Officer-involved shooting in West Seattle

mi584 said on September 7, 2010 at 10:52 AM

The suspect always dictates how much force the police will use. If you do what you're told, you either get to go home or get handcuffed without getting hurt. If you fight, the cops fight back because they don't get paid to run. If the suspect pulls out a weapon that has the potential to kill, you're probably going to get shot. If I pointed a rifle at the police I would expect to get killed, and all you sheeple should too.

bobknows said on September 5, 2010 at 8:00 AM

The blue gun thugs are supposed to be PROTECTING the people, not killing the people. Killing the people is NOT the same as protecting the people. If they are unable or unwilling to protect ALL the people, then they should turn in their badges. .. How many dead men will it take before the sheep wake up and see what these violent gangs are really doing, killing, robing, assaulting, beating, destroying the people? Are you still sheep enough to believe their lies? How many dead murdered men will it take to wake you up?

dozer said on September 4, 2010 at 8:18 PM

@gspilz RU serious? I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. If you believe this was a suicide, do some reading on 'Suicide by Cop'. You'll find if they don't get what they want right away, they'll start doing what they need to get the cops to shoot.... It's a no win for anybody involved.

gspilz said on September 4, 2010 at 7:37 PM

Any man who fires upon another unarmed man is a coward, regardless of their occupation. Change the culture, where's the shame? Are the fellow officers with conscience so insecure in their dept's social environment that they can't say it how it is? Boundary conditions, folks; set them. Response to a wielded knife should be by taser, response to a threatening unarmed man should be by baton, response to another gun should be by gun. Change the rules. Fairly punish anyone who breaks them. Responding to a suicide call? Use a different set of criteria than above. There is no point in preventing a suicide with murder. If we don't make these simple changes, the solution-less downward spiral that we face ahead will lead us into a citizen-police dynamic that won't reverse. Media, you're losing public trust. Police, you're losing trust and public order. People, you're losing your ability to channel emotion into functional conversation. Words aren't having intended effect? Changem.

poedoldman said on September 4, 2010 at 6:25 PM

Wow, somebody actually dumber than bobknows - tomma206. I can't believe it. TWO of you in the same area? What are the odds. It is obvious neither of you have any idea of what really happens in police work. You think everything is fixable with technology or talk. Fine. Live in your bubble. The rest of us will thank the cops for doing their jobs and protecting us and themselves. No log off of the computer in the group room and get in line for your meds.

tomma206 said on September 4, 2010 at 6:05 PM

I think that there should be a shift in policy for cops before they even arrive.The military has non lethal advances like extreme sound directed at the armed person that would drop them but keep them alive.My point is, what are the police doing to change the way these situations are handled?With all the tech out there I think its worth it to spend the money on future non lethal solutions.There are plenty out there.The reason they wont is because it will cancel out the paid vacation AND they love to shoot people as it sends their message while letting the people know who is god.Pitifull.

trucker45 said on September 4, 2010 at 5:22 PM

Bobknows, you should volunteer to be a human shield for the police. At every call you go up to whoever is the suspect and try to reason with them and point out that the blue gun thugs are just waiting for a chance to shoot them. Then when you get stabbed, shot or struck with a blunt object the last thing you can think of as you topple to the ground is wow and I gave them every chance to do the right thing. The police are not out on the streets to give a suspected trouble maker the chance to get drop on them. Would you if you were faced with someone who is acting odd?

yessir said on September 4, 2010 at 4:56 PM

kkkcoop... you are the animal... do you wish you were the majority... do you have fleeting hopes in these news blogs that others will swing en-masse to your screwed up views? Not gonna happen coop? Oh maybe here in cyber land... but in the real world? You're still a freak.

taxdollarsponge said on September 4, 2010 at 4:55 PM

@browndog,with all the recent shootings,the police auction will be huge this year.

landpirate said on September 4, 2010 at 4:24 PM

How stupid can a person be to point a rifle at a police officer ,,,he got what he wanted

cyrixlord said on September 4, 2010 at 1:55 PM

Lol, Seattle police still use Crown Victorias. How retro.

bobknows said on September 4, 2010 at 12:12 PM

The blue gun thugs are supposed to be PROTECTING the people, not killing the people. If they are unable or unwilling to protect ALL the people, then they should turn in their badges.

kbbcoop said on September 4, 2010 at 11:46 AM

why do the killer cops get paid administrative leave? taxpayers now get to pay for a prolonged vacation for these animals?

pebbles98501 said on September 4, 2010 at 9:42 AM

I am glad the police are shooting when necessary. It is NOT okay to evade police. It is NOT okay to run. Keep it up Seattle Police! You have supporters! Stop tying the hands of men/women out there making their best judgement call for the situation. It's not you and you don't know how you would react. We support you Seattle Police! Thank you!

akrandy said on September 4, 2010 at 8:21 AM

repetivity. You got that right. Yesterday I said how your cops are shooting someone EVERYDAY! BUT THIS ONE LOOKS LIKE A GOOD SHOOTING. AK47 AND A HANDGUN!

repetivity said on September 4, 2010 at 8:12 AM

Sounds like the first justifiable shoot of the week.

washingtonapple said on September 4, 2010 at 8:07 AM

Most of these initial news reports I've seen in the last week or two tend to rely on whatever the police say happened, and not necessarily what did happen. Keeping that in mind, if the situation happened the way they say it did, then obviously the police were justified. I own a taser and several firearms. In a situation where someone has a firearm a taser is a very poor choice of weapon. Tasers fire two metal darts with wires connected to them. They exit the weapon at different angles from each other so that they can hit the target well apart. This aids in conducting electricity to a larger portion of the target, which makes it much more effective than if they flew parallel to each other. This also makes them increasingly inaccurate with range and combined with the limited length of the wires (20' for police models I believe, 15' for civilian models) it limits their effectiveness. They are a good weapon against an attacker with a blunt force object, or some other non ranged weapon with

washingtonapple said on September 4, 2010 at 8:07 AM

-limited lethal potential, but against a firearm it would be incredibly foolish if a gun is available. Most tasers only have one shot, and if you miss, which is surprisingly easy to do, and your adversary has a gun, you are dead. Or even if you do hit you might still be dead, youtube is filled with videos of people continuing to fight after being shot with a taser. So enough with this silly taser debate. Its an excellent weapon against physical attackers, but not armed ones. I think the biggest questions here is not what weapon was used, but if the man actually pointed the rifle at the police. Or if they just saw it, panicked, and mowed him down.

davesea said on September 4, 2010 at 7:46 AM

What ever happened to "run away, run away"

dakotanative said on September 4, 2010 at 7:19 AM

A guy in Wisconsin got pulled over for a traffic infraction. Ad soon SD the cop stopped, the guy tan toward him. The cop tazed the guy. Not only did that not stop the guy, it led to the guy pulling his gun. That led to a bullet in the heart. Had the been as close as the guys out here, the cop would have been on the gurney. Carry on cops, you are doing awesome.

plutonomics said on September 4, 2010 at 6:56 AM

Hey treeclimber, I smoke weed and I also run my own business. So were not all brain dead pot heads. It's the people that drink alcohol and do other drugs that are the scourge of society.

browndog said on September 4, 2010 at 6:47 AM

@BOBKNOWS the guy pointed an assault rifle at them, you think they should have had a meeting and decide who will shoot.

bobknows said on September 4, 2010 at 6:38 AM

Shoot first and ask questions later. Typical gun thug behavior. ... If 3 pigs all shoot the guy, does his death count for all 3 in making "ACE" pig? Or, does it only count 1/3 of a kill each? The people want to know.

browndog said on September 4, 2010 at 6:35 AM

Some of you people are really that stupid. Yes all three cops should have shot, and they should have finished him off. It is simple, do what the police say even if it does not seem right at the time, it is there job to take control of the situation. I know more than ten police officers working for more than five different agencies and not one is even close to a being corrupt cop. It is not like these recent cop shooting guns and knives are being placed on those shot, there are multiple witnesses watching this all go down. As for use a tazer...a lot of the times they do not work and then what the guy with the knife stabs the cop. I have had many run ins with the police and every time I do what they as and never have I been shot. Good work to all law enforcement keep putting the scum six feet under.

tugthug said on September 4, 2010 at 6:26 AM

An Officers vest won't stop an AK round so shooting the bad guy was justified in saving one's own life! Pretty simple

treeclimber said on September 4, 2010 at 6:12 AM

with so many bad people threating society with rape ,murder,robbery, insest,drugs,child molestation,,and so many cops on leave we need to bring in more hired guns for protection.shouldent be to hard to do what with all the troups trained to kill rerturning from the so called bush war.but they would need to step it up a notch from the homless to the mexican drug dealers,parollees,acid heads ,brain dead pot heads,and bullies who go threw out society and terrorize people...

salsalover said on September 4, 2010 at 5:49 AM

What really angers me is when suicidal people can't do the job alone, so they want the cops to assist them in their mission. That has to have a lasting emotional and psychological impact on someone. What a selfish act!

salsalover said on September 4, 2010 at 5:44 AM

When someone levels an AK47 at you, you don't look at the other 2 cops and say, you want to take him out? You respond as you were trained. You play the waiting game, it may cost you your life. And FYI, cops are trained to move up one level of force--so if someone has a knife, they pull out their gun. With an AK47, it's kind of tough to beat that unless you have yours out. It's pretty clear this guy wanted to kill someone; he'd already shot some rounds off before the cops got there. If I arrived at a home where shots were fired, and I had the choice of using my gun or taser, it would be a no-brainer for me. The taser would stay put. But that's because I want to live a little longer--God willing!

bigdaddyof4 said on September 4, 2010 at 4:39 AM

Based on the information here, this is more than a justifiable shooting. Having said that, it seems eyewitness reports that surface in the days following the rash of shooting lately, show that the intial reports aren't always as cut and dried as they seem? As I've said before, I generally support the officer side in these instances but lately I have had to change my mind in many cases. Our elected officials need to get ahold of what's going on here and address it. Too many people dying!

skippythedog said on September 4, 2010 at 3:00 AM

OMG! Did 3 cops have to shoot? One well placed shot to the left pinky would have been more than enough....Why can't the cops just shoot a slug right the muzzle of the rifle and hand the poor guy a cold root beer to calm him down. Grrr....some people just need to be smoked. This guy is a perfect example.

bruces said on September 4, 2010 at 2:57 AM

I realize police officers have been targeted and killed in the recent news. The fact that there have been so many police shootings in the news reports this week sends a message to those who display lethal weapons when in contact with law enforcement that they risk their life. Obvious message.

clear2copy said on September 4, 2010 at 2:52 AM

D-bag ^

invalid said on September 4, 2010 at 12:13 AM

What is with all the gun & knife-wielding nuts lately?

blankingout said on September 4, 2010 at 12:08 AM

agree with jamman.

jamman said on September 3, 2010 at 11:05 PM

I was a little upset at the way the police handled the most recent three shootings. This one however is very clear; they had no choice. He pointed a rifle at them! He wasn't holding a knife or backing up his vehicle "aggressively", he was pointing an assault rifle at the officers. By the way, I wasn't upset about the last three shooting because the suspects died; but because it seemed the officers were a bit too jumpy.

lattelisa said on September 3, 2010 at 10:19 PM

The man never shot anyone. The cops did. Who's the more evil of the two? This has been happening everyday. Scary.

dozer said on September 3, 2010 at 10:18 PM

Calling all cop haters... granted it's early... but what should they have done? I'm sure you'll hate that they didn't talk him down, shoot the gun out of his hand, or use a taser.... The crazies are getting off on all the news hype about taking on the cops. Reality is, we went a long time with minimal loss of our police officers. In light of all that's happened with Skagit County, Lakewood PD, SPD, and Pierce County... our law enforcement are not taking chances any more. If some nut bucket breaks into my home and is armed with a knife, I hope the responding officers nerves are steel, and aim is true....