Police shoots unarmed woman in Washington DC

[xer0s]

To be fair, this happened at the capital. At a time when we just had a shooting at another government complex. And we're also going through a government shutdown.

I'm referring to why the cops are all decked out...

[Mat Linnett]

wat.
I'm not saying I have all the facts, but shooting her to the point where they can't identify her based on appearance is very hard to justify.
pretty sure cops are trained to shoot to neutralize (eg in the leg) instead of repeatedly in the face. not sure though.

I was talking to my colleague about this, and his brother-in-law's a retired US cop. Apparently they're trained with shoot-to-kill in mind as they don't want to give the target a chance to fire back. Plus, it's easier to aim for the central body mass in the heat of the moment rather than a limb.

I still don't think it's justified though. Let's face it, when it comes down to it, an unarmed woman who had her baby in the car with her was shot and killed in front of that child.
And in any other country where police don't carry firearms by default, she'd still be alive. Arrested, sure, but alive.

[losCHUNK]

In some cases they even let the suspect get away if they think they're endangering the publics life. Like driving down the wrong side of a motorway.

[Plan B]

I'm not saying I have all the facts, but shooting her to the point where they can't identify her based on appearance is very hard to justify.
pretty sure cops are trained to shoot to neutralize (eg in the leg) instead of repeatedly in the face. not sure though.

No, you don't have *any* facts.
So shutting the fuck up before passing judgement seems appropriate, no?

[losCHUNK]

You don't know what he knows, so how about....

[GONNAFISTYA]

To be fair, this happened at the capital. At a time when we just had a shooting at another government complex. And we're also going through a government shutdown.

I'm referring to why the cops are all decked out...

I can appreciate that, but it's looking more and more like the standard response to any situation that a single squad car can't handle. Your police are militarized and I hope I don't have to spell out to you why the military should never have police duties.

[GONNAFISTYA]

No matter what happened, I still think it's pretty fucked that people just shrug whenever a cop shoots someone. It's like it's the only thing people expect the cops to do well. "Suicide By Police" is a socially acceptable, and socially expected result.

Sorry, but if people can't help themselves from being a fucking retard in front of cops it doesn't mean they should be killed. But I guess I feel that way because I'm not a sociopath.

I agree it doesn't mean they should be killed. But if it happens then bad luck. Don't put yourself in such a massively vulnerable position by acting like a fucking retard in front of the people who can legally murder you for acting like a fucking retard in front of them.

Point taken, but it's still fucked up that a society must "educate" their populace that acting like a dick in front of the protectors of that society can end your life. Why are the police considered protectors of society when they're killing so regularly and doing more killing of society than anyone?

[losCHUNK]

To be fair, this happened at the capital. At a time when we just had a shooting at another government complex. And we're also going through a government shutdown.

I'm referring to why the cops are all decked out...

I can appreciate that, but it's looking more and more like the standard response to any situation that a single squad car can't handle. Your police are militarized and I hope I don't have to spell out to you why the military should never have police duties.

To be fair, the UK has had similiar in the past

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_J ... de_Menezes

He's the dude that got shot for running in the London Underground the day after the 7/7 bombings.

Similarities in that a hit squad with a licence to kill can get it so wrong.

[GONNAFISTYA]

pretty sure cops are trained to shoot to neutralize (eg in the leg) instead of repeatedly in the face. not sure though.

Maybe in Europe, but in North America they're trained to shoot to kill. Wonderful, isn't it?

[Psyche911]

pretty sure cops are trained to shoot to neutralize (eg in the leg) instead of repeatedly in the face. not sure though.

This is not the case. If (US) cops open fire, the target is almost always going to end up dead.

* They are trained to shoot center mass (torso).

* They are also trained to shoot any time their "lives are at risk." This is often manipulated like in this situation where she wasn't trying to hit them, just get away, they took the situation to mean assault with a deadly weapon (car) and opened fire. I can't tell you how many times lately I've seen reports of police just shooting someone's dog because it barked at them or something. They are way too liberal with their firearm usage.

* Once one cop opens fire they all do. I think the "rationale" is that the situation has escalated to the use of deadly force and it is time to put down the "threat" immediately. If there are numerous officers on scene when this happens there's going to be 5+ shots fired per officer. It results in great situations like this one last year where police shot and injured 9 bystanders.

So yeah... Run away if you see the police in the US. Oh wait, they shoot you for that too.

[GONNAFISTYA]

To be fair, the UK has had similiar in the past

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_J ... de_Menezes

He's the dude that got shot for running in the London Underground the day after the 7/7 bombings.

Similarities in that a hit squad with a licence to kill can get it so wrong.

Yes I remember that event and the details surrounding it vividly. It was cold-blooded murder, just like what happened in DC yesterday.

The problem isn't the crazies in society, it's the crazies within the society's police forces. It used to be standard SWAT tactics ensured NOBODY would get hurt or killed...but now I'm pretty sure they're changing their training for "take no chances...kill if you think you need to".

Whatever, you can't do anything but shake your head and laugh at the violence and paranoia of right-wing empires and past right-wing empires. Oh wait, are there any other kind of empires? lol...no...of course there aren't.

[MKJ]

I'm not saying I have all the facts, but shooting her to the point where they can't identify her based on appearance is very hard to justify.
pretty sure cops are trained to shoot to neutralize (eg in the leg) instead of repeatedly in the face. not sure though.

No, you don't have *any* facts.
So shutting the fuck up before passing judgement seems appropriate, no?

I have the facts presented in the article. Nothing in there suggests she needed to be fired upon till she was a pulp. Better yet, no situation calls for that.
Also see the comment about shooting to neutralize. . Something that's apparently not true for the US which is sickening in its own right.
Like mentioned, it sounds like a case of the trigger itch.

[MKJ]

Also why can't you converse about this in a civil manner? You're taking the Nightshade route and it doesn't suit nor flatter you.

[losCHUNK]

To be fair, the UK has had similiar in the past

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_J ... de_Menezes

He's the dude that got shot for running in the London Underground the day after the 7/7 bombings.

Similarities in that a hit squad with a licence to kill can get it so wrong.

Yes I remember that event and the details surrounding it vividly. It was cold-blooded murder, just like what happened in DC yesterday.

The problem isn't the crazies in society, it's the crazies within the society's police forces. It used to be standard SWAT tactics ensured NOBODY would get hurt or killed...but now I'm pretty sure they're changing their training for "take no chances...kill if you think you need to".

Whatever, you can't do anything but shake your head and laugh at the violence and paranoia of right-wing empires and past right-wing empires. Oh wait, are there any other kind of empires? lol...no...of course there aren't.

Yea lawful execution is exactly what I said. Still can't believe the Independent Police Complaints Commission couldn't find anyone at fault. They're all in each others back pocket though, something like 80% of this independent panel recruit directly from the police force and they're responsible for providing information to the Crown if there's any disputes raised.

There's no other way around this process and I've been fucked by it, that could have prevented someone from getting shot in the head. Mark Duggan, the catalyst to the London riots also seems to be fucked by it, Hillsborough, Bloody Sunday Massacre...

So aye, the Americans are plain crazy, Brits be plain corrupt.

[shaft]

Aren't those SWAT? Typical cops don't walk around with that sort of firepower...those guys usually get called for the "newsworthy" situations which is probably why some people would think its common.

[seremtan]

if this happened in Prague no one here would give a shit

also -

Edmund Ofori-Attah and his wife, both missionaries from Togo, were about to tour the Dirksen Senate Office Building when the Infiniti sped by. It hit a barricade, and five to six shots were fired, he said. “We just dropped to the ground,” Mr. Ofori-Attah said. “I didn’t want to get hit.”

welcome to America!

[Plan B]

if this happened in mario world i'd bounce on that, and collect the shizzle.

[Eraser]

Haven't got a solid grasp on the dimensions of the Earth, do you?

wat

End of test! End of test! Really! End of test!

Ok, I admit it. I seriously overestimated the size of the atlantic ocean, making myself look like an oaf in the process

[Plan B]

I get so fucking tired about always being right.

[Eraser]

Turns out the woman was schizophrenic. Her husband had notified the police months earlier because he feared for her and their daughter's life. Chalk this one up to US authorities taking mental conditions not seriously once again.

Also, why was the woman fired on? The danger was in her driving the car in a dangerous manner. As soon as the car came to a halt and she exited the vehicle, that danger was gone. What assessment did the cops make that caused them to make the judgment call that she posed a serious enough thread to shoot her? We can only speculate about that at this point.

Third thing, why was she shot repeatedly in a manner that obviously was more damaging than "just" shoot-to-kill? It's not called shoot-to-maim is it?

What probably increased tensions is that the police/security people assumed they were dealing with a terrorist attack. But you know, peeing against the capitol is considered an act of terrorism these days.

[xer0s]

Aren't those SWAT? Typical cops don't walk around with that sort of firepower...those guys usually get called for the "newsworthy" situations which is probably why some people would think its common.

That or it could be secret service. The FBI is just down the road too...

[Transient]

Not sure what lethal bullets were able to do that rubber bullets or a taser couldn't have done in the same situation here.

On the other hand, she WAS ramming a barricade at the capital and the cops didn't know she was mentally impaired at the time.

I guess the best course of action would have been to treat her illness months ago.

[Tsakali]

are liveleak videos cool here? some raw footage of the DC event

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a99_1380839928
looks like at first, they let her go... any full on moron would have shot her right then.

[Birdq3]

is she die?

[Birdq3]

are liveleak videos cool here? some raw footage of the DC event

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a99_1380839928
looks like at first, they let her go... any full on moron would have shot her right then.

is she a christian?