Kenosha police shoots black man multiple times in his back in front of his children, declares curfew

If a police officer fears for their safety to the point they would rather shoot a suspect than be involved in a physical confrontation, then they shouldn’t be a police officer. If you can’t handle putting your life on the line, then you should never have made the decision to join the force.

 

The Wall Street Journal article I read even quotes Blake’s attorney as saying the police used a stun gun prior to shooting him. The guy had a warrant out for domestic abuse and sexual assault; not sure if the officers knew about the warrant at the initial point of contact. Still waiting for all the details obviously....they definitely could’ve tackled him prior to him getting to the car door, but so what?

I don’t really understand people’s viewpoints here who are using a lack of prior action by the police as a justification for the subsequent actions by Blake. I totally sympathize that the shooting could’ve been avoided earlier. Absolutely. But once he’s reaching into the car he’s putting himself into a lethal situation and that should apply to anyone

 

If the police officers had the opportunity to detain the suspect before using lethal force, they absolutely should have done so. That’s their ****ing job. It’s also why nearly everyone in this thread is appalled and angered by their actions in this case.

The fact that you think it’s alright these officers chose to ignore a non-lethal means of subduing a suspect in favor of using deadly force is something I’ll never understand.

 

You’re misunderstanding my point though. YES they should have tackled him BEFORE he reached the car...but once he reaches the car and bends down I’m arguing you MUST shoot in that situation or your own life is jeopardized as well as others through potential crossfire

 

I disagree. The officer shouldn’t have fired his gun until he saw the suspect reaching for a weapon in plain sight. Unless you know the suspect has a weapon or is reaching for one, you don’t pull the trigger. It really isn’t that complicated.

Also, by this logic, the police officer that shot Philando Castle after Castle reached in his pocket for his firearms registration card was justified in pulling his weapon.

That said, whether or not I agree with your stance is immaterial to me because the officers had ample means and opportunity to use non-lethal force to subdue Blake. They screwed up and should pay the price with their jobs and criminal charges.

 

There's so many valid viewpoints here from both sides. I just don't get why people resist arrest, pull a weapon on cops, run away, or put people in danger by speeding off to escape. Just stop resisting arrest. Law abiding citizens don't do this stuff.

Then you have good cops, bad cops, and undertrained cops. Some are just rednecks or bullies with a gun, but many are decent men who want to serve and protect. I don't think cops should have to deal with chasing some guy over fences and through neighborhoods, get attacked trying to do his job, and all that either. It's an extremely dangerous line of work, and sometimes waiting too late to shoot can in turn lead to them being gunned down. You hear these stories all the time.

This incident looks horrible, and extreme, like too many others. But, so does a cop getting killed on a highway pulling over a car for speeding. Sometimes I feel like this country is becoming like 3rd world countries with all the violence, crime, and murders. It's scary.

Last but not least, stop the violence people!!!!!! Throwing bricks in store windows, burning cars, throwing bricks and rocks at police, and worse isn't the answer. It makes things worse, and creates more suffering and pain. These type responses make you no better. In fact, criminal and violent activity is never the answer.

 

The Castile case was straight up murder. Peaceful encounter, no resistance, and the guy informed the cop he was reaching for his permit; no justification for that shooting.

We can only speculate what Blake was doing here, and to me it seems like he was reaching for a weapon. Could’ve been trying to drive off idk. But you don’t have time to assume he isn’t about to pull a gun, given the totality of the circumstances

 

Before then... the part where he leisurely walks away, in front of the car, then around the other side, then stops and tries opening the door. They had ample time to stop him. There were two officers going opposite directions... all we got was a half hearted attempt to grab his shirt as he is going into the car.

Instead they let a man (who they apparently viewed as a threat) walk up to a car with three children and attempt to enter the car.

Then after doing nothing, they frantically shot him 7 times like 2-3 feet from 3 children.

They didn’t want to deal with a physical altercation so they just let him reach a point where they could shoot him.

 

Playing Monday morning quarterback on these situations is easy. Much harder to always make these decisions in real time. If the officers used a stun gun, then they did try to use non-lethal means to apprehend the suspect. I’m not saying I’m happy with everything the cops did in trying to stop the suspect. I wish they would have done something differently before using their guns. But, I do believe people need to do their part when stopped by the cops in order to have a good outcome.

I’ve been stopped by the cops. I’ve been arrested and put in jail by the cops. I would never turn away and walk away from a cop. I would never reach into my car when a cop has his gun drawn. I mean come on, people have to have some common sense when dealing with the police.

I have been outspoken against the actions of the police many times here on Clutchfans. But, on this case I feel differently.

 

Well I’m in agreement there. Just saying, bending down to where coincidentally I keep my gun makes me think he was reaching for one. I don’t think the cops were setting him up to where they could shoot him; just saying they had little to no choice at that particular moment.

 

If they don’t want to jump fences or chase people, then they need to find a new line of work. I don’t want to hear how hard their job is. Lots of people have hard jobs, being a police officer isn’t even really all that dangerous a job compared to some other common professions.

Violent crime has been going down for decades. The USA is safer than it has been in a long time.

Most police officers follow the “blue shield”, that makes them bad people. Justifying, lying and protecting for other cops is criminal in many cases and is a large part of the problem.

Ask yourself, how often do you see an officer step in and stop an officer from doing something terrible? Why do you think that is?

 

Sure, once he is bending down in the front seat... but he only got to that point because of their complete incompetence.

 

Hopefully we should hold cops to a higher standard than criminals.

 

Philando Castle did his part to ensure a good outcome when he was stopped by Minneapolis police for a busted tail light and look at what that got him. In college, I was pulled over for driving erratically (turned the wrong way on a one way street) my first night driving in Downtown Austin. When I get nervous, I rock back and forth. The police officer saw me rocking and asked me if I was r****ded. I told him I grew up with minor forms of cerebral palsy and epilepsy and that I rock when I’m nervous. Then, despite my explanation, he again asked me if I was r****ded. I’m not one to fight anyone, but, if he wasn’t a police officer, I would have punched him in the face. He was a prick.

I agree with you that people need to have common sense when dealing with police officers, and Blake didn’t do that. However, police officers need to be trained to only use lethal force when absolutely necessary. Not, let’s try one non-lethal means of subduing a suspect and immediately graduate to lethal force when the first method fails. A police officer’s goal should be to do whatever it takes to not pull their weapon when subduing a suspect. In this case, the officers involved had ample means and opportunity to subdue Blake by tackling him well before he got to his vehicle and chose not to.

 

I'm not condoning bad cops. I also don't agree with people running from the law.

 

I’m glad you feel that way because I agree.

I just rewatched the video. The officer that shot Blake seven times grabbed and pulled Blake’s shirt with his left hand prior to pulling the trigger with his right hand.

 

I agree. Heck, in some countries cops don't even carry guns, but then again, those countries also don't sell guns loosely like us, or allow people to walk around carrying guns.

 

Underqualified cops get people killed.

It's as simple as that.

Mediocre cops protect themselves from suspects. Good cops protect the public from suspects. Great cops protect suspects from themselves.

 

Gotcha, so morons are now entering the fold.