At the beginning of each shift a police officer has only one priority for the day and that is to come home at the end of the shift. As the officer goes about his duties he gets a call about a bar fight. He arrives on scene. There are two people rolling around on the ground and there is a “gun.” The officer doesn’t know anyone. One person is reaching for that gun, the officer tells them to freeze. One man keeps reaching for the gun, or runs, after several commands to stop. Eventually a shot is fired and a man lies on the ground, bleeding. The problem is not that the officer has a gun but that a person doesn’t obey his commands. Remember what I said is the officer’s first priority.
The problem is that there are people out there who feel they don’t have to do as a police officer commands. That is what causes most of these tragic incidents.
There are people out there who demonstrate and empower people not to do as a policeman says. The person can be a person of color or a person with a mental health issue, none of which is relevant.
