Mass shooting at the Empire State Building!
The media were having a field day with the latest example of a mass shooting by a mad man. Well, that is, until the facts began to get in the way of the story. Turns out it wasn't really at the Empire State Building, and the murderous little creep had one victim in mind, a former work colleague, whom he murdered in cold blood. It was the cops who turned the scene into a "mass shooting." It seems they pumped out somewhere between fourteen and sixteen rounds, while the other side of the "shoot-out" fired back with exactly . . . zero. All of the wounded at the scene were shot by cops!
I sound like a broken record on this topic, but cops are out of control. As could be predicted, Mayor Bloomberg has upped his anti-gun crusade calling again for a ban on "AK-47s," and, apparently, he was on a radio interview bemoaning AK-47s precisely at the time his boys in blue were shooting up mid-town with their 9mm handguns. He, therefore, might want to focus his gun control efforts a little closer to home: how about with the NYPD?
What kind of training do "America's finest" have? Are they, in fact, even trained in aiming and shooting a weapon? Double-tap, anyone? What sorts of rules of engagement do they have? Do NY City cops know how to operate in an urban environment? That might be a useful skill, just maybe, no? Didn't Blackwater get nearly put out of business for a shootout on the streets of Baghdad?
The NYPD will now get hit with a raft of lawsuits over this mass shooting. The already beleaguered taxpayers of NY are going to take it on the chin, again. But, hey, they are safe from oversized sodas . . .
Maybe they should hire Academi to train the police. :-)
ReplyDeleteThis one writes itself. If gun control is hitting where you are aiming, then NYC Police need a lot more gun control.
ReplyDeleteIt is axiomatic that a gunfight is a high-stress situation with lots of people acting in ways they would not if not so stressed out. That said, all firearms training starts with WHEN not to engage, and WHERE not to engage. The only reason to engage is to protect human life. Sounds like the NYPD got this just backwards. In defense of the NYPD, only two cops actually fired their service weapon. That makes the story even MORE screwed up, though, for those two cops. They really ought to be fired. And in any future employment they should not have access to firearms.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised, usually there is SWAT armor, lock downs galore, and tactical hdqs assembled. Oh well, let loose the press conferences, sensitivity training, and law suits.
ReplyDeleteyou beat me to it Rick. some 'Texas Style' gun control seems in order.
ReplyDeleteAnd completely ignored by the media was Chicago, where violence has become so rampant that on the same day as the NYC shooting they had 7 seperate shootings wounding as many as 19 people.
ReplyDeleteThe leadership in Chicago doesn't care since the dead will vote Democrat anyhow.
DeleteAssuming - charitably - the two cops saw the perp with his gun out and pointing at them, and knowing that a shooting had just gone down, they were probably in the right to shoot. Once, each. And then they needed to observe the effect of their shots and determine if the bad guy was firing back, orient themselves to the suspect and bystanders, decide if further shooting was required and if so reshoot. One more time. Then repeat.
ReplyDeleteInstead they shot and shot and shot and shot and shot and shot..........apparently without further thinking. Adrenalin. Sometimes a cops biggest enemy. Sheriff Taylor maybe had it right. Barney Fife went an entire career only needing two bullets.
Yes, I agree. The perp deserved to die. Facing an armed murder must be an unnerving and adrenaline producing experience. We, however, expect our cops whom we have given great powers to have the training and personal control not to go ape. The firing of some 16 rounds in a crowded area is just not justifiable and says something about training or just the mentality that prevails in some police forces, to wit, the public is the enemy.
DeleteNYC's not going to be facing any legal problems, other than the effort it takes to get any claims dismissed. The cops' actions, whether the smartest or not, were well within their proper police powers. The city might make ex gratia payments, but that's it.
ReplyDeleteFor the sake of the taxpayers, I hope you're right, but in the past the city has paid millions. I would note the Ramos case in 2000 which cost the city $6 million, and a 1993 case in which the city had to pay $4 million--both for police hitting bystanders.
DeleteMayor Bloomberg, meet reality:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDivHkQ2GSg
This is what should be shown in every HS instead learning how to put a condom on a cucumber.