https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65hIoeMXe00
This video broke my heart...
See how the bus driver stayed on the bus until cops arrived? I wonder why he stayed on with the obvious and possible threat, but he still stayed on for a while, and when he did get off, he stayed close to the bus. You can see him talk to Yatim, I suppose he was trying to calm him down and help him. The boy was obviously in a crisis. I wonder what kind of conversation the two had...
Police really need to use their judgement instead of being trigger happy more often than not. Being an officer is like any other job that involves being in contact with the public; you need to love people for real, be sociable, considerate and have empathy. As officers, they have to deal with all sorts of people, and many just like Yatim, with crisis, breakdowns, depression, drugs... You’d think they’d be properly trained to deal with cases like this.
The first three shots were unnecessary, in my opinion. He was only holding a knife. What could he have done to harm others with a knife, all alone in that bus? If anything, the boy is the one that was in danger with at least four armed cops pointing their guns at him at a 4 meter distance.
If police suspected he had a gun or other more dangerous weapons, then they should have stayed back to be safe, and also block pedestrians and cars from passing through to keep them safe as well. They could have done that long enough for the boy to calm down, and surrender himself. Forcillo and the rest had plenty other options before surrounding him and shooting him. We need more cops like this bus driver...
I’m glad to see this cop do time for his unjustified and unnecessary action. He got what he deserved. Hopefully, this will be a lesson learned for other cops with similar attitudes, that get a thrill out of being in an authority position and go on power trips and on assaulting/shooting/killing sprees, which is what I suspect happened in this sad event. Forcillo probably repeatedly told the boy to put his knife down, then shot him for not following his orders. Disgusting...
I really feel for this boy’s mother and family. Another young man gone too soon...