Guy with Golf club killed diring SWAT raid. VIDEO

[DPMS]

Agreed and if the guy was holding a rifle of some sort he could have popped a couple shots off pretty quick. Regardless, its the swat teams duty to distinguish between a threat or not in a small period of time. Mistakes happen but is this not what they train for?

To play the devils advocate, if I remember correctly from my chl course in order to use deadly force you have to feel your life is in immediate danger. So if a 7 year old girl comes at me with a knife (I am 6' 1" 300lbs) I most likely dont have the right to use deadly force. I could most likely take her down without having to use deadly force and the courts could most likely prove that. So was it right for 5+ heavily armed swat team members to shoot one man armed with a golf club and end his life?

 

[Gilgondorin]

So was it right for 5+ heavily armed swat team members to shoot one man armed with a golf club and end his life?

The burden of proof would be on the prosecution to prove that the guy the guy willfully took the shot even if he didn't believe his life was in danger, and the very first thing somebody quoted just earlier was that the S.W.A.T. officer that took the shot, mistakenly thought the guy had a "sword or something".

 

[DPMS]

Even with a sword, there was enough room between the swat team and the guy for them to "asses the situation" if you will. But I wasnt there so truly I cant say if I would have acted differently or not. People change when they are in fear for their life.

 

[bwalker]

But isn't that what all of their training is for? To prepare them to assess a threat and verify their target? All I saw was a guy in his underwear standing with a golf club cocked wondering WTH is going on. A number of SWAT guys yelling over each other so that I could not understand what they were saying. SWAT blasts several shots into a standing target from across the room. Then as he's on the ground bleeding they tell him to get down. Sure doesn't look justified to me.

 

[JColumbus]

But isn't that what all of their training is for? To prepare them to assess a threat and verify their target? All I saw was a guy in his underwear standing with a golf club cocked wondering WTH is going on. A number of SWAT guys yelling over each other so that I could not understand what they were saying. SWAT blasts several shots into a standing target from across the room. Then as he's on the ground bleeding they tell him to get down. Sure doesn't look justified to me.

It's NOT justifies. I don't give a damn what anyone says. To me, a person who's can say that's justified is a person i wouldn't trust with five bucks.

 

[benenglish]

Golf club in hand...

...Burnett told investigators...that he thought the golf club was "a sword or something."

I know the mantra: "Anyone within 30 feet may be able to close the distance and stab me before I can react." That, however, assumes an offensive mindset and some measure of mental preparation on the part of the attacker.

Such is not the case here where the element of surprise was on the side of the police, the momentum of the man shot was nonexistent, and the warnings issued were garbled to the point of uselessness.

Now consider that the first 4 LEOs into the situation were wearing helmets (admittedly without full face shields) and a goodly load of protective gear.

Under the totality of those circumstances, even if the implement in question was a sword, was the threat immediately and reasonably recognizable as so grave that deadly force was warranted?

 

[TX69]

Police! BOOM BOOM BOOM "stop" BOOM BOOM "resisting" BOOM BOOM BOOM lmao

 

[Jakashh]

Well. He heard them announce that they were police and had a search warrant, and he still ran at them with a deadly weapon in his hand. Sucks to suck, honestly.

didn't do much running at anyone from waht i saw

 

[markfh]

I could see myself reacting that way... entering a viet cong hootch in Viet Nam when I was there.

 

[Texanjoker]

I could see myself reacting that way... entering a viet cong hootch in Viet Nam when I was there.

Interesting post. The reason I saw this is after my OIS, I had a co worker come check on me at home. We talked about a tragic incident he had in a hootch in Viet Nam. I had never known prior to our discussion that he had been a marine in Vietnam. I won't share his story, but your post made me think of it.

 

[BG1960]

Sorry, this is complete and total KGB-style bullshit.

 

[winchster]

Police! BOOM BOOM BOOM "stop" BOOM BOOM "resisting" BOOM BOOM BOOM lmao

Ftw. ^^^

 

[TheDan]

No knock warrants are a bad idea for everyone involved. I don't fault the cops for defending themselves, a golf club can very well be deadly, but they never should have been put in that predicament in the first place.

We have kick burglaries down here in Houston with the assailants yelling police as they come in and tie you up.

Stuff like this is rare, but it does happen. I remember seeing a story on 20/20, 60min, or one of those shows several years ago about a rapist that got close to and isolated his victims by pretending to be a cop. If I remember correctly it took years to catch the guy, too.