politics Post Election Thread: Democracy Dies In Darkness And You Can Help

[Sturgeon]

Sorry, I didn't make it clear that I understood you on that mark!

 

He wouldn't have shot you... But I can see how that would make you think twice!

[Sgt.Squarehead]

It was quite startling from my British perspective believe me.....In the equivalent location locally it would probably have been a fella in a tweed jacket with a Labrador asking me nicely not to set fire to the hills and to please take my litter with me (with which reasonable requests I would most certainly comply).

 

This just came up on the Beeb:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41314562

 

Thoughts?

 

Could definitely have been handled better IMHO, don't they give your plod Tasers these days?

 

 

[Legiondude]

From an uninformed opinion I would guess it depends on the city/department and budgeting. Then there's training, and practices to equip it when on called. If the call to the station goes out for an "armed assailant", local police probably are going to err on the side of facing something more dangerous with their sidearm than be caught underarmed with a taser

[Jeeps_Guns_Tanks]

Yeah, depends on the City or County rules, San Francisco just recently started using them, the Bart PD has been using them for years, lefty groups don't like them over here for some reason. 

[Belesarius]

TBH, 50-50 he gets shot in Toronto. (We are working towards dropping that, but training and asset deployment take time.)  If the officer responding had a tazer, it would probably be deployed. But if you charge a cop armed with a knife, expect to get shot.

 

Edit: If it's a closed multi tool as some reports are saying then IMO, the shoot is not a good one.  Once an open blade is in play though...

 

 

 

[Sturgeon]

From what I understand of US law enforcement (not being an insider, really, just tangential to the industry), their training tends to treat "deadly weapons" as a broad, unified category, generally with the same degree of response. This isn't uniform across all departments, but it does seem to be case generally. So, basically, threaten an officer with either a knife or gun, expect the same response.

 

One thing I have also noticed is an attitude approximating "officer's life first, public second". Now, having said that, I know many, many good officers who would take umbrage with that characterization, and I am not trying to suggest that every officer thinks this way. But, when we compare typical police response in the US to something like that famous video of UK police handling a knife wielding suspect, we sort of get the impression that US police put a higher priority on their own self-protection. Which means they are more likely to react to ambiguous incidents with deadly force.

 

This is an extremely complex problem, and I have dramatically oversimplified it, from the fact that a large number of UK police officers were present in that video (in the US, officers are often expected to respond to dangerous situations on their own, or in pairs), to a deeper issue of communication on the part of both officers and John Q. Public.

 

It's a multifaceted issue, and I don't want to give off the impression that all the fault lies only with our law enforcement, just because that's the focus of the current discussion. Our public is far different, too, I think, and that changes things considerably.

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Please don't take the wrong message from my comments, my perspectives are shaped by a very different society, as my earlier post should demonstrate.....In an armed society these things obviously have to be handled somewhat differently.

 

Kind of surprised to discover Tasers aren't standard equipment.

 

 

[Sturgeon]

You're all good, I'm just being extra clear. Never know when LEOs might be watching.

[Sturgeon]

BLM doing it right for once:

 

 

The video below is stolen I'm pretty sure, but it at least has the whole speech:

 

 

Fake news even covered it!
 

 

If BLM has any sense, they'll figure out how to get more spokespersons like Hawk Newsome.

[Toxn]

On ‎19‎/‎09‎/‎2017 at 3:46 AM, LostCosmonaut said:

Since there isn't a separate climate thread, here's an interesting map I found showing predicted climate changes assuming present warming trends continue;

 

Looks like Russia is the big winner, China/India are going to have problems (IIRC a shitload of their water comes from meltwater in the Himalayas).

According to this thing, South Africa is going to be the well into the Mad Max universe by 2100.

[Ulric]

10 hours ago, Sturgeon said:

Well, in the USA law enforcement is very different from place to place and from officer to officer. We also have more violent and unpredictable criminals, which has an effect on how our officers react to situations.

 

As for that video, uh, no. Dropping a knife in the US will not get you shot by an officer. Everyone carries knives in the US, unless you live in a namby pamby state filled with grass fed hipsters. I have walked down the street in Maryland carrying an axe, and while I did get stopped by police, I did not get shot (nor was I relieved of my axe).

 

None of this is to say that US law enforcement does not need reform; I think it does. There are a lot of issues I can think of with it, including their bedside manner.

 

Out in Colorado, the cops will look at you funny if you don't have a knife, especially out in the county. I have been openly carrying my CZ on the handful of occasions that I've had interactions with the police, and the response I got ranged from "well, just don't shoot anybody" to "you guys, you need to shoot more criminals. By the time we show up, they've laid down arms, they don't want to fight the cops". And yes, those are both honest to God quotes. About only half the time did they ask to hold onto my weapon during the course of our interaction, and every time I got it back. Turns out, not dressing like a slob, practicing basic hygiene, and being polite will get you a long ways.

[Sturgeon]

Yeah, not being a dunce is the best way to not get harassed/arrested/shot. Definitely a two-way street.

[Xoon]

How long is the education in the US?

 

Here it is 3 years in police college. 5 for a master. 
We haven't had armed police until recently (because of the homegrown terrorism and the terrorist threat abroad).

 

Crime is very low here in Norway, to the point where criminals traveling from abroad is a bigger problem where I live. 

[Sturgeon]

Approximately 20 weeks of police academy with a high school diploma, in most places in the US.

...Actually that explains a lot now that I've written it.

[Xoon]

40 minutes ago, Sturgeon said:

Approximately 20 weeks of police academy with a high school diploma, in most places in the US.

...Actually that explains a lot now that I've written it.

5 months?!

[Sturgeon]

Just now, Xoon said:

5 months?!

 

Yeah, thereabouts.

[LoooSeR]

 

[LoooSeR]

@Donward, @Meplat, @Collimatrix, @Sturgeon

Is this shit serious?

 

I have only one comment

[Sturgeon]

"He makes them distrust their media" uh, no, the media did that all by themselves mr. narrator man

 

Hilarious watching the left become the warhawk party.

[LoooSeR]

it is real... the Cringe Wars.

[EnsignExpendable]

On 9/18/2017 at 5:53 PM, Oedipus Wreckx-n-Effect said:

 

Saw a guy run over his own foot with a push mower and get a blade right through every bone and tendon. 

 

I mean, that doesn't happen EVERY time. But you know, it could. 

 

Back in the old country, I had to mow the lawn with a scythe. I wonder how quickly these people would kill themselves with that.

[Zyklon]

 

[LoooSeR]

Quote

#Iran FM @JZarif: Trump's speech was so absurd & pointless that there's no need to respond to that.

 

[Collimatrix]

1 hour ago, LoooSeR said:

@Donward, @Meplat, @Collimatrix, @Sturgeon

Is this shit serious?

 

I had to look this up.  It's real.

I need a drink.

[ApplesauceBandit]

I'm just waiting for us to declare war on the EU too since they rigged our election by saying they don't like Trump.