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To not at least shout POLICE is to invite bullets from the good guys (even off-duty plain clothes police) in the establishment.

If a cop can't figure this in advance and act accordingly, he or she really ought to get out of the business. This incident smacks of, "We're cops. We rule." As some cops found out in Atlanta, GA following the shooting death of 92-year-old grandmother Kathryn Johnston during a drug raid based on bad informant info, that attitude can cost you dearly after the fact.

I've broken up two robberies in my time, both by making serreptitous moves that caused the suspects to abruptly cancel their plans and leave the scene. I've also been in a couple of eateries where mass killings occurred later on, so I am sensitive to suspicious looking people acting fool in such places. And I, along with a growing number of citizens in this country, am armed and ready to act if necessary as permitted by law.

If I was a cop, I'd take heed of the above facts and adjust my behavior accordingly in public. A badge is not a license to run roughshod over the citizenry, who just might be your last chance in a crisis:
http://www.theshootist.net/2009/01/one- ... ry_12.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

KRM45 wrote:I too have a slight bias... I'm sure if the BG had gotten to his car and run when the police lit him up, quite possibly killing someone on the road, people would be hollering "why did they let him drive off in the first place."

Our law enforcement officers have difficult jobs to do, and they make difficult decisions all the time. In hindsight these decisions sometimes appear to be bad ones, but to say heads should roll, etc. seems pretty harsh to me. I'm glad all my decisions and actions aren't aired for all to judge like they seem to be for the police...

I agree...

I believe a lot of incidents like this can lead you to believe that hindsight is 20/20...

Remember what happened in Waco??? There were documented facts that could have led to the issue being resolved without a significant risk of any loss of life before the actual raid that was implemented...But there were other factors deciding the action that was eventually taken and that is widely understood to have been in error...

This is smaller in scale, but certainly huge to those who were involved...

Seems like two separate subjects to address in this thread....

Failure to identify: I seriously hope that recent events lead to reconsideration of aprehension tactics. IMHO sting operations are a necessary evil to get some BGs off the street. I also believe that it is in the best interest of the police and citizens for those LEOs to properly identify themselves. I get the ski masks to cover the identity of officers involved in undercover operations but I don't get the failure to wear clothing that identifies them as police officers. Seems to be a recipe for disaster. There is no question in my mind that the Dallas officer recently killed is a victim of this failure to identify. I'm glad the Florida incident turned out well.

Austin: I'm afraid that this trend of government trampling our rights is just a glimpse of the "change" ahead. Seems that our new POTUS supports this "Change".

My first thoughts were of the security camera video of the armed robbery that occured last week in Sugarland. IIRC The BGs wore dark colored jackets and masks and had guns drawn when they entered the McDonalds while yelling at everyone to get down!

The inceasing militarization of our civilian police force is becoming more and more troubling to me. Add in the definate errosion of civil rights in the name of the "War on Drugs", "War on Terror" etc and I fear for our nation's future.

To paraphrase General Sheridan, the only good ninja is a dead ninja.

by Jeremae » Tue Jan 20, 2009 7:06 pm

The inceasing militarization of our civilian police force is becoming more and more troubling to me. Add in the definate errosion of civil rights in the name of the "War on Drugs", "War on Terror" etc and I fear for our nation's future.

God help America, and only God can do it.

-geo