20th Street Shootings

Now, to put this in perspective we need to look at the recent events of Ferguson, Missouri. 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot six times and killed by police officer Darren Wilson. The shooting sparked civil unrest in the community and resulted in protests, rioting, vandalism, and other such responses. In reaction to the social outcry and protest response, the police force took to militarized procedure to contain the civilians. On August 11, 2014 the local police stations outfitted

The Columbine High School Shooting allowed for us to see flaws within our police force. Throughout the Columbine shooting, there were many errors made by police. The police didn’t know the killers were dead, so they looked all throughout the school for bombs. They also feared that “the fallen bodies had been booby-trapped with explosives” (CITE), making them move slowly. These missed calculations impacted the lives of many. Dave Sanders, one of the teacher fatally injured, was in the science room bleeding out. The police knew this but didn’t arrive “until nearly 3 pm. When they arrived, they found more than fifty students with Sanders, who was barely clinging to life. A paramedic tried to stop his bleeding, but it was too late. Sanders died

The Albuquerque police department explains that the recent increases of officer involved shootings are due to the increase of police assaults (Galvan A1). Police Chief Ray Schultz said another common factor that the recent shootings had in common is that “The propensity for the person involved to have some type of mental health history or issue” (qtd. in Tomlin par. 21). In no way do the Albuquerque police think that shooting people is the right thing to do, rather, sometimes necessary when you believe your own life and the lives of others are in danger.

The article “Scene clear after shots fired near Hinesville School” was a very interesting to read because I remember that happening that day. I remember getting an email that day from savannah technical college stating that there was a shooting at Waldo Pafford Elementary School and to stay on high alert because at the time the shooter was not caught yet. I was and still am glad that nobody was hurt during the shooting and that the children was and are safe. I was glad that the shooter was caught and arrested because that means that everybody was out of danger. I know that there are at least two cops outside the school in the morning and during the afternoon to direct the traffic, so where were they that day? When reading the article I remember

I have researched a case that had happened here in my own town not long ago a good man we called (Pops) was shot and killed. I am very familiar with this whole case and the news does not tell the whole story. Kegerran Peyton and Darion Watts was caught on camera walking into the store a number of times, then the third time Peyton walked into the store and put a hundred dollar bill on the counter and asked to buy a pack of cigarettes, when Nilkanth Patil turned to get the pack of Newport’s Peyton pulled a gun from his waist line and shot Patil in cold blood in the back of the neck, then turned and shot another person that was in the store he was taking to Hattiesburg hospital and later released.

At the Columbine shooting, a school resource officer heard the gunshots, saw the shooters on the school’s patio, and shot back at the shooters, saving the lives of the wounded individuals at that location (Kopel A.13). In all of these shootings, if the “armed defenders” would have not had concealed weapon permits, many more people would have been slaughtered and then you would have heard CNN, FOX news, and MSN glorifying over and bringing so much attention to what they call “a terrible tragedy.”

Among their victims was teacher Dave Sanders (age 47), who was holding a door open so that students could flee. If Dave Sanders had been trained and armed with a handgun or given access to a handgun in a rampage shooting situation, could he have prevented the shooter right then and there or even saved his own life? This example shows that waiting for law enforcement training and action taken may not be the most effective and relying on them you could. There is a xx time span of when the shootings took place and the last deaths occurred. Law

On the above date and time, I, Officer Marion, was dispatched to 100 Shasteen Street for a domestic assault that had already occurred. The complaint, Cherlyn Trussell, told dispatch that her husband, Mr. Charles Trussell, had assaulted. She told communication that Mr. Trussell cocked a firearm, and then shoved her in the closet. Ms. Trussell meet Deputy Machuta at the police department, to explain what had happened. She stated that her and Mr. Trussell got into an argument, during the argument, he went and grabbed his firearm and cocked it, making a bullet fall out, and pushed her in the closet. In fear for her life Ms. Trussell yelled she was going to call the police making Mr. Trussell retreat. Ms. Trussell was able to record the altercation on her phone, and you can hear the arguing as well as the

With each year that passes we see more firearm related incidents involving law enforcement officers who were injured or killed while on duty. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reports roughly 92% of the 505 non-federal law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty from 2005 and 2014 were killed by a firearm. (US Dept. of Justice, 2014, Table 29). Studies show when law enforcement officers are shot in the upper chest region the chances of them not recovering and actually dying from their injuries is increased when they are not wearing body armor (LaTourrette, 2010). With this in mind, only one death was a result of the body armor malfunctioning and actually not stopping the bullet as it was intended to do (U.S. Department of Justice, FBI, 2014, Table 43). Other data shows that the law enforcement officers killed while wearing body armor were hit in an area of the upper body such as the shoulder area, the armhole, or in the side panel are of the body armor (LaTourrette, 2010).

Over the Fourth of July weekend, there were multiplying shootings that took place in Chicago. Injuring over eighty-two people and out of this eighty-to people fourteen of them were killed. All of those shooting didn’t take place at the same time they all happen days and hours after each other. I don’t know the cause of all of those deaths, but I do know the police were involved in them. All of the victims ranged from age 14-66. A little boy was shot while watching fireworks with his dad. The dad thought it was just fireworks going off but it was actually gun shots. He looked over looking for the little boy calling his name and he found the little boy unresponsive. Another young boy was shot also, neither one of the boys was the intended target.

Police officers are constantly being faced with the unknown. Police face the danger of getting shot in any situation. Policemen could get shot during a building search, or even at a traffic stop. For example in El Paso, Texas, a dash cam video was released showing that an officers was being shot at in a drive by while conducting an unrelated traffic stop. Reports state that Officer Mike Garcia stopped Horacio Castaneda because he didn 't have his headlights turned on. As Officer Garcia conducted the stop, Frank Aparicio fired four shots from his vehicle as he passed by. Ron Martin, the President of the El Paso Municipal Officers Association said, " Yeah we get shot at, we get attacked, people try to kill us on a daily basis but this is the firest time somebody just opened fire." This incident proves that the chances of a policemen being shot, are very high.

The police shootings over the years have raised troubling questions about when, if ever, police are justified in using deadly force against a suspect. Many of police shootings may just represent a difference form of violence. Others law-enforcement officers may be physically incapable of taking a suspect into custody. For example, Peck (2016) writes about a $500.000 judgment against the District of Columbia when a police officer who was not in suitable physical shape used his weapon in the course of the arrest. How do we decide when a police officer can not only use force but shoot at a suspect even shoot to kill? The protection of life should be the primary value and guiding principle of the Police Department. As such, all levels of staffs

In 2007 at Virginia Tech Seung-Hui Cho murdered 32 people. Seung-Hui Cho was the only armed person in the building. Virginia Tech is a “gun free zone,” which means that students and staff are not allowed to carry guns on campus. So imagine sitting in your table brainstorming ideas for a paper, and a gunman opens fire around you. What would you do? I’ll tell you what the students at Virginia Tech did; they hid behind desks and prayed that they would not be the next classroom Cho picked next to open fire on. If just one staff member would have

We have seen an increase in media coverage of law enforcement using deadly force on our citizens. As a young male, it makes me uneasy to see these constant reminders of the system we live under which is why I chose Case 11.4. In this case, a police officer who is also a middle aged mother chases a teenage male into an abandoned warehouse. The officer, Mary Worthington, corners the suspect and then he draws a handgun from his pants. Some officers would have seen this as an immediate threat to their life, and shot the suspect. Shooting an armed suspect in this situation is justifiable because he could have caused harm to the officer. Instead of shooting the armed suspect, Worthington puts her gun into the holster and yells to the suspect “Put that gun down, boy, before I slap you silly! Does your momma know that you play with guns?” The suspect drops the gun, apologizes, and starts crying (Dreisbach, 205, 2009). Surely, most standoffs do not end in this manner, but fortunately justice will still be served, and one possibly two lives were saved in the process.

Every year (LaFraniere;2015) there are on average 209 shootings taken place in the United States in which four or more victims are left severely injured or dead. If you find the average, you’ll find that means that there is a mass shooting taking place in the United States 57% of the year! That’s more than half of a calendar year the United States will have a mass shooting in which four or more people are killed or injured.