Police have more training than most civilians. We will see as the details play out how well that training served both the officers and the bystanders in this situation.
One of the more interesting news stories I've read, in my curiosity about the individuals involved, is that the shooter claimed to have been some sort of shooting expert, sharpshooter or sniper, and that he told people a changing story about having been in different war conflicts that do not appear to be true. What relationship or interest the shooter had in firearms will be one aspect of this incident. Some of the services have indicated that he was not in fact enlisted; the only one not heard from so far that it is speculated he may have served in is the Coast Guard.
The fact that most of the injured are from bullet fragments and shrapnel or ricochets with only two injured speaks well for the shooting expertise of the officers.
The issue of two innocent bystanders being shot at all simply underlines why it is not desirable to shoot in crowded areas where law enforcement or anyone else could easily hit a bystander rather than the intended target. At least, as the first video of the event shows, those nearby had space to get out of the way, unlike the crowded Aurora theater where egress was limited, and the officers could see their target clearly.
However these police officers will be second guessed, their judgment will be professionally evaluated, and the rights and wrongs of their decisions will be assessed; they will be held accountable to a higher standard than civilians in the same situation, and the degree to which they complied with their training and safety directives will be determined, as will the degree to which they gave proper consideration for public safety (or didn't).
It is very difficult to assess the performance of these officers from one grainy video. In New York, they should have multiple angle coverage of all of this event, which will assist analysis. Until we have seen more of that footage, it is difficult and wrong to second guess these officers.
As part of the New York City anti-terrorist squad, I can only commend them however for their effort to protect innocent people, even if they made mistakes. They have a difficult job, one that puts their lives at risk for others, not just here in this incident but daily, and not just from shootings but from a large variety of threats; THAT deserves our respect, admiration and support.
Another one posted for democommie - and more apologies to anyone having trouble with the 'captcha'/anti-robot requirement. If you cannot post a comment, after a few tries, please send it to us at the email account (note which post the comment shoud go to please!) and we will post it for you.
ReplyDeletefrom democommie:
"Well, alls I can say is that if Perfesser Camp hadda been there, it woulda been a double-tap-center-mass (or, better yet, a single round right through the piehole, severin' that perp's spine!) and the inefficient pigs coulda just done the janitorial work. Yeah, that's the ticket!"