Familiarity Breeds Contempt

[jlw]

I wrote a piece about an experience this past week.  This type of thing was nothing unique or special, but it does paint the picture of how thin the line is between shots fired or just handcuffs.

[Omega]

I wrote a piece about an experience this past week.  This type of thing was nothing unique or special, but it does paint the picture of how thin the line is between shots fired or just handcuffs.

Read, it thanks for sharing.  I left this comment:

 

Your grandfather was killed by one of his cows.  While I was not there, that "cow" could of very well come after you!  At the end of the day it's every officer's duty to make the best decision they can, but I hope these latest incidents doesn't lead more of you to make the decision based on them instead of your situation and training.

[ReeferMac]

Thanks for sharing!

This is one reason I like working in Printing!

 

- K
 

[Bullet280]

Short and to the point, very well written and thought provoking.  Thanks for sharing.

[peejman]

Well written. Complacency will bite you when you least expect it.

[DaveTN]

Good for you, I know that makes you feel good.

I was in the same situation once, only I thought he was pulling a gun, but wasn’t sure. I violated department policy and fired a warning shot at his feet. He was pulling a gun and that stopped him. He was a juvenile, everyone lived and it changed our department policy on warning shots.

Pretty interesting how your mind works and what you think about, isn’t it?

[ReeferMac]

Good for you Dave, I've been troubled by the lack of stages of escalation seen frequently these days. I'm not a cop-basher, have a lot of respect for the boys (and girls) in blue that uphold the law, but we've all seen the actions of bad-apple's on the tv screen, and it does raise the question about escalation of force sometimes.

 

Policy or not, I think you made the right choice.

 

- K
 

[Monkeyman2500]

Great job! Thanks for sharing.

[Mwhiskey]

The Lord works in mysterious ways doesn't He.  I'm glad you already saw that guy and knew how he was acting- glad nobody was hurt.  Thanks for the write up.  Good stuff!

[E4 No More]

That was a good write-up that does need to be presented to the public in general. We hear the bad crap all of the time, but the good things like this never see the light of day in the news. I know that's preaching to the choir around here because we all know the news outlets do not see "Cop Makes The Right Call" as news worthy. Back in the revolver days, I made a call halfway through a trigger pull that saved the guy's life, so I can relate.

 

On another note, (as a city boy), I was surprised that cattle were considered one of the most dangerous animals to work around. It may be the familiarity breeds contempt thing, but they seem so docile that city folk just don't see them that way.

[jlw]

Thank you all for the kind words.

[Cruel Hand Luke]

And that is why training in decision making is just as important (if not more so) than shooting and manipulations.