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Thread: Mistaking gun for taser

  1. #1
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    Mistaking gun for taser

    Interesting article in The Times about how officers can mistake their gun for their taser. It has to do with dominant hands and how the taser is carried.


    There have been other instances of a police officer intending to deploy a Taser and discharging a firearm instead, though such errors are not common.

    In 2018, a rookie Kansas police officer mistakenly shot a man who was fighting with a fellow officer. In 2019, a police officer in Pennsylvania shouted “Taser!” before shooting an unarmed man in the torso. And in 2015, a former Oklahoma reserve deputy killed an unarmed man when he mistook his handgun for a stun gun.

    Greg Meyer, a retired captain in the Los Angeles Police Department and a use-of-force expert, documented nine similar instances from 2001 to 2009 in a 2012 article published in a monthly law journal produced by Americans for Effective Law Enforcement, a nonprofit.

    In six of the nine cases cited in the article, the officers carried both weapons on the same, “strong-hand” side of their bodies. In the other three, however, the officers carried the weapons on opposite hips with the Taser positioned so that they could cross-draw it, the article said.



  2. #2
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    I heard one of the videos this morning and I could clearly hear the officer repeatedly shouting "taser taser " before firing.

  3. #3
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    I understand it becomes a muscle memory thing in that situation, but she blew it. Shouldn’t be a cop.
    "Back after 5 years. I thought you had died.

    don"


    Splitting my time between the montane and the mesas

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  4. #4
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    My intent wasn't excuse her, it was to point out how these things happen. Maybe this will lead to policies to try to prevent this. We expect perfection because of the power police wield but they are also humans who are fallible.

    A family has lost a son but this officer doesn't seem the sort to just shrug it off. She will replay this moment for the rest of her life. I have moments I would like to take back as well. Maybe that's what allows me to see her pain as well as the dead man's family.

  5. #5
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    I feel sorry for the cop, not the punk.

  6. #6
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    I feel sorry for both---the cop for obvious reasons, the punk because he died due to a misdemeanor---they aren't capital offenses
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty” ---Sir Winston Churchill
    "Political extremism involves two prime ingredients: an excessively simple diagnosis of the world's ills, and a conviction that there are identifiable villains back of it all." ---John W. Gardner
    “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ---C. S. Lewis

  7. #7
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    No, he died because he would not follow the instructions given him. If he had complied he would be alive. The cop made a mistake and she will pay for that the rest of her life. The punk made a mistake and paid for it with his life.

  8. #8
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    This latest shooting caught the interest of my wife and I.

    We both had the Taser training - and declined to carry them. At the time, we were both Agents for the State and just could not see the worth of carrying even heavier belts. Seriously, I don't know how much all my gear weighed - but I remember it was way tight to sit in my assigned car when wearing my vest and arms. At the time I was 6'4" and 230 lbs, driving a Dodge Dynasty.

    I feel bad for the officer. Even justified shootings leave emotional scars. My Grandfather, a retired FBI agent, shot a burglar coming (literally) through his back door. It was ruled justified by the police as it was a tumultuous entry.

    Hunter
    I don't care if it hurts. I want to have control. I want a perfect body. I want a perfect soul. - Creep by Radiohead

  9. #9
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    Possible Manslaughter charges to be filed.....

  10. #10
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    After an intensive and thorough investigation of the situation they have decided to charge her with second-degree manslaughter. That's a very efficient Prosecutors office. Kudos to them for being able to make that determination so quickly......................
    OPINION....a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.

  11. #11
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    How long should it have taken?

    I'm pretty sure we don't know what discussions were had behind the scenes, so I guess I don't know enough to be able to say if this was quick or not. It is entirely possible a deal was reached that we don't know about, where she pleaded guilty in exchange for something.

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    It was quick to hold off the mobs....

  13. #13
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    Perhaps so. The question is, is the charge justified, or is she being sacrificed? If it is a reasonable charge, then the speed of it is not a problem. The charge can always be changed, or a sentencing agreement reached, or any number of things. Maybe she agreed to the charge with an agreement of some sort. I wouldn't be so fast to assume that this is somehow justice denied. We don't know enough to tell.

  14. #14
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    It Is by no means Justice denied. It's Justice on steroids Minneapolis Style.
    OPINION....a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.

  15. #15
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    That is no way to end a career in law enforcement. Hopefully, most cops walk out the door feeling like their tour of duty was worthwhile. I know several cops who left in defeat - and that's no way to go. For, they just don't seem to get over it.

    Hunter
    I don't care if it hurts. I want to have control. I want a perfect body. I want a perfect soul. - Creep by Radiohead

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