And we should be thankful for that: I know someone who lost a nephew to cops in December (who were called in by his sister to do a mental health check; when they arrived there was no active danger and yet they put him in a knee-to-neck restraint); but do we actually need a squadron of people to show up with guns in these situations? I know people who have gotten so afraid of cops that they don't even call the cops anymore when actual bad stuff is happening... like people shooting out their windows with pellet guns as part of what seemed like repeat targeted attacks against their house (a co-op).
> but do we actually need a squadron of people to show up with guns in these situations?
They received a call about a violent crime in progress. When they arrived, the man exited the house with a gun in hand, thinking he would need to defend himself from intruders.
Are you really suggesting that the police should have sent one or two unarmed individuals to a report of an active gun crime in progress?
By all accounts, the police appear to have acted appropriately and managed to both control and de-escalate the situation after the man exited the house holding a gun. Why are we trying to make the local police out to be the bad guys for following up on a report of armed violence and de-escalating the situation without shots fired? It doesn’t make sense.
If the call had accurately represented the situation it seems like it reasonably called for force. I'd say if we wanted to deescalate the police response we'd have to get a lot more serious about restricting gun ownership. As it is it's hard to see what the nonviolent solution is to a heavily armed person doing violence.
