re: What Do You Think About This Police Shooting? (NSFW)

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I think it’s a human tragedy. Mental illness resulting in her death and an officer who has to deal with it. It’s terrible on all accounts. It’s easy to Monday morning quarterback but that certainly seems like a defensible use of lethal force.

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I agree, easily defensible even if it weren't a cop. That does nothing for the cop who has to deal with having killed a person which would negatively impact most human beings no matter what the circumstances were. It also does nothing positive for policing in general and the impact of mistrust on society in general. I do not have an answer BUT it is not hard to imagine that finding a person with the skill set to be a good police officer AND a competent mental health professional is no small task...and the salaries for those few people would be staggering. Police have a tough job....asking them to deal with mental health issues makes it infinitely tougher and is a grave dis-service to them.

We as a society should do better....instead we vilify the police or subscribe to the comply or die line. Neither is doing anything positive for police or society.