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Bystanders, cop shot as NYPD opens fire on alleged fare-beater in Brooklyn subway
(www.nbcnewyork.com)
this post was submitted on 18 Sep 2024
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Honestly? The guy had a knife, which might have injured one of the cops, maybe. US police are far too afraid for their own safety, and automatically reach for their gun when they think there might be the slightest minor chance that they could be in a little bit of danger.
If being in dangerous situations makes you open fire in a crowd of random innocent people, then you should not be a cop. Cops need to learn to accept the risks they signed up for, de-escalate, and protect the public before they obsess over protecting themselves. I know protecting the public is not technically their job, but opening fire in a crowded subway is laughably irresponsible, and should be an immediate fireable offense.
I don't disagree with your overall sentiment that police need better de-escalation training and non-lethal defense weapons - but you need to seriously re-examine your perception of how dangerous a knife attack is. Please don't trivialize it just to make a point, because it undermines your own credibility and weakens your otherwise reasonable argument.
That’s a fair point, I appreciate it. Knives are a dangerous weapon, no doubt about it. They just don’t represent the same level of danger as a loaded gun. But your point is well taken.
It literally is the main job.
It should be yes, but it's not.
I always have this link ready to go, because you would be totally reasonable in assuming it’s their main job, but our lovely Supreme Court says otherwise.
Edit: here’s a non-paywalled link
What the actual fuck
Right? Genuinely unbelievable.
Holy damn, this has got to be the worst take I've read all day/week.
I know in video games, a knife generally doesn't do much damage but... Just... Wow.
Go outside.
Even in video games, a knife is typically pretty deadly. It's an instant kill if you stab someone in the back in a few games.
Fair, I play more RPGs and whatnot where a knife takes 4 years to injure someone. (Though, a bad sword can take just as long because, I dunno, it's too dull to chop through this peasant's leather tunic? Goddamnit Ultima.)
Where do people like you even come from?
Also, they tasered the guy twice before finally shooting him, so they didn't "automatically reach for their guns".
I come from an over-policed city, where I am genuinely afraid of every cop I see, because of stories just like this.
So you don’t think cops should be required to gauge the risk to the public before they gauge the risk to themselves? They chose a dangerous career, and seem unwilling to accept the risks that come along with it. A knife is less dangerous than a loaded gun, I don’t think that’s a controversial thing to say.
I'm not saying the police were perfect here, but someone attacking you with a knife isn't something that "might" kill you, it's an incredibly dangerous situation that presents an immediate danger to your life.
Honestly, some of the comments here are so detached from reality it's incredible.
Cops are too quick to use violence. That’s just a sad reality. Violence is not necessarily the correct response to a violent situation. There are ton of techniques to deescalate even the most violent and dangerous situations. Granted, the NYPD isn’t trained in those techniques, so that’s a big problem, but the cops put the public in more danger than the danger the cops faced by this one violent individual. Personally, I would rather the police put public safety above all else, including themselves. I know asking anyone to put themselves at risk to protect another person is a lot to ask, but if cops aren’t willing to do that, then it comes down to us. And in that case, what are the cops for?
I'm not sure that's the case here actually, it sounds to me like it was only a matter of time before this person went off on someone if they were so quick to pull a knife on the police.