Justifiable shooting?
So, big news in the Rose City tonight on KPTV12 is about a cop that shot a girl with a non-lethal beanbag round while she was resisting arrest. The MAX station security video shows a pair of cops trying to arrest the girl, when she hauls off and punches one of the cops. The punched cop gets in close and tries to bring her down, while his partner swings his launcher off his shoulder and very deliberately shoots her in the thigh with the beanbag. Shortly after, the punched cop is successful in subduing the girl.
The girl in question is 12 years old.
This is the part where most people stop listening, but there’s one more piece of information that is very pertinent: the girl also happens to be 5’7″ tall and weighs in at 150#. At this size, she is easily as big as many adult women I know. Heck, my ex wife isn’t quite that big and I know how hard she punches – it hurts.
So from where I’m standing, the cop was perfectly justified in popping her with a beanbag. He used a non-lethal round and carefully shot her in the leg – making sure there would be no chance of a major injury. Sure, he could have used his baton to deliver that little wake-up call – and in so doing, he could have broken her leg, where as the beanbag just hurts like a bitch. The kind of hurt that snaps your attention away from everything else you’re doing so the shooter’s partner can get some cuffs on you.
Hollerings