The Kajieme Powell shooting, on camera

I thought we needed to know the names?

The mob in Ferguson demanded to know the name of the cop who shot Michael Brown. They were accused of not being "open" when they didn't release it.

The St. Louis cops were praised for their "openness" yet they have not released the name of the cops involved. And, you'll not that Chicago hasn't either.

Maybe that's just policy. Maybe it should be changed. But, maybe the Ferguson cops were not unique in how they handled it either.

 

So, was the criticism of the Ferguson PD was just ginned up outrage, determined to whip a crowd into a frenzy, by people who knew better?

 

Have you not cleaned up Chicago yet?
Why not? What on earth are you waiting for?

 

Did a police brief one time right before deadline. Mental guy with a knife approached officers. The officers backed away to a safe distance until he could be disarmed safely. One thing to keep in mind with police shootings - just because they are labelled "justified," doesn't mean they had to go down that way. Most departments have less-than-lethal force options. A lot of them happen because an officer(s) don't follow correct procedure or make bad decisions that end up forcing an issue that didn't need to be forced.

 

I'm curious why the police rolled up and stepped out of the vehicle with guns drawn for a suspect who allegedly stole two sodas.

As others have noted, they didn't appear to make any attempt to de-escalate the situation. I find that troubling.

There were 410 Americans killed by police officers last year. By contrast, there none in the U.K., and British police officers only fired their weapons three times. That's a stunning disparity.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2014/08/armed-police

 

They got out of the car with guns drawn because the call came in as a man armed with a knife threatening people, not as a shoplifting call.

 

End of thread.

 

He wasn't walking toward them.

A clearly mentally ill man got gunned down in broad daylight.

Let's at least have some sadness and human compassion about it.

 

He raised the knife.

Oh, wait. No he didn't.

 

You'd think someone would have developed a gun or miniature extinguisher that shoots a thick cloud of pepper spray from 15-20-25 feet.

There are so many alternatives to subdue someone in a situation like this before the real gun should be used.

 

Brown was shot and killed on Saturday, the 9th.

Wilson was identified on Friday, the 16th.

Powell was killed on Tuesday, the 19th.

Will St. Louis release the names of the cops who killed Powell faster than Ferguson released Wilson's name? They're on the clock. If Ferguson was washed for being incredibly slow, where is the criticism of the much bigger St. Louis PD for taking nearly as long already?