Originally Posted by
Stickman
1. I totally agree, but that doesn't fit the narrative. Only cops screwing up or doing bad things fits the media narrative.
2. This comment doesn't disparage the shooter in any way, but lets keep certain things in mind. One, he was not the only cop on scene, nor was he first. The threat distance was far away, there was no immediate threat to the officer. The book "On Killing" is not a favorite of mine by any stretch, but one of the things the author nailed involved distance to killing as a matter of mental trauma to the shooter. Mental trauma does not mean he freaks out and goes off on a stress disability, it simple means something out of the ordinary and against the raising of the shooter when they were a child. The VA coins this as "Moral Injury" for people who are unfamiliar with the term, and you can google it to get a better understanding, but I digress.
Anyway, back to #2. Grossman points out in his book there is a level of disparity between the bomber pilot at 30,000 feet and the artilleryman, and the tanker, and the infantryman in a DFP, and the greatest disparity of all is the man who kills at point blank range while looking his subject in the eye as they fight hand to hand. The bomber pilot is killing many more people, so why does he have the least concern over his actions? Primarily (summing it up in generalities) because he never sees the faces, never hears the screams, never sees the damage, and is never directly threatened by those he is bombing. Please remember, this is a generalization. Change that scenario to the cop or military man who gets jumped by a bad guy and engages in hand to hand combat. The man who sticks in the knife or shoots the other while they are engaged in fighting each other. That cop or infantryman is exposed in the largest of ways. He feels the threat, he understands he will die if he loses, he sees and feels the reaction as he kills.
Is it any wonder we see a difference in the reaction of the pilot versus the cop/ infantryman? Is it any wonder (training and previous experiences aside) we see a different reaction in the aftermath of officer involved shootings when we break them down the same way?
It doesn't change all that much as cops when we interact with people in the street. The good people who are exposed to violence have not seen or lived it before, or if they have, its typically not often. They tend to be more anxious/ stressed when first contact is made. Change that to a street turd, and they play it as cool as the pain will allow. Its just part of life for them. They have seen it close up many times, and its nothing new much of the time.
Once again I'll point out, this does not diminish the actions of the TPD Officer involved! The Officer is rock solid, with good training, good experiences, good equipment, and as much as I hate to say it about the brass, in this case he has good leadership (cough cough as I spit the taste of praising any the brass from my mouth). I hope the Officer was able to enjoy his leave, write a nice clear report of his actions, say the correct happy things to the shrink, and get back to duty in an orderly fashion.
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