Here is something that might shock some people, particularly (it appears) the parents and teens of the most recent generation, and that is that the police (as does ANYONE) have the right to defend themselves if they fear for their lives or the lives of others. AND, as the ultimate peacekeepers, police as our protectors have no duty to retreat before using deadly force. If a cop arrests a "teen" and is then approached by a crowd of other "teens" (as the news often refers to subjects like the young man that started it all in Ferguson) who attempt to free the arrested person and threaten the officer, that officer is justified in protecting himself. But once again, in McKinney this time, an officer is suspended for pointing his weapon at "a group of unarmed teens" who were approaching him in an attempt to free a young lady he had arrested. And it has already spread nationwide, with thousands of "comments" on this story wherein the officer is called all sorts of names, insulted, and called incompetent. The people "demanding" and getting an investigation, meanwhile an officer is "on administrative leave" and this will be a part of his record whether or not he violated a policy or broke a state law, and be sure this incident will be brought up every time this particular officer arrests someone and has to use even minimum force to do so.
Here is something even more shocking about the "incident" at McKinney. The very video cited by so many as showing the brutality of the particular police sergeant as he arrested a resisting female (yes, who was only fourteen and was unarmed - the sergeant at no time pointed his weapon at her) in fact shows the sergeant used only the force necessary to handle two situations; 1) a noncompliant but obviously unarmed person; and 2) escalating force when the danger suddenly became life-threatening to the officer himself. Then the officer immediately de-escalates to minimal force as he finishes arresting the female. So the video clearly shows the sergeant attempting to handcuff the girl while verbally demanding her cooperation, and the girl clearly does not comply or submit to arrest. Ultimately the sergeant takes her to the ground rather forcefully and when he does so she immediately stops resisting, whereupon the sergeant stops directing physical force against her. At that point two "teens" (in the same meaning as "teen" that the media applied to Michael Brown of Ferguson, Missouri) approach the officer rapidly and in obviously menacing manner. The officer rightly draws his weapon TO PROTECT HIMSELF and the "teens" (apparently suddenly deciding they are at the wrong end of the weapon) run away into the crowd. The sergeant immediately holsters his weapon and returns his attention to the young lady.
A very telling thing is that residents of the neighborhood association made it clear in both comments and in signs and notes left at the swimming pool that they supported the action of the police in stopping the fight and in clearing the pool of unauthorized persons. Keep in mind this was a private pool owned by the neighborhood association with very clear rules about who could use the pool and particularly about how many "guests" per owner could be at the pool at a given time. In this situation someone had decided to have a party and invited significantly more people than was allowed by pool rules. Since the pool was private property, the people who had legal use of the pool had every right to call the police to enforce criminal trespass laws. The police got more calls as they responded, indicating that the boisterous party had suddenly turned into a fight involving several people. It appears from the several newscasts I watched today that some news venues tried as hard as possible to make this situation into a racial battle. This "incident" in fact was actually a relatively minor incident that is repeated daily during the summer across the nation as persons make the poor choice to trespass onto private property or to ignore rules that they themselves agreed upon.
Unfortunately, another very telling thing is the McKinney Chief of Police's decision to place the sergeant on administrative leave specifically because the sergeant drew his gun and pointed it at two large individuals who were clearly NOT teens and were equally clearly intent on attacking the officer. The officer warned (by pointing his weapon) these two men, and they made the very wise choice of breaking away from the officer and vacating the area. The sergeant immediately holstered his weapon. This was classic, textbook police training in action. Unlike the officer now charged with murder in another state, this sergeant pointed his weapon, the threat to his life ended, and he did not discharge his weapon into the back of a person attempting merely to elude detention. This is what cops do every day somewhere in the United States. The police chief should have been supportive of the officer, should have cited his training and restraint, and should have then said "case closed." What has the sergeant done in other cases? I don't know. In this case, though, he reacted as any normal, sane police officer would, or SHOULD, and defended himself with the minimum force necessary - the sight of his drawn and aimed weapon.
Black lives matter...yes they do. So do White lives....Hispanic Lives...and EVERY LIFE...including those of police officers who strive to do their jobs, but mostly they strive to go home ALIVE at the end of each tour of duty.
I support the many honest and brave police officers who carry on in spite of all that they face each day....
I do not support dishonest, arrogant, brutal police officers and I do support the prosecution of police officers who have truly broken the trust placed in them when they were given their sacred shield.
God Bless America
God keep police and correctional officers safe...
and ...may God keep the criminals as safe as they will allow themselves to be, especially when they make stupid decisions....but I pray that no cop's life be exchanged for that of any criminal...
Here is something even more shocking about the "incident" at McKinney. The very video cited by so many as showing the brutality of the particular police sergeant as he arrested a resisting female (yes, who was only fourteen and was unarmed - the sergeant at no time pointed his weapon at her) in fact shows the sergeant used only the force necessary to handle two situations; 1) a noncompliant but obviously unarmed person; and 2) escalating force when the danger suddenly became life-threatening to the officer himself. Then the officer immediately de-escalates to minimal force as he finishes arresting the female. So the video clearly shows the sergeant attempting to handcuff the girl while verbally demanding her cooperation, and the girl clearly does not comply or submit to arrest. Ultimately the sergeant takes her to the ground rather forcefully and when he does so she immediately stops resisting, whereupon the sergeant stops directing physical force against her. At that point two "teens" (in the same meaning as "teen" that the media applied to Michael Brown of Ferguson, Missouri) approach the officer rapidly and in obviously menacing manner. The officer rightly draws his weapon TO PROTECT HIMSELF and the "teens" (apparently suddenly deciding they are at the wrong end of the weapon) run away into the crowd. The sergeant immediately holsters his weapon and returns his attention to the young lady.
A very telling thing is that residents of the neighborhood association made it clear in both comments and in signs and notes left at the swimming pool that they supported the action of the police in stopping the fight and in clearing the pool of unauthorized persons. Keep in mind this was a private pool owned by the neighborhood association with very clear rules about who could use the pool and particularly about how many "guests" per owner could be at the pool at a given time. In this situation someone had decided to have a party and invited significantly more people than was allowed by pool rules. Since the pool was private property, the people who had legal use of the pool had every right to call the police to enforce criminal trespass laws. The police got more calls as they responded, indicating that the boisterous party had suddenly turned into a fight involving several people. It appears from the several newscasts I watched today that some news venues tried as hard as possible to make this situation into a racial battle. This "incident" in fact was actually a relatively minor incident that is repeated daily during the summer across the nation as persons make the poor choice to trespass onto private property or to ignore rules that they themselves agreed upon.
Unfortunately, another very telling thing is the McKinney Chief of Police's decision to place the sergeant on administrative leave specifically because the sergeant drew his gun and pointed it at two large individuals who were clearly NOT teens and were equally clearly intent on attacking the officer. The officer warned (by pointing his weapon) these two men, and they made the very wise choice of breaking away from the officer and vacating the area. The sergeant immediately holstered his weapon. This was classic, textbook police training in action. Unlike the officer now charged with murder in another state, this sergeant pointed his weapon, the threat to his life ended, and he did not discharge his weapon into the back of a person attempting merely to elude detention. This is what cops do every day somewhere in the United States. The police chief should have been supportive of the officer, should have cited his training and restraint, and should have then said "case closed." What has the sergeant done in other cases? I don't know. In this case, though, he reacted as any normal, sane police officer would, or SHOULD, and defended himself with the minimum force necessary - the sight of his drawn and aimed weapon.
Black lives matter...yes they do. So do White lives....Hispanic Lives...and EVERY LIFE...including those of police officers who strive to do their jobs, but mostly they strive to go home ALIVE at the end of each tour of duty.
I support the many honest and brave police officers who carry on in spite of all that they face each day....
I do not support dishonest, arrogant, brutal police officers and I do support the prosecution of police officers who have truly broken the trust placed in them when they were given their sacred shield.
God Bless America
God keep police and correctional officers safe...
and ...may God keep the criminals as safe as they will allow themselves to be, especially when they make stupid decisions....but I pray that no cop's life be exchanged for that of any criminal...
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