Police Fire at Man 59 Times

[Bigum1969]

This article is about the shooting of a man in Tennessee by the police. It appears he was shot at 59 times and hit 43 times before dying. The shooting involved 6 police officers. Of course it is going to become a civil rights issue...

Tenn. cops fire 59 shots to kill one man - Crime & courts- msnbc.com

Here's a snippet:
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Alonzo Heyward carried a rifle around his low-rent Chattanooga neighborhood one day last month, ranting about suicide and ignoring the pleas of friends for hours before six city police officers surrounded him on his front porch and decided it had to end.His father says Heyward told the officers, "I'm not out here to hurt anybody."
But police, who tried unsuccessfully to disarm Heyward, fired 59 rounds to kill him on July 18. The medical examiner found 43 bullet wounds in his chest, face, arms, hands, legs, buttocks and groin. Police contend Heyward was a danger to others and threatened the six officers.

 

[RCB]

No, don't commit suicide! Drop him!

59 shots, really? That's absurd. That means that each officer averaged over 9 shots. Even if he was threatening the officers, that many shots are a danger to everyone. Most of the time they are firing so fast that he didn't have time to fall, but they should be taught better fire control then that.

He was a danger to others, but 16 errant bullets weren't?

It's that sort of thing that gives LEO's a bad rep.

 

[cosermann]

I wonder if Obama will call a news conference and say the police acted "stupidly" or if he learned his lesson last time.

 

[Agent 007]

.

 

[Mgderf]

How many shots are you going to fire when your life is in danger? Maybe they should have sent you to deal with this intoxicated man who was ranting and waving a .44 magnum rifle around, instead of the police, since you seem to have it all figured out.

Bullets don't instantly stop people, especially when they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and mentally unstable (suicidal). Unless you were there and know the exact circumstances of this incident, STFU. Let someone point a rifle at you and see if you carefully count your shots, or if you shoot them to the ground to save your life.

What he said!

 

[Dogman]

Shoot till the threat is no longer a threat.

 

[RCB]

It is incumbent on all of us to consider our actions. They removed a threat by creating a real danger? That's bad protocol.

If I was in a neighborhood, I wouldn't want to fire that many shots. I have had shots ricochet past me before and am aware of the danger excessive shots can present.. from experience. Its not about counting shots, but rather judging your actions. Do you know what it takes to squeeze off 10 shots?

Locally there was a father who had taken his girl. They found him at a local drive in restaurant, filling him with bullets as his little girl sat next to him. It was by the grace of God she wasn't injured or worse.

It was irresponsible. I am surprised that more people can not recognize that.

 

[Yamaha]

How many shots are you going to fire when your life is in danger? Maybe they should have sent you to deal with this intoxicated man who was ranting and waving a .44 magnum rifle around, instead of the police, since you seem to have it all figured out.

Bullets don't instantly stop people, especially when they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and mentally unstable (suicidal). Unless you were there and know the exact circumstances of this incident, STFU. Let someone point a rifle at you and see if you carefully count your shots, or if you shoot them to the ground to save your life.

What he said!

Shoot till the threat is no longer a threat.

Thank you [/thread]

thats how any law enforcement teaches it, thats how IDOC teaches it, thats what you always say if you have to take someones life to protect your own....to police and to courts(if it goes that far)

you never shoot to wound or maim, never shoot to kill, you shoot to stop the threat. whether that takes 1 bullet or 40 bullets, that doesn't matter

 

[VUPDblue]

It has been documented on more than one occasion that in high-stress situations like this, officers experience tunnel vision and are not able to count how many rounds have been fired. At least one officer has been interviewed afterwards and (incorrectly) recalled that he fired "3 or 4 shots" when in reality he emptied the magazine... Food for thought...

 

[Mgderf]

Thank you [/thread]

thats how any law enforcement teaches it, thats how IDOC teaches it, thats what you always say if you have to take someones life to protect your own....to police and to courts(if it goes that far)

you never shoot to wound or maim, never shoot to kill, you shoot to stop the threat. whether that takes 1 bullet or 40 bullets, that doesn't matter

They DO teach you to wound in the military, but they don't try to enforce such nonsense
YES, we ARE all responsible for our own actions, but try walking a mile in that man's shoes before you start criticizing his gait!

 

[RCB]

"Some of the gunshots ripped through the unoccupied front room of the house Heyward was renting from"

So this concerns no one? You can't count bullets, true but what if there had been someone in there? Using unlimited force endangers a lot in an urban setting and have injured many.

I wasn't there for that one, but I was there for the incident with the girl. It was a bad call. I thought the girl was dead.

 

[Denny347]

EXCESSIVE FORCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Excessive deadly force.

 

[RCB]

Well to each their own I guess.

 

[Denny347]

Using unlimited force endangers a lot in an urban setting and have injured many.

I found it. Unlimited force is what comes after deadly force in the use of force continuum. I did not realize it was Monday morning already...

 

[VUPDblue]

I found it. Unlimited force is what comes after deadly force in the use of force continuum. I did not realize it was Monday morning already...

Didn't they teach you that in cop school, or were you sleepy that day? Tsk tsk tsk....

 

[Scutter01]

Maybe he was a zombie. Those guys are pretty hard to put down.

 

[RCB]

I found it. Unlimited force is what comes after deadly force in the use of force continuum. I did not realize it was Monday morning already...

After that they go to plaid.

 

[VUPDblue]

Maybe he was a zombie. Those guys are pretty hard to put down.

Or maybe he was a killer clown from outer space. If you don't hit 'em in the nose, they'll never die!!!!

 

[Yamaha]

I found it. Unlimited force is what comes after deadly force in the use of force continuum. I did not realize it was Monday morning already...

I thought unlimited force was calling in the autobots.....

 

[jblomenberg16]

It is incumbent on all of us to consider our actions. They removed a threat by creating a real danger? That's bad protocol.

If I was in a neighborhood, I wouldn't want to fire that many shots. I have had shots ricochet past me before and am aware of the danger excessive shots can present.. from experience. Its not about counting shots, but rather judging your actions. Do you know what it takes to squeeze off 10 shots?

Locally there was a father who had taken his girl. They found him at a local drive in restaurant, filling him with bullets as his little girl sat next to him. It was by the grace of God she wasn't injured or worse.

It was irresponsible. I am surprised that more people can not recognize that.

I remember that incident vividly, and the ensuing controversy. It was truely a miracle that girl wasn't harmed. That said, I'm not going to question for one minute the decisions those officers made, nor those in this case.

There may be some posting in this thread that have actually faced fire and threat from someone that is armed. I for one have not, so I can't say how I'll react and how many shots I'd fire if in that situation.

I do know that I would likely err on the side of neutralizing the threat, rather than leaving the door open for the threat to neutralize me.