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Officer deserves to be charged
Author: John Thompson
Date: 03-12-2024 - 14:17
As a retired police officer I am horrified by that footage. The responding officer should never have fired in a confined space like that.
First mistake was not asking the Amtrak crew member what was going on, he just immediately went upstairs without knowing what to expect. Never asked him a single question besides "where is he at?"
Second mistake was not calling for a backup unit and trying to handle the guy by himself.
Third mistake was failure to de-escalate after scaring the guy awake. That never goes well because the human body is in a fight or flight response for a time. I encountered this a lot dealing with homeless folks. Give them thirty seconds to a minute to wake up at which time you CALMLY explain who you are and why you're there.
Fourth mistake was not asking the guy to step off the train so they could talk outside. Inside a train (or plane) is not the place to deal with a combative suspect.
Fifth mistake was not instructing the Amtrak crew member and nearby passengers to get the hell out of the way.
Sixth mistake was firing the tazer in the same direction as the Amtrak employee. The officer had a chance to reposition himself to avoid this, but didn't.
Seventh mistake was opening fire at the suspect as he fought with the Amtrak employee. This is mind-numbingly stupid with expected consequences. A miracle the Amtrak employee lived.
The whole idea of public safety is that you don't endanger innocent people and put them in a worse situation than they were when you arrived on scene. I am beside myself looking at that officer's incompetent negligence. I say this whole recognizing that the suspect very possibly deserved to be shot, it just should not have happened the way it did.
First mistake was not asking the Amtrak crew member what was going on, he just immediately went upstairs without knowing what to expect. Never asked him a single question besides "where is he at?"
Second mistake was not calling for a backup unit and trying to handle the guy by himself.
Third mistake was failure to de-escalate after scaring the guy awake. That never goes well because the human body is in a fight or flight response for a time. I encountered this a lot dealing with homeless folks. Give them thirty seconds to a minute to wake up at which time you CALMLY explain who you are and why you're there.
Fourth mistake was not asking the guy to step off the train so they could talk outside. Inside a train (or plane) is not the place to deal with a combative suspect.
Fifth mistake was not instructing the Amtrak crew member and nearby passengers to get the hell out of the way.
Sixth mistake was firing the tazer in the same direction as the Amtrak employee. The officer had a chance to reposition himself to avoid this, but didn't.
Seventh mistake was opening fire at the suspect as he fought with the Amtrak employee. This is mind-numbingly stupid with expected consequences. A miracle the Amtrak employee lived.
The whole idea of public safety is that you don't endanger innocent people and put them in a worse situation than they were when you arrived on scene. I am beside myself looking at that officer's incompetent negligence. I say this whole recognizing that the suspect very possibly deserved to be shot, it just should not have happened the way it did.
