12-year-old Shot Dead by Police

[Person Man]

So, police are supposed to wait to have a gun pointed at them?  Remember, they didn't necessarily know this was a toy. 

You just can't reach for a gun when you're around cops.  You should treat cops like people who might shoot you without a good reason.  You shouldn't look at them, you shouldn't talk to them and you shouldn't mess around with fake guns near cops for God's sake.  And kids in places like Cleveland should never have toy guns, it's way too dangerous. 

This is spot on. Police are as dangerous as the people they protect us from and the police are not culpable in that being the case but that is the way it is. This is why I am against gun control. In many communities, the police's interests do not totally align with the interest of their charges and the charges should have the opportunity to protect themselves.

[Person Man]

The kid reached for his BB-gun (which looks like a handgun... you never know what kind of gun it is in an inner city setting like Cleveland) when he was instructed to "put his hands up". Obviously the officer should be concerned when someone is reaching for a gun when they are instructed to put their hands up. Obviously it was a misunderstanding and a tragic accident, but the fact he reached for the gun should not be ignored. And taking a gun out of your wasteband is threatening when a police officer is telling you to put your hands up...

It is scary to see people in here call police officers "thugs" and how they are "enemies of the people". I hope you aren't put in a situation where a police officer is required to help you, I'm sure you'll be a singing a different tune, at least I'd hope so.

Sometimes good protocol followed by good police leads to tragedy. What I take from this and other situations like this is that we lose our freedom when we become totally dependent on the police for a community identity and narrative.