I'm acquainted with law enforcement officers. I'm related to several. I'm aware. I'm also aware that there is (in most departments) an extremely intensive training regimen where the 'rules of engagement' are drilled into officers' heads and it's made absolutely clear that lethal force is only to be applied as an absolute last resort. in many cases, not only must the suspect be demonstrably armed, he or she must visibly demonstrate intent to use a lethal weapon before officers are taught to discharge their firearms. (I'm aware RoE in the military are significantly different.) from everything we've been told (again, we're still finding things out) the officer was not given adequate cause for opening fire. I personally wonder if it might even have been a flinch on the officer's part - even highly-trained officers and military personnel have inadvertently discharged weapons in pressure situations, which is part of the reason my wife's uncle always insists you keep your weapon pointed at the ground until you're ready to line up a shot and take it. but regardless of the intent behind firing that first round, once you're committed, you're committed. I'm not alleging that this was an open-and-shut case of racially-motivated homicide. I'm saying it appears (again, based on what we have so far) very much like a colossal fuckup that happened to involve a white cop and an unarmed black man.
