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Not the way to deal with a hostage situation
Perp holding hostage in front of himself. Eight shots fired. Unfortunately, one of them killed the hostage.
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This is just plain stupid and its not just missing their intended target. Its a mindset of, end it now at all cost. This is becoming a common thing for LE's to shoot citizens who become victims of such shootings. Look at the old guy in FT. Worth who was shot and killed in his own garage, just because he had a gun in his hand. What better place to clean/oil a gun than on the workbench in one's garage. The mind set of stop the threat at all cost is there is, because once that, fear induced threat, is gone the officer is safe again.
They were authorized by law to shoot immediately because SHE was ALREADY in immediate danger. The cop should have pulled the trigger as soon as his sights lined up on the perp's nose. He did not have to, and should not have, waited for the gun to be pointed at HIM.
He hesitated and because of that she is dead and he's branded as either inept or cowardly.
He was there to protect her life, not just HIS. The Chief has it backwards. Maybe that's why his officer did too.
RE: Ft. Worth. You can't legally shoot just because someone has a gun in their hand. The gun has to be threatening somebody, not just the driveway surface.
"He was there to protect her life, not just HIS"
Actually I'm pretty sure the law of the land says that the police have no duty to protect any individual, rather their job is to protect society.
Or as they said in the old country, "to protect the king's peace." As long as the person breaking the peace is captured or killed, and the "peace officer" is not harmed, it doesn't matter whether the victim lives or not.
Call me crazy, but I'm impressed that the other seven hit the perp. Usually there are a lot of misses.