm firing away as well. Unless it is announced that it was the police (a "he said/she said" argument that is being disputed in this case).

> Yes, it is disputed. That's why it's curious that you have assumed the truth of one side.

I haven't assumed the truth on one side. I am leaning towards the police version based on their policy and through the multiple experiences of my of my police friends when they have been in similar situations.

--------------------
> On the same point, if I am a police officer being fired on, I'm not stopping to ask questions either.

> Yes, as a practical matter. But if a cop illegally breaks into a person's home, that person starts shooting in self-defense, and the cop kills him, the cop is going to jail perhaps for the rest
of his life.

Agreed. Get bad cops off of the street. The scenario you present above though is not the case with Breonna.

> Again and again conservatives tell us there is a legal obligation to obey the police no matter what they do.

All I can say is that in my experience in dealing with an armed police situation, obedience and compliance worked well for me.

Thanks for sharing your comments and viewpoints.

Jaxson, I agree that obedience and compliance work as a practical approach--and I always advise that to anybody. But that is a practical accommodation to a constitutional, legal, and moral wrong.

It is important to remember that the individual's rights are independent of his/her record and character. Even when arresting even a Jeffery Epstein or a Charles Manson the police must abide by the constitution. The minute we let the standards slide for the truly evil, we expose innocent people to what is effectively Third World justice.

And there is no reason at this point to believe that Blake and Taylor were anything but innocent. To the contrary, the recordings that are available suggest they did nothing wrong.

B..b.but we need guns for protection many say. Protection from what, I ask. From people with guns it seems, not understanding that most people in the world don't spend their lives worrying about the need for protection. It all seems just one mess of irony. Perhaps it's because most Americans don't do irony.

I don't know why this idea is not gaining more traction.

My view is that the police in this country are out of control. Someone posted a link the other day to a police training program run by a retired special forces soldier who teaches cops how to kill more efficiently as he and his colleagues did in Iraq and Afghanistan; another link led to an article about police going to Israel to learn how the Israeli police manage, among other things, Palestinians. In other words, American police are being taught to treat American citizens like potential enemies in war zones.

But as much as I hate that pattern, there is a grain of rationality in it. Unlike in all other advanced countries, American police face the risk of armed attack every single day. They are adversarial, defensive, quick-triggered in part because the availability of guns is a real threat to them. In other words, the prevalence of weaponry in the United States drives a wedge between citizens and police.

Any solution to the cop-citizen conflict both generally and with respect to POC must inevitably take guns into account.

LOL. You know nothing about me, Jaxson. Please define "these[s] parts" and "longer than you." For me to be a "child" compared to you, you would have to be practically doddering.

---

"I have no problem with authorities "lighting up" most unlawful situations and when being shot at. And the problem is....?"

That's nothing like what I said. Nice try.

---

"There is evidence however that drugs and drug money was being delivered and distributed from her apartment. Several times in the past she used this drug money to bail her 'drug dealer ex' and his thug partners out of jail."

Inconclusive evidence, and in no way a capital crime by Taylor. Even if true, she didn't deserve death. The bail claim came from a jailhouse recording.

https://kyrnews.com/us-news/14845/report-details-why-louisville-police-decided-to-forcibly-enter-her-apartment/

"Jaynes also said he verified through a U.S. postal inspector that Glover had been receiving packages at Taylor’s address, though that was later contradicted by Postal Inspector Tony Gooden."

"And nothing in the recordings or other evidence recently obtained by The Courier Journal substantiates Glover’s claim that Taylor was handling money for him."

---

Police appear to have filed a false report of the shooting. It claimed that Taylor, despite being shot multiple times, had suffered *no injuries*.

https://www.scribd.com/document/465105285/Breonna-Taylor-Incident-Report#from_embed?campaign=SkimbitLtd&ad_group=1025X1162200X37e14a5d9156059be0d5da4023a17e62&keyword=660149026&source=hp_affiliate&medium=affiliate

---

Regarding the BF firing first, all charges against Walker were later dropped by the prosecutor's office.

So, Jaxson, I too can "investigate situations and rely on facts." Meanwhile, you can drool-chortle over videos of cops firing on unarmed civilians.

See the post above by logged out today. I believe the charge of assault of a minor is an unfounded rumour. It seems some people can justify egregious reactions by smearing the character of the victim of unjustifiable shootings.

Sorry about your son, kathleen. That can't help but colour your reactions.

Nightingale Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sorry about your son, kathleen. That can't help
> but colour your reactions.


Thank you Nighty, yes that colors my reactions--enormously so. And since he's an attorney, he believes he can spit in the face of police and get away with it.

Things in this country are a catastrophe all the way around these days.

“Racism, or 'color'-awareness, was a survival trait at one time and humans have just never out-grown it.”

--anonymous opinion



"The word on the street is, if you remove a monkey from his peer group, dye his fur pink and then reintroduce him into his peer group, they'll gang up on him and kill him."

--really old rumor



"Racists exist and they have been seen to do harm to those against whom they are racist when they thought they could get away with it."

--pretty much everyone knows this



"Egos can be very fragile. Is that Nature or Nurture?"

--interesting question, but no one cares

I can't imagine how this thread that you started to express your anxiety is affecting your anxiety.

I'm sorry. I think this thread is proof that you are not the only one struggling with this shooting. How each of us is processing those emotions is different.

I've been having anxiety dreams/nightmares almost ever night for several months. I try to find things to do that make me physically tired so maybe I will sleep through the night. It hasn't been working. I'm already medicated to the gills. I don't know what to do.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/2020 06:14PM by Beth.

I'm sorry Beth. I hope you and the OP can find some relief. I am also medicated to the gills, and have finally found something that helped. I found that taking a 3 minute cold shower before going to bed really helped me sleep better and longer. Here's some posts of people that have been helped by this https://www.earthclinic.com/remedies/showers.html

I read what Eric K wrote about saunas and thought, "I wonder if there are portable saunas..."

I can't stop laughing, but maybe the one with the guy in it would do: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=portable+sauna&atb=v174-1&page=2&adx=prdsdc&sexp={"v7exp"%3A"a"%2C"sltexp"%3A"b"%2C"prodexp"%3A"b"%2C"prdsdexp"%3A"c"%2C"biaexp"%3A"b"%2C"wiadrk"%3A"b"%2C"langexp"%3A"b"%2C"liapm"%3A"a"}&iax=images&ia=images&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fae01.alicdn.com%2Fkf%2FHTB1gvZ5m7yWBuNjy0Fpq6yssXXaw%2FPortable-Steam-Sauna-larger-size-bigger-sauna-tent-steamer-burnning-fat-sweat-Slimming-weight-loss.jpg

(OMG @ that long link)

ETA: This guy: https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1gvZ5m7yWBuNjy0Fpq6yssXXaw/Portable-Steam-Sauna-larger-size-bigger-sauna-tent-steamer-burnning-fat-sweat-Slimming-weight-loss.jpg



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/2020 03:40PM by Beth.

Are you sure that's a sauna and not. . .

Nevermind.

Used in various tribal groups around the world. In Sweden (or Norway? Finland?) you have to run naked out into the snow and roll around in it. Then they beat you with switches. Or something like that.

Thanks Beth, Eric, Heidi and others.

I’m sorry this thread got so derailed. It more or less underscores the disparity in philosophies that is tearing apart our country. It doesn’t instill any hope in me.

I’m doing ok. I too am pretty drugged to the gills. It helps to a point, but I just wish this nightmare would stop.

I’ll definitely try the cold shower. Wish I had a sauna.

I’ve found submerging most of my head in the bath helps. It at least makes the world quiet and water is so soothing.

I wish I could say we’d get through this, but we just seem to be crumbling by the day. Maybe our feet were made of clay all along.

Thanks again to everyone who has been supportive and I’m sorry if my post upset anyone, especially Kathleen.

I was just feeling very lonely and distressed at 4 am. Thank you to those who brought me validation and support.

Stay safe, everyone and I’m sending good vibes to you all, regardless of your views on this issue.

If we can’t support each other, what’s the point?

(((HUGS))) and good vibes coming coming your way.

I still love the stuff, but at my age it becomes more potent. So I have little or none starting early afternoon, say 2:00 PM
More herbal teas, decaf black teas, and Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Extra in the evening.

On an aside: Costco has a honey-ginger-citron jam/fruit tea which I use as a sweetener instead of sugar or honey. Delicious!

Legal Disclaimer: This post is not intended in anyway to be understood as an endorsement of the "Word of Wisdom" of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The police did not want to capture him. They were out to murder him.

And poof, Jordan is gone.

I obviously wasted my time. Sigh.

Me too. But it's worth it. Letting all the trolls pile up under a bridge is a public hazard.

Neither of your time is ever wasted here.

We feel the same about you, kathleen.

"The Guardian reports:

White supremacist groups have infiltrated US law enforcement agencies in every region of the country over the last two decades, according to a new report about the ties between police and far-right vigilante groups.

… (The report) concludes that US law enforcement officials have been tied to racist militant activities in more than a dozen states since 2000, and hundreds of police officers have been caught posting racist and bigoted social media content."

A couple that I know don't understand why the NBA players are walking off the job. I was thinking, well maybe if that 17 year old with a rifle *who actually murdered two people* was shot in the back seven times and paralyzed, then you might understand.

Okay, Jacob Blake wasn't following directions. But it looked to me if the police simply pulled him backward by his T-shirt, they could have kept him out of that car. I've pulled very large middle-schoolers out of fights by doing that. Grab 'em by the back of the t-shirt, and pull. An elderly woman can do that, and a police officer can't? Seriously?

I just don't watch the lynchings any more.

I love how the details eventually come out like he fact he was wanted on sexual assault. Oh, that's okay. Let's ask his victim how she feels.

I get so weary of this. I'm not going to come back to get blasted by everyone, but it isn't like I've ever been privileged. I hoed beets next to the Hispanics in my dad's fields. Oh yes, my dad owned the fields that he worked all his life for and paid for his parents to have a retirement or they wouldn't have had one. My parents took care of their parents. My mother's parents were deaf and she grew up an adult. She signed before she talked and was their voice all their lives. Then she got to have 2 disabled sons.

Just this summer my son had a mental breakdown and ended up in the hospital. Did you read my prior story? I worked my ass off to raise those kids and worked 2 jobs and kept a house over our heads BY MYSELF. No child support, no spousal support. There were times I fed my kids on $10 a week.

And now my son has been diagnosed with dissociative disorder or bipolar or schizophrenia or a combination. They aren't sure yet. I deal with him daily. I've dealt with him for years. My daughter came by to tell me she is pregnant. She is 34 and only been married for 1-1/2 years. They've tried since they got married. She went to the doctor today and was told the egg never fertilized and it will miscarry and I have a daughter who is traumatized.

And you think I should care about a man who got shot because he wouldn't let police arrest him after sexually assaulting someone. Handcuffs. He still has useful hands. We don't know what he is doing or how he is acting. Poor baby. He'll be in prison paralyzed.

Like I believe Kathleen said. DON'T BREAK THE LAW. My son didn't and he got followed all the time, and when they stopped him, he cooperated. DUH!

Okay, blast me. I don't care. I'm sick of feeling sorry for criminals. John Lewis grew up poor and look what he did with his life--the congressman who just died. He got 4 funerals and so did George Floyd. Who should we be celebrating???

I hate to do this because I like you, but I hope you'll consider an alternative perspective.


-------------------------------------------------------
> I love how the details eventually come out like he
> fact he was wanted on sexual assault. Oh, that's
> okay. Let's ask his victim how she feels.

Is your position that if a person has been investigated, charged, or convicted for a crime he no longer deserves his constitutional rights? It's okay then for the police to shoot him in the back?

Does it give you pause that most people for whom warrants are issued are ultimately found not guilty?


-----------------
> I get so weary of this. I'm not going to come
> back to get blasted by everyone, but it isn't like
> I've ever been privileged. I hoed beets next to
> the Hispanics in my dad's fields. Oh yes, my dad
> owned the fields that he worked all his life for
> and paid for his parents to have a retirement or
> they wouldn't have had one. My parents took care
> of their parents. My mother's parents were deaf
> and she grew up an adult. She signed before she
> talked and was their voice all their lives. Then
> she got to have 2 disabled sons.

Those sorts of problems befall many of us. Imagine how much more difficult it would be if your father had been arrested or jailed due to the color of his skin. Would he have been able to buy and maintain his farm if he had only earned 70% of his actual income? Did the Latinos working with you in your fields have parents to help them financially through high school and even college? Did they get an inheritance from their parents?


--------------------
> Just this summer my son had a mental breakdown and
> ended up in the hospital. Did you read my prior
> story? I worked my ass off to raise those kids
> and worked 2 jobs and kept a house over our heads
> BY MYSELF. No child support, no spousal support.
> There were times I fed my kids on $10 a week.

Imagine how much more difficult that would have been if, because of the color of your skin, you couldn't get those multiple jobs or were paid a third less.


--------------
> And now my son has been diagnosed with
> dissociative disorder or bipolar or schizophrenia
> or a combination. They aren't sure yet. I deal
> with him daily. I've dealt with him for years.
> My daughter came by to tell me she is pregnant.
> She is 34 and only been married for 1-1/2 years.
> They've tried since they got married. She went to
> the doctor today and was told the egg never
> fertilized and it will miscarry and I have a
> daughter who is traumatized.

Those things happen to POC as well. Imagine how much more difficult your life would have been if you had not been able to earn as much as you, through your hard work, have.


----------------
> And you think I should care about a man who got
> shot because he wouldn't let police arrest him
> after sexually assaulting someone. Handcuffs. He
> still has useful hands. We don't know what he is
> doing or how he is acting. Poor baby. He'll be
> in prison paralyzed.

This is a disturbing paragraph. You presume Jacob Blake sexually assaulted someone. Were you there? Did you see it? Do you think it is permissible for the police to presume his guilt and on that basis ignore his constitutional rights and paralyze him?


-------------------
> Like I believe Kathleen said. DON'T BREAK THE
> LAW. My son didn't and he got followed all the
> time, and when they stopped him, he cooperated.
> DUH!

Are you sure that if your son's skin color had been different the outcome would have been the same?


-----------------
> Okay, blast me. I don't care. I'm sick of
> feeling sorry for criminals. John Lewis grew up
> poor and look what he did with his life--the
> congressman who just died. He got 4 funerals and
> so did George Floyd. Who should we be
> celebrating???

You realize, I hope, that John Lewis had warrants issued for his arrest more than once--just like the man whose guilt you now presume--was arrested many times, was jailed many times, and is by the standards of the day a criminal many times over? Yes, John Lewis is a hero now. But he got that way by becoming a criminal in a corrupt system.

Perhaps you should bear that in mind when asserting that you have had life as bad as some of the people you now condemn.

This site has nothing to do with 'truth'!!!

Why argue by posting 'facts' --- just vote the 'criminals' who support these other criminals out of office!!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/2020 11:35PM by spiritist.

Shooting someone in the back who does not represent an immediate, potentially lethal threat to others just seems like such a low blow. We wouldn't want a police officer doing that to our loved ones.

I do understand the frustration with those who don't follow police officers' orders. I've taught some very difficult, uncooperative, and mouthy students during my career, and demonstrated great patience with them, well, because I had to. But I've also told them that if they ever treat a police officer the way that they've treated me, they may be in for an unpleasant surprise.

summer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Shooting someone in the back who does not
> represent an immediate, potentially lethal threat
> to others just seems like such a low blow.

https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e107015d5d99e59b606bbabf0e30b64e96bbc9dbd1398353daa09ad6ddda5730.jpg?w=600&h=673

Your call -- someone getting into a car with what might be a knife in their hand. What do you do?

You can't legally shoot the man. The law says there must be an "imminent" threat against the officers. If Blake had walked away from the cops and was leaning over to get into the car, he was not an imminent threat.

That officer is going to be charged.

I wouldn't think so, but I'm interested to hear what a LEO has to say about it.

Considering the cop went from the doorstep to this frame and has already drawn his firearm, I think he has already identified it as a knife. Bear in mind the cop can't talk to the media, and official statements come...eventually...through layers of officialdom.

The problem here is that an anti-cop narrative is so well established it is applied before the facts come out. As with the Rayshard Brooks shooting, we don't know what information they had at the time. Blake was known to keep guns in his car. Did the cops know that at the time? In my jurisdiction, the fact that he had a knife with a warrant out = felony.

Was he trying to stash the knife so it wasn't on his person? Was he going to retrieve a gun from the car? Do you know that the absolute minimum safe distance to separate away from a blade-wielding adversary is 22 feet--and even that may not be sufficient?

But there's a powerful anti-police mentality, and that frames the narrative long before the facts come out. It's immediately assumed to be "unjustified" and "excessive,"

Meanwhile, murder rates are skykrocketing. You want "de-policing?" You're getting de-policing.

So if I understand you correctly, you're saying that there are not enough facts at this time? I'm not anti-police at all, it's just that shooting someone in the back (who didn't appear to be pointing a weapon at anyone at that particular time) is at a minimum, bad optics.

Are you vouching for that image? Are you sure it's genuine? I ask because while he had something in his hand none of the witnesses, including the cops, are on record stating that he had a visible knife in the house, on the way out of the house, or when he was moving around the car to get in the driver's seat.

Moreover if the police felt threatened they would have shot him when he was approaching them on the passenger side of the car, not when he was entering the car and--if your image is accurate--putting the knife away.

I think that image is doctored.

Lot's Wife Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> I think that image is doctored.

Could be. If so, "change the facts and I'll change my answer," as my criminal law instructor liked to say. In my academy, a lot of classroom time was spent role-playing situations, throwing in strange and fast-changing elements, "What do you do know?" etc.

A cop's instinct is to keep control of the situation, and one or two levels of strength superior to a threat or adversary, with either weapons, physical force, or back-up. So what do we have here?

Two cops dealing with a very strong and combative suspect. Absent his having a weapon, I would probably have taken out my stick and gone low: tackle him and let my partner go for the torso, or use the stick on his legs and hips (not knees). Not spray--it's not very effective on a meth or fentanyl high. But well-place strikes, good and hard, are. But I'd never take out spray or the stick if a knife, tazer, incendiary device or firearm were present. It's a rock-paper-scissors type of thing

But this cop has his gun drawn. That tells me that he had a high-threat situation--the knife.

So I think the image is true.

Here's the video.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS5cSwVEyDg&bpctr=1598682883