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>> It's poor training and low skills that cause US police to kill so many people. This is a total over generalization. Mainly because the numbers of people sho

>> It's poor training and low skills that cause US police to kill so many people. This is a total over generalization. Mainly because the numbers of people shot by police do not include the context of the shooting. Questions like: - Did the person charge at a police officer? - Did the person brandish a weapon like a knife or gun and threaten the officer? - Did the person physically attack the officer? - Did the person refuse to put down a weapon after being asked several times? Are not included in a statistical breakdown of police shootings. As such, the number people trot out there simply have no context to show in many cases the officer is justified in using deadly force - where it comes down to it's either the cop dying or the person they're trying to arrest dying. This is probably the one thing that irks the shit of me more than anything. The data about police shootings is unreliable at best, completely inaccurate at worst: Officials with the Justice Department keep no comprehensive database or record of police shootings, instead allowing the nation’s more than 17,000 law enforcement agencies to self-report officer-involved shootings as part of the FBI’s annual data on “justifiable homicides” by law enforcement. “The FBI’s justifiable homicides and the estimates from (arrest-related deaths) both have significant limitations in terms of coverage and reliability that are primarily due to agency participation and measurement issues,” said Michael Planty, one of the Justice Department’s chief statisticians, in an email. Even less data exists for officer-involved shootings that do not result in fatalities. “We do not have information at the national level for police shootings that result in non-fatal injury or no injury to a civilian,” Planty said. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/09/08/how-many-police-shootings-a-year-no-one-knows/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/09/0...

forgetsusername 11y ago
>As such, the number people trot out there simply have no context to show in many cases the officer is justified in using deadly force What exactly is "many"? Of course deadly force is sometimes justified. But you do realize that civilian deaths at the hands of police are through the roof in the US compared to any other country, right? Is the US population psychotic? >This is probably the one thing that irks the shit of me more than anything. What irks the shit out of me are apologists who justify police violence because "sometimes" deadly force is required. Is there anyone in this country that doesn't understand that, as a Police Officer, you're going to end up in scary situations? You're signing up for it. It doesn't give you permission to shoot something every time you feel the least bit threatened. Hopefully body cameras solve this ridiculous problem.
- happyscrappy 11y ago
  >Is the US population psychotic? The US is by far the most violent Western nation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intention... >Hopefully body cameras solve this ridiculous problem. Body cameras will likely vindicate police more than opponents would like, although it may be hard to compare before and after because knowing you are being recorded will have an affect.
- DanBC 11y ago
  > Is the US population psychotic? Frustrating that you chose to use word psychotic there. Psychosis isn't linked to violence. Previous episode of violence are; a drug or alcohol addiction are; and if you combine any (or all) of these you get a stronger predictor. But a person with psychosis is far more likely to be the victim not perpetrator of violent crime, are more likely to hurt themselves than anyone else. Maybe psychopathic fits, but that's still pretty stigmatising.
DanBC 11y ago
Except we know that people in other countries who use similar weapons in similar ways (brandishing a small knife, refusing to drop it, etc) are not shot and killed by police nearly as often as they are in the US. A guy weilding a machete and charging police in, say, London is much less likely to be shot and killed by police. (And you can see this on youtube).

forgetsusername 11y ago

>As such, the number people trot out there simply have no context to show in many cases the officer is justified in using deadly force What exactly is "many"? Of course deadly force is sometimes justified. But you do realize that civilian deaths at the hands of police are through the roof in the US compared to any other country, right? Is the US population psychotic? >This is probably the one thing that irks the shit of me more than anything. What irks the shit out of me are apologists who justify police violence because "sometimes" deadly force is required. Is there anyone in this country that doesn't understand that, as a Police Officer, you're going to end up in scary situations? You're signing up for it. It doesn't give you permission to shoot something every time you feel the least bit threatened. Hopefully body cameras solve this ridiculous problem.

happyscrappy 11y ago
>Is the US population psychotic? The US is by far the most violent Western nation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intention... >Hopefully body cameras solve this ridiculous problem. Body cameras will likely vindicate police more than opponents would like, although it may be hard to compare before and after because knowing you are being recorded will have an affect.
DanBC 11y ago
> Is the US population psychotic? Frustrating that you chose to use word psychotic there. Psychosis isn't linked to violence. Previous episode of violence are; a drug or alcohol addiction are; and if you combine any (or all) of these you get a stronger predictor. But a person with psychosis is far more likely to be the victim not perpetrator of violent crime, are more likely to hurt themselves than anyone else. Maybe psychopathic fits, but that's still pretty stigmatising.

DanBC 11y ago

Except we know that people in other countries who use similar weapons in similar ways (brandishing a small knife, refusing to drop it, etc) are not shot and killed by police nearly as often as they are in the US. A guy weilding a machete and charging police in, say, London is much less likely to be shot and killed by police. (And you can see this on youtube).