5 ms·
I believe they really are very different. The best example that comes to mind is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX5CPx4RKWw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX
by soneil 11y ago
I believe they really are very different.
The best example that comes to mind is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX5CPx4RKWw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX5CPx4RKWw - a man with a machete actively engaging uniformed officers on the streets of London. While it does look like it should be set to the Benny Hill theme, the man was apprehended alive. They didn't just contain him and wait for a armed unit (which are highly available in London).
Perhaps I'm stereotyping US police forces, but I do think the same situation in inner-city US would have been a clearly justified shooting.
They do get a bad rap, and there have been some very debatable exceptions. But I truly believe that overall, we set a very different bar for justifying deadly force.
- argonaut 11y agoThat's a pretty bad example. Firstly, if I was with 29 other officers I wouldn't shoot anyone who didn't have a gun either. But if I was alone (as the officer was) I'd be pretty stupid to try to take on a physically larger man. Also, I'm pretty sure you could find examples of American police officers not shooting people who were armed. A negative examples doesn't prove much. I agree that American police are more (overly) aggressive. But there is also truth to the statement that America has more violent criminals.
- Zigurd 11y agoIt is not likely that all 29 policemen showed up at once. They managed not to shoot him until he could be subdued. US police have both a racism and a doctrine problem.