Guest phoenixrising Report post Posted September 8, 2002 It's hard enough to hit something with a gun. Yes, it's much harder than what you see in TV. Plus you have the officers doing this while they're jacked up on adrenaline and it gets even tougher. Shooting at a target as small as a leg or an arm is nearly impossible, even if the officer is in a kneeling position, calm and has the time to line up his shot. Therefore you shoot for the biggest part, the chest. Some police departments are experimenting with non-lethal devices like bean-bag bullets which would simply incapacitate someone rather than kill them. However, if the departments don't have those yet the only way to stop them is to shoot them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Cancer Marney Report post Posted September 8, 2002 Yep. And by the way, you can't tell a BB gun from a real gun just by looking at it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MrRant Report post Posted September 8, 2002 Yes you can.... After you shot him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest kkktookmybabyaway Report post Posted September 8, 2002 And the sad part about this all? Mommy, after getting a scumbag lawyer, will probably sue the police department and win... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Agent of Oblivion Report post Posted September 8, 2002 Hell, cops shoot people for pulling cell phones out of their pockets and shit. I saw a video clip of a deranged woman pulling a cell phone out of her pocket and actually pointing it at the cops as if it were a real gun. Apparently it's a strange form of suicide that happens more than you'd think. They didn't shoot her in that case, believe it or not. The cops were definitely justified in this case to do what they did, but it also gives me another reason to never go to church. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Cancer Marney Report post Posted September 8, 2002 Apparently it's a strange form of suicide that happens more than you'd think. Yep. We call it "suicide by cop," and everyone in law enforcement thinks it's disgusting. If you're going to kill yourself, have the bare minimum of courage required to do it yourself; don't try to make good people responsible for your death. If those scum knew what killing someone does to anyone with a conscience, they might think twice. I know two people who were so shattered by that kind of thing that they quit law enforcement completely. I really can't express how much I hate people who willfully inflict that kind of terrible suffering on police officers who put their lives on the line every day to protect others. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest DeputyHawk Report post Posted September 8, 2002 there's no evidence at all from the original source this kid wanted to die though. it's also pretty sick to start a thread glorying in the fact that a mixed up 14-year old was shot & killed by the police. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Cancer Marney Report post Posted September 8, 2002 Spare me the righteous indignation. It was a thread saying the mother had no right to complain, and that the police officers' actions were irreproachable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest evenflowDDT Report post Posted September 8, 2002 Why don't cops just use tranquilizer darts? There must be a way to load them into the same type of hand-gun. I guess it's because the effect isn't instantaneous like with bullets. I don't know all the details, but I know if my kid threatened me and his/her siblings, I'd be the one calling the cops, not some church lady. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Cancer Marney Report post Posted September 8, 2002 Tranqs aren't guaranteed to penetrate clothing. Also, as you said, they aren't instantaneous, there's no kinetic stopping power, and individuals vary greatly in body mass, which is the basis on which tranqs generally work. The dose required to stop a 350 lb male ex-convict hopped up on crack would be life-threatening for someone of my build. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest EL BRUJ0 Report post Posted September 8, 2002 He went to church, and then got killed. The lesson here: Never go to church. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Retro Rob Report post Posted September 8, 2002 Since he was only a kid, I would have liked to think that the police wouldn't have killed him. They could have shot his legs or arms (or ass ), which easily would have knocked him down long enough for them to apprehend him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest kkktookmybabyaway Report post Posted September 9, 2002 I'm sure the po-pos go through rigorous training at the academy regarding shooting specific body limbs... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest phoenixrising Report post Posted September 9, 2002 By the way, shooting someone in the arm or leg isn't necessairily non-lethal. The person could lose partial or even full control of their extremity. If you shoot someone in the leg and hit the big blood vessel in there (don't know the name), they could die if they aren't treated right away. And sometimes a person can go into shock which can kill as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest papacita Report post Posted September 9, 2002 Yep. We call it "suicide by cop," and everyone in law enforcement thinks it's disgusting. Suicide...eh? ::sinister smile:: Uh...nothing else noteworthy to add to this thread thread except that I don't blame the police officers for shooting him either. As far as shooting him in a "more humane" manner, such as the arm or the leg...they're human. All of the training in the world couldn't accurately prepare someone for going face to face with a real gun, and in a situation where one split second could be the difference between life and death, they did what they had to do. I don't see how anyone could blame the police here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest J*ingus Report post Posted September 9, 2002 Deliberately shooting someone in the leg, or almost anywhere else on the body, is a Hollywood fallacy which doesn't happen in the real world. Everyone who's trained to use a gun is trained to shoot at 1.the torso, and maybe 2.the head, and that's IT. "Non-lethal" gunfire is impossible for a human being to produce on demand in real life. Marney already covered the tranquilizers question. It's also much the same situation with tazers and other shock weapons, for anybody who was curious. And finally, on the subject of realistic-looking "toy" guns: just this last weekend, at a sporting goods store, I saw some BB guns that were manufactured in the picture-perfect shapes of a Desert Eagle .50 hand cannon and a Mac-10 submachine gun, with the only tipoff being an easily-removed plastic orange ring around the muzzle. Without careful examination, there'd be no way to tell that these puppies weren't the real thing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Agent of Oblivion Report post Posted September 9, 2002 By the way, shooting someone in the arm or leg isn't necessairily non-lethal. The person could lose partial or even full control of their extremity. If you shoot someone in the leg and hit the big blood vessel in there (don't know the name), they could die if they aren't treated right away. And sometimes a person can go into shock which can kill as well. The Femoral. Another note on tranqs. A does that would KO marney would only make said crackhead a little drowsy, if anything at all. I think this was pretty much a case of suicide by cop. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest The Flying Dutchman Report post Posted September 9, 2002 And finally, on the subject of realistic-looking "toy" guns: just this last weekend, at a sporting goods store, I saw some BB guns that were manufactured in the picture-perfect shapes of a Desert Eagle .50 hand cannon and a Mac-10 submachine gun, with the only tipoff being an easily-removed plastic orange ring around the muzzle. Without careful examination, there'd be no way to tell that these puppies weren't the real thing. Just a curious question from someone who isn't well versed in guns. I've used a B.B. gun before, but not a real handgun. I know the size of a B.B. though and I know the general size of a bullet. Wouldn't it be possible to tell the difference by looking at the hole the bullet comes out of on the barrel? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Cancer Marney Report post Posted September 9, 2002 Theoretically, but I imagine that would be a little difficult to check while someone's pointing the gun at you with his finger on the trigger. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest big Dante Cruz Report post Posted September 9, 2002 Just for a note, the barrel ends on those guns are black, so unless you're shining a light at a certain angle, you really can't tell. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest J*ingus Report post Posted September 10, 2002 I know the size of a B.B. though and I know the general size of a bullet. Wouldn't it be possible to tell the difference by looking at the hole the bullet comes out of on the barrel? Not really, since any BB or pellet is at least approximately the same size as a .22 slug, if not larger. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest EricMM Report post Posted September 10, 2002 If a stranger pointed a gun at me... I wouldn't quibble as to what type. Cops don't have the luxury to examine the weapon before they're getting shot at. How long does it take to pull a gun and kill a cop? A second or two? Cops have to act first, and AFAIK, they're always trained to shoot to kill in self defense. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites