Only Police Should Be Trusted, Huh?

11 Feb 2013

With the string of recent public shootings, the Press, its talking Heads, and many politicians are all telling the Public that only Police and Military should have guns (with some variations specifying semi-auto "assault rifles" or just "assault rifles").  Current events in California are providing a wonderful example of why the Public needs to question such "wisdom."  Specifically, since Christopher Dorner disappeared after promising violence, the Police themselves are making catastrophic mistakes.

The LA Times article specifically mentions that while heading into the office, David Perdue was pulled over by police, questioned, and sent on his way.  His pickup truck matched the description of Mr. Dorner's truck.  Seconds after pulling away, a police cruiser crashed into his vehicle and the officers opened fire.  Fortunately, Mr. Perdue was not shot, though he states that his shoulder is injured and his truck is totaled.  Given that Mr. Perdue works for a living as a baggage handler, this will definitely impact his ability to earn a living. 

Police are supposed to positively identify a target before opening fire.  The officers in question state that when Mr. Perdue's airbags went off, they were unable to identify him.  In other words, they opened fire on him without a positive identification.  The Torrence PD issued a statement that Mr. Perdue was not visibly injured.  Had the police made the appropriate identification, they'd have noted that Mr. Dorner is black and that Mr. Perdue is white, as well a significant height and weight difference between the two.

Previously, the LAPD opened fire on a pickup driven by a couple of women, injuring one with gunshots and the other with glass.

Dorner is a former LAPD officer, dismissed by the department.  He left an anti-gun manifesto, promising to create chaos to prove why gun control is needed and claimed responsibility for multiple homicides, as well as attacking some LAPD officers.

The LA Times stated it best:

As the vehicle approached the house, officers opened fire, unloading a barrage of bullets into the back of the truck. When the shooting stopped, they quickly realized their mistake. The truck was not a Nissan Titan, but a Toyota Tacoma. The color wasn't gray, but aqua blue. And it wasn't Dorner inside the truck, but a woman and her mother delivering copies of the Los Angeles Times.

In an interview with The Times on Friday, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck outlined the most detailed account yet of how the shooting unfolded. Margie Carranza, 47, and her mother, Emma Hernandez, 71, were the victims of "a tragic misinterpretation" by officers working under "incredible tension," he said. Just hours before, Dorner allegedly shot three police officers, one fatally. And, in an online posting authorities attributed to him, Dorner threatened to kill more police and seemed to take responsibility for the slaying over the weekend of the daughter of a retired LAPD captain and her fiance.

Please, somebody tell me how Police are automatically more responsible with the use of their firearms.  I have never shot at misidentified targets.  I have never shot my weapon when not absolutely sure of my target, its identity, and what is beyond the target.

To claim "magic misinterpretation" is irresponsible.  Had a private citizen performed any of these actions, that citizen would be sitting in prison.