So Michael Brown got high, robbed a store, then attacked a police officer...

[Renton]

Even if he attacked the cop and the cop defended himself according to police protocol, there's still a major problem with the amount of discretion and means cops have to take life. Imagine how hard it is for the state to execute someone who is open-and-shut guilty of multiple murder. Years of appeals, millions and millions of dollars in litigation. And yet a police can shoot someone 6 times, completely justifiably, if he perceives he is in any risk of bodily harm whatsoever. Or someone like George Zimmerman can shoot someone to death, again completely justifiably, if he feels he's at the tiniest risk of being killed.

Never mind what the actual risk is and how much risk should be accepted in these situations before lethal defense is merited. We're not even having that important conversation. Maybe, just maybe, fucking killing someone shouldn't be justified in order to mitigate a minor risk. Every police protocol seems to be aimed at escalating a situation to the maximum degree, and then their response to an escalated situation is to shoot their guns at the first opportunity. Why even carry a taser or pepper spray? Why even have physical fitness training? Just give them a fucking scoped rifle and a sidearm, and some good marksman training, and then every single situation that the police is involved in, they can just take out the gun, and if the perpetrator doesn't comply with 100% of their demands, you fucking kill them. Let's make that protocol, and at least there's no more room to argue about it anymore, and its not that far from the way things currently are, anyway.

[spoonitnow]

And yet a police can shoot someone 6 times, completely justifiably, if he perceives he is in any risk of bodily harm whatsoever.

It's frequently going to take more than six shots to subdue someone Michael Brown's size who is trying to kill you. The officer wasn't shooting him to kill him, he was shooting him to stop the threat to his own life. If Brown had stopped after he was first shot instead of charging the officer, then he would still be alive.

[Renton]

It's frequently going to take more than six shots to subdue someone Michael Brown's size who is trying to kill you. The officer wasn't shooting him to kill him, he was shooting him to stop the threat to his own life. If Brown had stopped after he was first shot instead of charging the officer, then he would still be alive.

I don't believe that last sentence for a second. We've seen videos on top of videos where police respond to any threat whatsoever by firing a barrage of shots. They NEVER NEVER NEVER shoot once. They unload. Never a warning shot. Never a shoulder shot. And I don't even think they say freeze anymore to be honest. A taser should always be sufficient for the situation of a man rushing you who is unarmed, and if it isn't, we need to invest in the taser technology that does, it shouldn't be that far around the corner.

George Zimmerman shot as a last resort to protect himself while some idiot was on top of him trying to kill him. If Trayvon Martin had went home instead of doubling back to attack Zimmerman (note: going home was closer), then he would still be alive.

This is only if you believe the Zimmerman narrative. It could just as easily have gone down that Martin felt his life was endangered from some overzealous community watch psychopath, and fought him because he felt it was his greatest chance of not dying. And judging from the character evidence about Zimmerman that has been mounting in the wake of his acquittal, I'd guess it even more easily could have gone that way.

[spoonitnow]

I don't believe that last sentence for a second. We've seen videos on top of videos where police respond to any threat whatsoever by firing a barrage of shots. They NEVER NEVER NEVER shoot once. They unload. Never a warning shot. Never a shoulder shot. And I don't even think they say freeze anymore to be honest. A taser should always be sufficient for the situation of a man rushing you who is unarmed, and if it isn't, we need to invest in the taser technology that does, it shouldn't be that far around the corner.



This is only if you believe the Zimmerman narrative. It could just as easily have gone down that Martin felt his life was endangered from some overzealous community watch psychopath, and fought him because he felt it was his greatest chance of not dying. And judging from the character evidence about Zimmerman that has been mounting in the wake of his acquittal, I'd guess it even more easily could have gone that way.

The map of the area shows how far Martin went out of his way to confront Zimmerman instead of going home, so the bold is out the window.

[spoonitnow]

I don't believe that last sentence for a second. We've seen videos on top of videos where police respond to any threat whatsoever by firing a barrage of shots.

Also, it doesn't really matter if you believe it or not because it's confirmed at this point that he shot Brown once inside of the car, and after pushing Brown back and getting him off, Brown charged at him (attacking him for a second time) at which point he was shot until he stopped advancing which is completely and totally correct in that situation.

[spoonitnow]

Or someone like George Zimmerman can shoot someone to death, again completely justifiably, if he feels he's at the tiniest risk of being killed.

George Zimmerman shot as a last resort to protect himself while some idiot was on top of him trying to kill him. If Trayvon Martin had went home instead of doubling back to attack Zimmerman (note: going home was closer), then he would still be alive.