4 ms·

In what country would it be good advice to move aggressively towards a police officer with his weapon drawn?

Swizec 10y ago
In many European countries officers don't draw guns in the first place. They're trained to de-escalate situations, not make them more dangerous.
- jcoffland 10y ago
  I've seen this in action in Amsterdam and was amazed. Rather than charging into the situation guns drawn and yelling police in Amsterdam, seeing that the situation was not dire, first simply made their presence known. They slowly and calmly moved in talking to the perps the whole time. In the end, the situation was peaceably defused. In America, we are so used to violent interaction with authority that most cannot imagine it working any other way. One of the first steps we should adopt in the US is the mandatory changing of police uniform color. Green or light blue uniforms are less menacing than the typical US all black uniform. I believe this simple change would reduce police violence.
  - Swizec 10y ago
    I was once stopped by a cop in San Francisco for accidentally running a red light on my bicycle. I don't know if he was intentionally intimidating, but I nearly shat my pants.
  - falsestprophet 10y ago
    Police uniforms are navy, not black.
- falsestprophet 10y ago
  Have you tried pulling a knife on an armed officer in Europe? I've lived in Europe and I would not feel safe doing that.
  - Swizec 10y ago
    I haven't and I wouldn't. I don't imagine it would be much fun from me. But I would most likely survive the encounter. If you google "uk police subdue knife", you can find many examples. Here's one: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/london-police-knife-wielding-suspect_us_56636dc5e4b08e945fefcacd http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/london-police-knife-wiel... Quote from the article: "In San Francisco, the suspect died in a hail of bullets. In London, the suspect was subdued." Different situations, different people, I'm sure they're not directly comparable. But in general people are not expected to die from police action in Europe unless they're actively shooting at police officers or hostages or something similar.
mindcrime 10y ago
What about running away? I would think that in most cases, you should probably assume that if you are fleeing, you won't be shot in the back. But in reality, well..

In many European countries officers don't draw guns in the first place. They're trained to de-escalate situations, not make them more dangerous.

jcoffland 10y ago
I've seen this in action in Amsterdam and was amazed. Rather than charging into the situation guns drawn and yelling police in Amsterdam, seeing that the situation was not dire, first simply made their presence known. They slowly and calmly moved in talking to the perps the whole time. In the end, the situation was peaceably defused. In America, we are so used to violent interaction with authority that most cannot imagine it working any other way. One of the first steps we should adopt in the US is the mandatory changing of police uniform color. Green or light blue uniforms are less menacing than the typical US all black uniform. I believe this simple change would reduce police violence.
- Swizec 10y ago
  I was once stopped by a cop in San Francisco for accidentally running a red light on my bicycle. I don't know if he was intentionally intimidating, but I nearly shat my pants.
- falsestprophet 10y ago
  Police uniforms are navy, not black.
falsestprophet 10y ago
Have you tried pulling a knife on an armed officer in Europe? I've lived in Europe and I would not feel safe doing that.
- Swizec 10y ago
  I haven't and I wouldn't. I don't imagine it would be much fun from me. But I would most likely survive the encounter. If you google "uk police subdue knife", you can find many examples. Here's one: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/london-police-knife-wielding-suspect_us_56636dc5e4b08e945fefcacd http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/london-police-knife-wiel... Quote from the article: "In San Francisco, the suspect died in a hail of bullets. In London, the suspect was subdued." Different situations, different people, I'm sure they're not directly comparable. But in general people are not expected to die from police action in Europe unless they're actively shooting at police officers or hostages or something similar.

mindcrime 10y ago

What about running away? I would think that in most cases, you should probably assume that if you are fleeing, you won't be shot in the back. But in reality, well..