Thread: Police shoot 15yo boy in Melbourne

Originally Posted by spudboy

Just read the headlines about the police shooting a 15yo boy armed with 2 meat cleavers. Pretty tragic outcome.

How come they don't have something a bit less lethal than firearms, like Tazers? Even if you ended up in hospital from being shocked, you'd still be in a better state than with a gunshot wound.

Also, how come they would shoot him in the chest and not just go for his leg or something less terminal than heart/lungs/vital organs etc? Why not just "wing" him?

Anyway - bad for everyone. His parents. The poor blokes who had to shoot. Family & friends, etc.

Yes very tragic 3 coppers one with gun, one with tazer, one with pepper spray could have ended differently if we new the speed of which the levels of force were escalated and no good winging people only works in the movies and it doesn't stop or even drop people on drugs as anyone who has seen combat would testify.
all my pistol work was centre of seen mass unless I was on CPP work then it was two to the noggin..but we would shoot at least 250-300 rounds per day practising never past 8m , mostly 5m and as close as 1m coppers would be lucky to fire their pistols once a year to qualify,I bet the coppers aren't relishing the experiance as no one likes to take a life, especially a kid's

Originally Posted by p38arover

We weren't there. Each policeman may have fired within milliseconds of the others, i.e., effectively simultaneously. By your post, it appears you think they took turns to pump lead into him.



It also appears you haven't seen police try to take someone into custody. I have, a number of times at work. We usually get three coppers attend when we need them. A male hyped up on drugs fights and flails about and it is difficult for even three male cops to hold down and subdue a drugged up crazy - and these are druggies without meat cleavers or large knives. Pepper spray does nothing.

If I was a cop, I wouldn't want to tackle someone like this when he's armed with a knife or two.

Cops are far braver than me!
.

Ok Ron to answer your questions.First of all i never said anything about them taking turns to PUMP lead into him.That is a ridiculous statement.And also i have seen cops try and take someone into custody.Many times over! You should never assume things! Especially when you dont know the person.You know that old saying dont you?

that mightnt be how you thought it would come across, but that is how it did come across for me also....

thats the problem with the written word... it is very easily taken different to how you mean it...

Originally Posted by SPROVER

And also i have seen cops try and take someone into custody.Many times over!

Ahh, 'seeing' is a tad different to 'doing'. Perhaps you may have more appreciation for the process if you had some experience actually achieving the arrest of a violent, emotional & armed offender. Trust me, it's not an easy task.....

Originally Posted by Treads

Ahh, 'seeing' is a tad different to 'doing'. Perhaps you may have more appreciation for the process if you had some experience actually achieving the arrest of a violent, emotional & armed offender. Trust me, it's not an easy task.....

I agree with you there Treads.But i was just replying to Rons statement where he assumed that i had never seen a cop take someone into custody.

Originally Posted by SPROVER

I agree with you there Treads.But i was just replying to Rons statement where he assumed that i had never seen a cop take someone into custody.

I go back to your previous statement:

Originally Posted by SPROVER

So why they couldnt just surround him is beyond me.

six cops, you would think some one could have knocked him down from behind. I have never handled a hand gun. However if some one came at me with two meat cleavers, and I did have access to a hand gun I would shoot, preferably in the gut as I would hope not to kill him. Meat cleavers could be thrown, so you would not want to get close enough to him to use a baton, if you had one. This should be used as a case where tazers are introduced, but tazers can be misused, that is used when not apropriate. I remember years ago an officer on a beach shot a mental patient who came at him with a knife, and killed him. There was a big upcry at the time, about how they should have disarmed him. Sorry, if some one uses a weapon I think use of a gun is totally justified. We do not want our officers to have to disarm people attacking with a knife in any way that puts them at personal risk. If some one comes at them with a knife/meat cleaver let them shoot. But It would have been better if it was done with a tazer. Batons should only be used against fist and kicks, not against a crazed person weilding two meat cleavers. That is my thoughts anyway. And I should add that some might describe me as a conspirisy theoroist, and I am opposed to the idea of a police state, and shudder at police having machine guns around airports in Britain. But I see tazer, as long as it is strictly only to be used on armed offenders as being a way forward.

Gut shots don't usually stop people quickly enough, double-tapped chest shots usually do....