For a while
the national news reported an incident where an unsuspecting innocent citizen
was “SWATTED” and ended up being shot dead by the police. He was unarmed but
deviated from the instructions that he was given by the police on the scene and
was shot dead. SWATTING or being SWATTED is where a fake call is made to the
police with a story designed to provoke a heavily armed response to unaware
victim/s.
Years ago back
in the time before smart phones I was watching a news video on TV about how a
confrontation between the police and a man that ended in his death. The police
had been called to an altercation where one of the men was reported to be
armed. A news crew was already on the scene. They were focused on the man the
police were confronting. He had one hand behind his back. One of the officers
shouted to the man, “Show me your hand! There better not be a gun there!” I
remember thinking at the time: that guy
is a dead man if he’s got a gun in his hand. He was ordered several times to
show his hand that was behind his back. He was told that he better not have a
gun. Finally he brought his hand from behind his back. There was a gun in it.
He was promptly shot dead.
In another
video that I’ve watched on the internet there was a young man that had been
pulled over by an officer. He had already exited the vehicle by the time the
officer had got out of his. The young man already had his wallet out getting
and was getting his license. He was told to go back to his vehicle and get his
registration. The kid was in a hurry to comply, spun on his heel and hurried
back to his vehicle. The cop started shouting and pulled his weapon. The kid
quickly spun around because he was being shouted at by a police officer and was
shot several times. Slumped down on the ground the kid said, “Why did you shoot
me?” He was unarmed.
More recently
there was a shooting where an unarmed man was crawling down a hallway begging
for his life while trying to comply with instructions that he was being given.
He deviated from the instructions and was shot dead.
I want to
express that I didn’t provide a detailed account of what took place and that in
every instance the police for the most part followed their appropriate
procedures.
While
predominantly more victims are black people of all races are being killed or
wounded.
This is going
to sound odd now but stay with me because it will tie back in to what I’m
talking about. I’m going to talk about lifting things. Specifically a box. I
worked in factories for decades. I went to numerous injury prevention classes
over the years where we were instructed in using proper lifting techniques.
There was one multi-step procedure demonstrated where detailed instructions,
usually in pictorial form, were provided about how to lift a box
(anything). In absolutely ideal circumstances it would
probably work but it was useless for having practical application in the
workplace.
Industry responded
with changes in procedures that made dealing with proper lifting technique more
reality based. Lift with your legs not with your back. Uncomplicated and easier
to execute.
In regards to
shootings where racial profiling isn’t involved it appears that current
procedures aren’t working. There are too many instances where those that are
guilty of some minor infraction end up paying with their lives unnecessarily or
even worse where innocent victims are being shot. Weapons in the hands of the
individuals may or may not be involved.
Weapons at the
scene always increase the stakes even if they’re only in the hands of the
police. One mistake, a quick movement, a failure to execute an instruction
properly, being in a hurry to comply, a hand going to the wrong part of the
body, on anyone’s part can result in a fatal outcome. Being innocent or guilty
can be irrelevant to the situation. Add to this the physiologic response taking
place with all those on the scene and all that’s needed is a spark.
Police train
for these types of confrontations. The vast majority of civilians don’t.
Criminals for the most part don’t train for an armed confrontation other than
anticipating the possibility of one. The desired outcome is for everyone to get
out alive. Too many aren’t. There’s an obvious problem.
For the
average civilian the daily routine does not include a confrontation with an
armed group of authorities pointing guns and shouting demands requiring exact
execution of instructions. In a recent video I saw a man being told keep his
hands straight up in the air while getting down on his knees. Okay this is a
totally foreign physical movement. Try it. And don’t let either arm dip even
slightly. With me the chances of this happening are even more remote given the
condition of my knees. It would be a definite “You Tube” video because at some
point I would be falling down if I could in fact keep my hands/arms straight
up. The natural response to get on one’s knees is not to begin with sticking our
arms straight up. As soon as we start going to our knees our brains and muscle
memory are kicking in telling us that we’re doing it wrong.
How many times
have you seen a guy check his fly? Haven’t? We do it. Often we do it without
even thinking. Just go through one wedding with your dress shirt tail sticking
out your fly and not finding out until the wedding pictures are being taken and
believe me you’ll be checking your fly the rest of your life. I watched a
commercial outtake once and the director was telling the guy that he needed to
stop shaking his head no one he was talking saying no and the guy was saying
I’m not doing that and was shaking his head from side to side while saying it.
The director said you’re doing it right now! The guy said no I’m not while
shaking his head no. We just do some things without thinking like move our
hands to our hips or cross our arms during a conversation.
Then we have
our basic natures to contend with. There are a lot of people that you can tell
to do something but if they don’t see a good reason themselves they aren’t
doing it especially if they think they’re right. I can tell you for sure that
if I’m ever in such a situation my main concentration is going to be focused on
not peeing my pants. That’s going to consume a lot of my attention.
I can tell you
for sure that if SWAT showed up at my late mom’s house she would have her hands
on her hips and be shouting right back at them because she would know that she
was innocent. Period. She would not follow precise instructions shouted at her
by rude people. Then, if she were still alive, she would go back inside. She
might even come back out to ask if anyone wanted sandwiches.
Seriously, how
many weapons do you have to point at one or two people if there’s a designated
shooter? People, especially if they’re unarmed, shouldn’t end up with multiple
bullet holes from different people in them. If you’re the person with all the
weapons pointed in your direction the subtlety of fingers not being on the
triggers is going to be lost on you especially if you’re trying real hard not
to pee.
In closing I
wish that I had the answer or answers but I don’t. What I do know is procedures
need to be changed. We need better outcomes.