h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

on the evening news yesterday the news team followed a breaking story referred to as "police involved in shooting". of course, my first thought was how the officer had been shot and how serious the injury was. as the story developed it was made clear that the officer was not the injured party.

the gist of the story went like this: a police cruiser on regular rounds apparently interrupted a drive by shooting. the cruiser gave chase to the vehicle that was "driving by" resulting in a high speed chase on a local freeway. the vehicle went off the road and could go no further, so the three suspects within left the vehicle and continued on foot. one of the suspects drew an automatic pistol of some sort, and the pursuing officer (now also on foot) fired. the suspect was struck in the leg and subsequently captured along with one of his accomplices.

what bothers me about this, and has bothered me about similar cases in the past, is that the main focus of the report was that the officer shot a suspect. the fact that the officers interrupted a drive by shooting (thus saving lives and lessening violence, as is their job), and that one of the armed suspects was still on the loose were treated as mere footnotes! not until the late news some 4 hours later was the focus of the story shifted to the fact that a suspect was still on the loose.

why is there such a public cry of outrage when an officer shoots a suspect in the line of duty? doesn’t it make sense that if you are in the process of running away from the police and you draw a weapon you should expect to be shot?

It makes perfect sense to you and me broe, but it doesn't really make good news coverage. It's in the 'Dog Bites Man' area of public interest.

However, a shooting which may well turn out to be another case of police brutality, which may end in a huge lawsuit, which may result in some local riots... now *thats* newsworthy.

It's tabloid journalism, and it's the norm these days

I don't know, there is something to be said for living in a society where a Police Officer using a Firearm is a rare enough event to be considered news worthy.

if only it were true, happy... and that the spectacular aspect was that use of force was necessary, not just that force was used.

actually i was more irritated by the fact that there was still a suspect at large, presumably armed, and the priority wasn't in telling local residents to be careful. in a worthwhile news report, i expect to receive all the relevant details, it would just be nice if they were prioritised. if it had happened in my neighborhood i would certainly want to know about the one that got away first.

i understand about the possiblity for a police brutality case, gosho, even if it were the case i would still want to know about who might still be out there first. i think incidents of police brutality are rare, and i have little sympathy for criminals as it is. they get coddled and protected too much.

i know you could never pay me enough to be a police officer, to be in a situation where you have to judge an opponent's intentions in an instant. i wouldn't last long, i'd rather be wrong than dead any day.

bro, have you ever talked to Two bit (U35376)

It looks like that's .5 for the good guys with two arrests.

If the broadcasters were responsible they would try to get a description of the fleeing felon to warn the public.

Anywhere you go, a police shooting is going to be headline news.

actually, two bit, i thought of you when i posted this

i guess it's inevitable that shootings involving police are headline news these days, i just hate that it seems to cast suspicion on the wrong party.

i dunno... i guess there's lots of "routine" police work that goes on all the time without a hitch, but when stories like these grab attention sometimes it appears that police face too much opposition to their work.

are you still doing police work? if i recall, at one time you were considering going into teaching instead. nice to see you at any rate. how've you been?

I've been okay. I quit the police department and moved over to a sheriff's office. Right now I'm working in a jail and waiting for a position to open on the road. It's not great, but the people I work with are a lot nicer than at the PD.