It is of increasing concern with police investigations everywhere; what has happened to the sanity of the police force in the USA. If these incidences were occasional it would be less of a concern but this is happening with regularity across the country and beware the motorist who would unwittingly not notice the ‘chase car’ in the rear view mirror when inching over the speed limit.
Last week there was a barrage of bullets aimed at a human being in a van in a contained situation which serves as a prime example of Police Behavior gone bad.
As if to admit police don’t practice their craft well enough it was a free for all. There was no marksmanship but only chronic unloading of ammunition in ‘a direction’ but evidently not THE direction, resulting in downed officers caught in CROSSFIRE from other officers on the scene. What is even more alarming is that the motorist involved never showed any aggression in the way of deadly force nor did the suspect have any firearms. Never once did this motorist fire a shot at any police officer.
Instead what occurred as a new police tactic that gives permission to use of ammunition at the envy of the NRA and gun manufacturers. Damned the safety of the public, let’s make a lot of noise, do all the damage we want and turn over lots of money to ammunition suppliers.
At first so, rare I considered this situation that I completely dismissed it as irrelevant until the two incidents that repeated the same behavior within 24 hours.
Buffaloes slain on west side
Colorado Springs police officers examine four dead buffaloes Monday in the 1500 block of West Colorado Avenue. Five buffaloes escaped the G&C Packing Co. about 11:30 and made their way into a west-side neighborhood. The animals, whose meat now can’t be used for human consumption, cost the company an estimated $2,000 to $3,000.
By R. SCOTT RAPPOLD THE GAZETTE
Five buffaloes escaped from a meatpacking plant Monday morning but discovered soon after that busy West Colorado Avenue was no place for them to roam.
The buffaloes were shot and killed by police firing semiautomatic rifles after the animals charged at the officers.
“They were large enough that . . . they could have done a considerable amount of damage, including possibly killing somebody,” said Colorado Springs police Lt. Larry Laxson.
http://www.gazette.com/display.php?id=1307547
Investigation ordered into police gunfire that killed escaped buffalo in neighborhood
COLORADO SPRINGS (AP) - The city manager has ordered an investigation after police fired up to 120 rounds in a residential neighborhood to kill five buffalo that had escaped from a slaughterhouse.
http://www.9news.com/acm_news.aspx?OSGNAME=KUSA&IKOBJECTID=cd79036b-0abe-421a-00f9-c2ecb7f7413f&TEMPLATEID=0c76dce6-ac1f-02d8-0047-c589c01ca7bf
Police Shoot Buffalo Escaping From Packing Plant
Monday Incident Mirrors Similar Shooting In 2003
POSTED: 11:29 am MDT May 10, 2005
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Police Monday shot and killed five buffaloes that escaped from a meatpacking plant.
Instead of fleeing, the buffalo began grazing in a yard and police fired at the buffalo with semiautomatic rifles as each charged officers one-by-one.
"If five of them would have charged at once, I'm not sure we would have had enough manpower to kill all of them," Colorado Springs police Lt. Larry Laxson said.
The buffalo managed to get out when a truck driver didn't properly park his truck in the delivery chute at the G & C Meatpacking Plant, said plant owner Frank Grindinger.
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/4472052/detail.html
PICTURES ACCOMPANY WTH DISCUSSION
Shooting Spurs TV News Debate
Live broadcast captures fatal wounding of suspect by police after car chase.
By Eric Malnic and Jia-Rui Chong
Times Staff Writers
May 12, 2005
At least two television stations provided live coverage Wednesday as Long Beach police officers fatally shot a man after a car chase, reigniting a debate about how TV news outlets should cover chases and other live events that could end in violence.
The shooting came at the end of a 50-minute pursuit across Long Beach and the South Bay that channels 2 and 7 followed with TV helicopters — the kind of story that has become a staple of local newscasts.
When the suspect suddenly jumped out of his vehicle at a Long Beach strip mall and allegedly reached for a pistol, the cameras captured a group of police officers opening fire and the suspect falling to the ground.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-shoot12may12,0,6840071,print.story?coll=la-home-headlines
THIS IS a change in behavior for police officers and while there is safety in numbers; the streets of the USA are not the streets of Baghdad. This NEW forgiving tactic of police without skills; allows for ‘hit and miss’ of a suspect with police who believe in Gang Warfare from the enforcement side of the law. Quite literally we are now dealing with “The Gangs Who Couldn’t Shoot Straight.”
Who needs riot gear, tear gas, fire hoses, rubber bullets or crowd control when all any law enforcement officer need do is open fire into crowds of unarmed demonstrators. First there was the tank. Now, police have the right to fire at will at the SUGGESTION of danger rather than ACTUAL danger. Is the USA becoming a fear ridden police state? When one incorporates these high power and crude tactics with The Patriot Act and other invasions of privacy, it starts to look more fascist than Mussolini.
