Wyatt notes how the Philadelphia Police are responding to knife attacks against officers now. With hot lead. This makes me wonder what the policy was before? It’s extremely difficult to tangle with someone wielding a knife without getting yourself cut or stabbed. Wyatt mentions, “Take this as another example of ‘the militarization of the police’ if you will, but most of us want to go home to our families.”
When I think militarization of police, I think of things like this. Shooting people threatening others with knives should be standard procedure.
+1, a knife is a deadly weapon. Somebody wields a deadly weapon towards an officer or an innocent civilian, time to start catching lead!
I always operated under the notion that stabbing a police officer is something that will get you killed.
Originally taught from past experience but now confirmed by academic research, an average person can close a distance of 21 ft before a trained person can draw and fire. Thus if someone with a knife moves toward you at 21 ft or closer, you should already be on target and firing.
The incident at the post sounds like it went deadly at close quarters but why go through the Taser. A Taser is not a defensive weapon against a deadly force attack. It is in the force continuum for non-compliance not for defense.
Tueller Drill.
Personally I don’t bat an eye if a cop plugs someone coming at them with a potentially deadly weapon of any type: knife, club, broken bottle, etc…
Come to think of it, it doesn’t bother me when the average citizen gives someone attempting to assault them high velocity lead poisoning either.
In philly, there’s an urban legend that guns “kill people”. The people there, the ones involved in this situation in particular, need to take notice that a scary, evil gun saved the lives of police officers as well as theirs.
I agree Sebastian, I can’t believe this wasn’t always police procedure. A knife attack is absolutely deadly force and should be responded to appropriately.
JKB, a Taser should not be used for non-compliance. It should be used only as a less-lethal means of self defense. The fact that they are widely used in that manner doesn’t make it right.
Sebastian, I think he’s setting up a bit of a straw man if he thinks civil liberties advocates like us are worried about cops shooting people in justifiable self-defense.
“Pull a knife, be prepared to be shot.”
That goes for ANYONE, cop or not.
This isn’t “police militarization” — it’s commonsense. Don’t get me started on ACTUAL police militarization…
Back in the 80’s, there was a big deal about the “he’s only got a knife” BS.
Even as a a kid, I thought “Well, what else would a cop do? Stand there and let himself be stabbed? Run away? How does that help enforce the law?”
IIRC it started in NYC with a dictate to cops that they- quote- “respond to force with EQUAL or LESSER force.”
It was this thinking that prompted Tueller to show the world the 21 ft rule.
Sadly many people are confused about this. The Tueller drill was to show someone their own reaction time, and how dangerous a threat can be and distances one “might think” are safe.
The problem is the Stupid Gun Writers played the drill up as a tactic and then bragged about how anybody who is somebody can double tap in 1.5 seconds or less.
BUT the only way they can do that is to ignore the OOD of the OODA loop. Observe, Orient, Decide, Act. The posers just prep for the buzzer and then act without any decision delay.
A knife isn’t faster that a gun but an attacker cab pull, and use, a knife faster than the defender can respond.
Note: a proper Tueller Drill has people in condition Orange. You know you are going to be attacked, you just don’t know when.
Been shot, been cut at and didn’t have a gun. Next cutting, I’m gonna be all over it with the .45.