Yeah- well maybe so, but from all of the high speed chases I've seen on TV, cops generally are not very concerned with the "rights" of that sort of criminal, and frankly I can't blame them.

Anyone in this day in age that thinks they can get away with that crap is seriously wrong, and doing anything after any sort of chase- apart from getting out of the vehicle with both hands visible and doing exactly what you're told is probably going to you hurt- really bad, if it doesn't get you killed.

Just cleaning up the gene pool a little.....

 

QFT^^^


the guy was obviously asking for it if he's charging at the cops with his car when they already had the guns out and told him to stop. if i were in that position i wouldve done the same.

 

It's their job and that's all in the territory. They'd have to be mentally prepared to take a life to save many. If they worried about every criminal they had to shoot and kill. They'd quit the force.

 

ANY 21 year old who would race, run from the cops, and then try to run them over IMO has not grown up one bit.

Sure, he may have had a physique of a man but I bet he thought like a 13 year old.

 

That's true.. but I can bet that if I ever were to ask a cop if they had ever shot and killed someone, the answer wouldn't be an easy one to admit.

 

I don't like the idea of letting a kid high on adrenaline and willing to try to out run the cops, drive away. He's obviously a danger to everyone on the street. He may not intend to kill anyone. His adrenalin boosted mind is just telling him to get away and avoid jail. But the reality of it is he's driving a 4 wheeled missile that will kill anything in it's path if this kid looses control or doesn't see someone in the crosswalk while trying to evade police.

I don't agree with the pursuit policy. Unless it's known that the individual has committed a violent crime and has the means & intent to continue to harm others. Otherwise, a high speed chase can result in a lot of innocent people getting hurt. This happened to my roommate years ago. She was in S.F. when she got T-boned by the person the police were chasing. Reason for the chase was a failure to stop. Nothing more. Really sad.

So in this scenario the cops roll up to some street racers. Pick out a truck and chase him down? The kid behind the wheel looses control spins around. Now if I'm the cop at the scene, I'm going to take count of what's going on and rationalize things. Kid, doesn't want to go to jail, knows he's busted for street racing, and is hopped up on adrenaline and wants to get away. He's facing me now because he's a crappy driver and spun around. And now he's hitting the gas again to continue to get away. I can rationalize that he didn't just become a homicidal maniac. Do I really need to fill him full of lead at this time and kill him? Probably not. What to do then. Jump in front of his truck and let him run me over...silly. Step aside and continue the chase...dangerous. After all, he's only a "street racer" at this point and not a criminal of a higher caliber. Option 3, note his license plate, drive over to his house later and hook him up. And if he is a homicidal maniac, gun him down then.

Cops love a situation where a car is pointed at them. They know that the department will back them a hundred and ten percent when they empty an entire mag full of lead into the driver. All it's going to take is for the Cop to hear that engine rev. The report is a "cut and paste" special. Meaning, every single officer involved shooting into a car will sound almost exactly the same. "I felt my life was in danger when I heard the engine rev, the vehicle moved at a fast rate of speed directly towards me and I had no means of getting out of the way. I discharged my firearm at the intended target until I stopped the threat...". What the reports usually leave out is the fact that the officer intentionally placed himself in the direct path of the car. I write this only because I think cops these days are a little too trigger happy. I have many friends working for various departments. I hear stories like this and I think that with a little patience and rational, the outcomes could be different. Granted, there are plenty of times when the Cops do just step aside and either continue the chase or use other means. So it's not like this is SOP for every time a car is aimed at you. There would be a LOT of dead "bad guys" in the streets of Oakland, not to mention every major city. I just have to wonder though every time I hear a story like this.

 

chrisnonstop your 100% wrong.

1st. the officers involved in the shooting wont even write a report, homicide detectives will.

2nd. every police departments pursuit policy is different. i feel bad for your roomate for being t-boned. its a shame SFPD was chasing for something so petty.

3rd. it has nothing to do with your department backing you. it was a lethal situation, dont monday morning quarter back.

You need to realize the reasonable standard.

Judge the incident through the eyes, of a reasonable officer with similiar training and experiance taking into account facts that were known to be true or reasonably known to be true at the time deadly force was used.

in other words, put yourself in their shoes, with all of their training and experience, and then know what you would do.

cops arent trained to shoot to kill, they are trained to shoot to save lives.

 

As someone that was trained a few years back with ccso. Chris has it close... There really is no shooting out the tires. Center mass double tap. review your hits and fire again. I was once in a traffic stop were we stopped a blazer that was being driven by a known criminal. Once we lit him up, he moved over to the right, Both me and the other deputy where standing in our door way ordering him out over the PA, when he decided he was not going back to jail. So he slammed the blazer in reverse and drove over the front of the patrol car. We were already drawn down on him. The other officer and myself jump out to the side. And watched him drive off as our airbag system killed the fuel pump and stalled the patrol unit. not like it was going anywhere anyways with a crushed front end.

Could we have opened up a clip of whooop *** on the driver? Maybe.. Well yes.... But that changes the whole picture. And I knew we would catch him anyways. Maybe not tonight, But later.. Which happen the guy went home and was picked up a day later.

When you take someones life. Reardless of badged or not you do pay a price. Not only does that what if I did something differant? But now you get to think about it and then deal with the family suing you and the state. Then being dragged out across the news and so on. When you shoot someone on duty. Your still pulled aside and they take your firearm, They swab your hand for powder, The take you "downtown" The seperate you from the other guy. Its not even close to the movies.. Its a really big deal. It has to be.. Because with todays world... You better bet allot of people will be getting sued for wrongfull death..

I do not like the way most depts are running now days... I think some of them are just too young. The days of the help a guy out now, could save the guy later is just gone. People always looking and wanting the next big bust..

Could they have let the guy go? Maybe.. But then again was the officer stepping out in the street in front of the truck? Or was he pinned between the patrol unit and the truck? We had a escape route. Thats why we didnt clip that guy that night. But if the officer was young, I dont now.. He might have stepped out in the road in front and ordered the guy to stop and the guy said f off..

I think we really will never know..

Oh and cops are trained to shoot to kill. Make no mistake. If he pulls the weapon. Pulls the trigger, center mass tap tap.. review and fire 2 more. There are no courtesy shots... Saving lifes is the level of force... He would have picked a differant level then.