Armed Standoff Downtown TO

[tompeepin]

No "short" comments here

Wish I had the time ... to participate in this, but I don't.

I will make one short comment:

But you did participate by making this post so you actually did have the time. Was the post short?

Why do you always make statements like this? Is it a preemptive defensive posture? There is no need to be defensive. You have as much right as anyone to express your views. And everyone has a right to debate them. Attempting to be preemptive will not give you an air of authority nor will it stop any criticism of your views.

BTW it is good to read a post of yours again.

Now on to the criticism.

There are huge numbers of advanced technologies for taking down individuals who are threatening harm to themselves or others without killing them. None of these are being used right now by our police forces.

Please give us some examples of "advanced technologies" that would have been guarented to have resolved this situation without the loss of life.

I also want to know that they won't use their criminal tactics on me by accident, and that if I do run into them, I can count on the law being properly upheld rather than ignored because of their privilige.

Not pointing a gun at a hostage's head and at the police would be a good place to start in your making sure that this would not happen to you.

The individuals with whom they interact are agitated, overwrought, scared, perhaps psychotic, and not in a position to think slowly or rationally - the same cannot be said for law enforcement.

Absolutely true, but if that psychotic is endangering people's lives should others die so as to be kind and compassionate towards those poor souls?

The fact that two different negotiators were unable to make a change in the situation speaks to their skills, or lack thereof. Or, perhaps keeping the guy under threat of death didn't help the negotiation.

Their skills are entirely dependant on outcome? Have you ever heard of "suicide by cop"?

The justification for the kill was that he was brandishing the gun, but if the negotiators could talk to him for so long, the opportunity for a different kind of take-down existed. And the what-if game being run now about the jammed gun is just so much ass-covering.

What if? What if? What it? What if he had shot his hostage in the head? Yeah playing with her life is no big deal after all it is just his life that we care about, right?

Why don't we have any of the new non-kill weapons?

Again please give examples? Should a cop have snuck up behind him with a taser / stun gun? And if the stun gun caused him to have a heart attack should they have then use another "technology"?

Criminals (may) kill, cops should not (especially as a first shot).

If you feel so strongly about it, why not become a hostage negotiator and I am sure that you will be able to prevent these murders by cops.

Too bad fate does not have it that you get to be the hostage; I think that it would change one's perspective in a hurry.