Cop kills unarmed nude man in Texas

[Wolfie]

http://nypost.com/2016/02/09/unarmed-nude-teen-fatally-shot-by-officer/

[Intercooler]

Interesting to say the least!

Does charging the Police make it okay?

[sqlbullet]

By policy yes.  Armed or not failure to comply combined with aggression toward the officer will justify the action.

Philosophically is a matter of some debate.  I am making popcorn.

[colt1911fan]

Gross.

Lethal return force on a naked guy, charging or not, seems excessive. Baton, spray, Tazer, anything else first

[sqlbullet]

This is were I have the benefit of having actually been through police training.

The force continuum is based on lots of statistical data.  The short version is the chances of successfully tasing a moving target at close range is low.  Baton and spray have similar issues, and if he bowls you over, you now are in a scramble on the ground, where his chances of turning your defensive tools on you goes WAY up.

If you are going to deploy force on this guy, the gun was the right choice.  The better choice would have been to find a way to keep him away from you and others until backup could arrive and a measured response could be employed.

[Captain O]

Stupid is as stupid does. I smell a youth under the influence of mind-altering substances. I can imagine the poor officer is having nightmares and is "second guessing himself. (He shouldn't have to but we all would likely do so). It's human nature.

I learned about the force continuum while working as an Armed Security Officer. When things "go to Hell in a handbasket" you must rely on your training. You can't second guess yourself in the heat of the moment. You react as you are trained. Split-second decisions can, and often do, last a lifetime.

Welcome to the real world.

[Rojo27]

^ - This!

[Pumpkinheaver]

Prayers for the officer.

[Captain O]

Yes, prayers for the officer. This is a "no win" situation. He will be damned in the public eye. In his own sight, he'll feel guilty, right or wrong. This psychologically "backs him into into a corner". He was damned if he defended himself and would likely to be killed if he hadn't!

He'll be called a "black-hearted killer" if he isn't visibly "remorseful". By the same token, he'll suffer from "survivor's guilt" just the same. His fellow officers will attempt to help him "buck up" or be called a weakling. He'll still regret taking a human life. Internal Affairs will have him under a microscope, if not on a spit over an open fire.

Either way, he's screwed.

[Geeman]

Why do I believe I'd be in deep do-do if I did the same thing.  Maybe its because that's what my CC training taught me. 

Lethal force is justified ONLY when facing a fear of loss of life or great bodily harm, at least my latest CC training says so.

I WILL say that pepper spray should work with certain bodily appendages.  I found that out during a trip to the rest room after washing my hands after working with chili peppers.  I mean suffering in the shower trying to get that stuff off.  It even peeled in the following days.  That's a mistake one does ONCE!!!

Greg

[Intercooler]

How well would a Tazer work in this situation? It seems the guys on COPS don't have a hard time hitting the target at close range. Do you think we will see more less than lethal rounds being used in the future?

[Wolfie]

Force is based on what is needed.

If a perp has a gun you can go right to yours.

This guy was unarmed, thus did he fail to comply to a voice command? Then a baton strike (I will skip hand to hand on this one), then pepper spray, then a taser and then the gun.

If he had pepper spray, a baton or a taser on him and he went straight to the gun he has problems.