Monday, July 6, 2009

Fatal Shooting by Philly Cops Should Cause Concern

From the blog Dr. Chuck Speaks, written by Keystone Progress board member Dr. Chuck Williams:

According to published reports, a 59-year old homeless man, apparently mentally ill, was fatally shot, killed by police officers responding to concerns about the man calling 911 repeatedly. Details are still forthcoming, however, what is known is that the man would not stop dialing 911, even when officers arrived at the scene; this obviously annoyed the officers. He was told to stop calling, at which point he pulls a knife and is fatally shot. Now, I am not a law enforcement officer, and I don't claim to know what it’s like to have to deal with life and death matters, regularly. Moreover, I do believe that those who chose such a profession do it out of a sense of altruism and civic duty. The job that they do is tough and they are under paid and underappreciated. However, there is a serious need to do some re-training. These fatal shootings, when there is no evidence of an overwhelming threat to life of the officer (s) or public have to end.
Read the whole article here:

2 comments:

Maria said...

With privilege comes responsibility. Unfortunately there are too many rogue cops that for various reasons abuse their power. If the reason to shoot was "self defense" then they should prove this in a court of law - just like everyone else. Perhaps if they knew that they would be accountable, they wouldn't be so quick at the trigger. This is where the District Attorney's office should make a difference, for no one should be above the law. Any idea what Williams or Untermeyer have to say about this?

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