And yet whites with actual loaded guns are being arrested without harm, a cop should be able to tell the difference between a gun and a pipe, period. Funny how this man likely had a mental illness but his complexion doesn't afford him that excuse.
If the title was: “Police see man holding gun and pointing it at them, and shoot him”
Would you say: “They shouldn’t have shot a guy with a mental illness.”?
Police can’t tell in a split second decision if someone has a mental illness. If a man points a gun or an object that looks like a gun at police officers, he will be shot. I’ve always been taught to respect police officers, not to move at them except at a slow walk, and to always be sure they can see your hands. I have a white aunt who saw my mother pulled over by a cop many years; she was pregnant at the time, had her husband circle around to behind the cop, and she jumped out and started running to explain to the cop what had happened. The police officer drew his gun and almost shot her - the only reason he didn’t is because she was visibly pregnant and nearly waddling. The point is, you don’t move in a manner that could possibly be taken as threatening around cops. You don’t duck your head so they can’t quite look at you. You don’t suddenly move or suddenly stick your hands in your pockets. Police are preemptive, cautious, and vigilant, because they know that every day they go to work, they might not return to their families.
And of all the professions that are dangerous, police work doesn't even make the top ten. But let's put that aside for a moment. Is this not a risk that they accept when they take the job? No one is forced to become a police officer. You serve for the benefit of the community that you took an oath to protect. People do not magically become your subjects because you wear a badge.
