>>>>> "MT" == Michael Thompson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
MT> Like it or not, the police do make "split-second" decisions on
MT> the street when working with the mentally ill.
[...]
MT> To make this a MPLS issue, look at the case of the Somali man
MT> a couple of years ago. Completely justified in every way, the
MT> police in that matter couldn't win for losing (no thanks to
MT> Mr. Jamal, but he'll be making less of a ruckus in MPLS from
MT> here on out, I suspect). Anyway, the machete the young Somali
MT> man was carrying was no less lethal and menacing just because
MT> it was carried by a mentally ill man. They were forced to act
MT> and use lethal force. It's too bad, but what else are the
MT> cops to do?
Actually, even Michael doesn't do the MPD full justice here. I was
amazed to hear that there was any protest in this case, since the
Star-Tribune story reported that man who was killed had been tasered
at least twice (either twice or three times), to no effect, before he
was shot. And I saw the photograph of the machete (2' long) in the
paper, which made me sympathize with the officers in question even
more.
Maybe society should have served this person better in terms of mental
health care, but it sure seemed to me on the basis of newspaper
coverage, that the MPD tried hard to avoid lethal force in this case.
This was a no-win case for the MPD.
--
Robert P. Goldman
ECCO
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
REMINDERS:
1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If
you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL
PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list.
2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait.
For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html
For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract
________________________________
Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn
E-Democracy
Post messages to: mailto:[email protected]
Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
