In just the last two weeks, seven police officers have been charged with manslaughter or murder in connection with officer involved shootings. The public has been sold the line that police are racist killers since the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson in 2014, you know, the one where ‘Hands up, don’t shoot’ came from. The anthem that was proven to be a manufactured lie. That shooting was cleared by the Obama DOJ and deemed justified, but we all know how that turned out, right? Officer Darren Wilson had to leave his job and essentially hide himself and his family in fear of retaliation. All in the name of “wokeness.” Oh yeah, and the “Hands up, don’t shoot” quote never happened, it was made up.
Let me tell you something I’ve learned after serving twenty years in law enforcement: violence is ugly. All of it. Justified use of force and criminal violent acts are ugly. It used to be reserved for the viewing of officers only, which lead to the nightmares and mental issues of dealing with that violence officers have endured for years. The public was shielded from the graphic violence and emotional aftermath that comes with it.
Before bodycams and every inch of America being recorded on video, people trusted investigations done within law enforcement agencies to deliver the facts. Now, the moment the bodycam or surveillance video drops online, the uneducated public rushes to judgement against the police.
Why is that? Because violence is ugly. Seeing police officers dealing with thugs, mentally ill, and drug infused suspects and having to use sometimes deadly force against them does not paint a pretty picture, even if completely justified. When the viewer has it in their head the officer is violent racist killer, as the media would tell you, they often jump to conclusions and take to the street to voice their opinions.
It’s America. Take to the streets and protest, I’m good with that. When I start having a problem is when “woke” district attorneys chose to prosecute cops to score brownie points with the anti-police powers that be. When reasonableness is thrown out the window, and they chose prosecution of justified shootings, we have a problem.
If you aren’t in law enforcement, can you imagine a job that will often put you in situations you think you may not survive? Welcome to being a police officer in America.
There is no room for error. There is no room for fear. There is no room for panic. There is no room for mistakes. Not in these times, and not with these woke D.A.’s.
Ever heard of perception-reaction time? It’s how long your brain takes to process an event, and then tell your body to react. Experts estimate it to be between .7 and 1.5 seconds. When an officer get’s into a shooting, it can take .7 – 1.5 seconds to decide to shoot, or stop shooting based on what they are processing. That is a lifetime during critical incidents. This is also the #1 reason a suspect is sometimes shot in the back. The suspect may have time to turn away or run after the officer has already determined the need to discharge their firearm, but perception-reaction delays the action.
Ever had a bad day at work? Now try that with someone pulling a gun on you or running at you with a knife.
I worked as an investigator of officer involved shootings for a large department in Southern California during the pre-bodycam days. I responded to approximately 20 shootings, and each was investigated independently and thoroughly from both a criminal aspect, and an administrative aspect. Out of those 20 shootings, one was determined to be bad and the person is now in prison for an off-duty shooting that was found to be criminal. The rest? Each and every one of those deputies did what they had to do, legally, to survive the incident. In each and every one of those cases, the suspect chose to put themselves in a situation that resulted in a shooting, not the deputy. This is how it is 99.9% of the time.
Now? It’s different. There is no room for fear, mistakes or panic because it’s on video and we are living in a time when D.A.’s are being elected who want nothing more than to dismantle the justice system from the inside. One of their favorite ways to do this is by prosecuting law enforcement officers for doing their jobs.
So what happens after the woke district attorneys continue to frivolously prosecute police? A few things. You will see less qualified people want to become police officers, resulting in police departments lowering their hiring standards, and causing even more of a problem with less qualified officers on the street. You will see veteran officers with enough time on to retire leave faster, losing quality experience which is always needed. You will see other officers who can’t yet retire either look for new careers, or even worse, stop looking to make arrests of the bad guy, turning our police forces into reactive police rather than proactive police.
Basically, you should buy a gun and learn to use it, because police are going to be less likely to engage suspects on the streets and will just be responding to calls of crimes that have already happened. Then they are just there to pick up the pieces, not keep you safe.
With every shooting that you see on the news, you have to have perspective. What was the officer feeling at the moment it happened? Were they in fear of their lives or someone else’s? What information did they have THEN to make these decisions? Would a reasonable officer with the same amount of experience and training conduct themselves the same way?
That is how you determine if a shooting is justified, not if it ‘looks bad’ on video.
Here’s info on the seven officers who have been charged this month, you be the “armchair quarterback” and judge.
https://www.redvoicemedia.com/2021/03/5-okc-police-officers-charged-with-manslaughter-in-shooting-of-teen-robbery-suspect/
https://www.redvoicemedia.com/2021/03/oklahoma-city-police-officer-charged-with-manslaughter-after-shooting-man-running-at-him-with-knife
https://www.redvoicemedia.com/video/2021/03/austin-police-officer-faces-murder-charge-after-shooting-of-michael-ramos/
This piece was written by Ray Dietrich on March 11, 2021. It originally appeared in RedVoiceMedia.com [1] and is used by permission.
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