Ohio deputy shot a news photographer

[SCraig]

The whole police/civilian relationship is more strained then I've seen it in my lifetime. Police are rightly concerned for their safety, the 5 officers killed in Dallas, in 2016, and according to a recent Newsweek article four police officers have already been killed by ambush as of the first of July in 2017. Overall depending on who you quote officer deaths are up in 2017 between 20-30%. Do a search on under staffing, and you'll find countless articles as municipalities and states deal with lack of funding. So sometimes you don't have the best quality candidates willing to work for the money you have to pay.

I've known more police officers than I can possibly remember. I've shot pistol competitions with them, I've had coffee with them. I've been to their weddings and I've been to their funerals. There are some I think the world of and there are some I can't stand to be around. But all in all I've learned one thing: They aren't monsters and they aren't Gods. They are people, just like all of us, trying to do a lousy job that most people don't want amidst a chorus of everyone second guessing every move they make. They do a good job one day and save a life, they do a bad job the next and someone gets hurt. The former is forgotten in a heartbeat but the latter lives on forever on social media. People curse them one day and the next day they are screaming for their help.

Was this guy wrong? Probably. Did he fear for his life (which is a justifiable defense in many areas)? Without question. Will he be fed to the wolves or exonerated? I already hear the wolves howling.

 

[Jamesaz]

I saw this report on google news I think and it caught my eye as I had an ex-wife from that town. Most surprising a place like New Carlilse has a newspaper photographer.

 

[Gary A.]

I saw this report on google news I think and it caught my eye as I had an ex-wife from that town. Most surprising a place like New Carlilse has a newspaper photographer.

LOL ... yeah, his father owns the paper. (According to the Daily Mail.)

 

[Gary A.]

The whole police/civilian relationship is more strained then I've seen it in my lifetime. Police are rightly concerned for their safety, the 5 officers killed in Dallas, in 2016, and according to a recent Newsweek article four police officers have already been killed by ambush as of the first of July in 2017. Overall depending on who you quote officer deaths are up in 2017 between 20-30%. Do a search on under staffing, and you'll find countless articles as municipalities and states deal with lack of funding. So sometimes you don't have the best quality candidates willing to work for the money you have to pay.

I've known more police officers than I can possibly remember. I've shot pistol competitions with them, I've had coffee with them. I've been to their weddings and I've been to their funerals. There are some I think the world of and there are some I can't stand to be around. But all in all I've learned one thing: They aren't monsters and they aren't Gods. They are people, just like all of us, trying to do a lousy job that most people don't want amidst a chorus of everyone second guessing every move they make. They do a good job one day and save a life, they do a bad job the next and someone gets hurt. The former is forgotten in a heartbeat but the latter lives on forever on social media. People curse them one day and the next day they are screaming for their help.

Was this guy wrong? Probably. Did he fear for his life (which is a justifiable defense in many areas)? Without question. Will he be fed to the wolves or exonerated? I already hear the wolves howling.

I know a lot of photographers ... I know a lot of photojournalists. I've been to their weddings ... funerals and everything inbetween. It is wrong to shoot a photojournalist for pulling a tripod out of their vehicle.

 

[smoke665]

It is wrong to shoot a photojournalist for pulling a tripod out of their vehicle.

Doubt that it will do much for their friendship either going forward

 

[tirediron]

...Police are rightly concerned for their safety,...

This is the crux of the matter. Any policeman who is more concerned about his own safety than doing his job correctly shouldn't be a policeman.

 

[Destin]

...Police are rightly concerned for their safety,...

This is the crux of the matter. Any policeman who is more concerned about his own safety than doing his job correctly shouldn't be a policeman.

Uhhhh. Literally the first thing taught to any first responder on day one of school is that the number one priority on the job is your own safety. The number two priority is the safety of your fellow first responders. The safety of everyone else comes after those two things.

Literally the first thing every police officer should be thinking about at ALL times on the job is their own safety. The second the place their focus on something else they can be killed.

 

[smoke665]

This is the crux of the matter. Any policeman who is more concerned about his own safety than doing his job correctly shouldn't be a policeman.

I don't believe that's their sole concern, at least not the ones I know, but it is on their mind as it should be. Police officers are human, they have feelings, they have families jyst like everyone else, that expect them to come home at the end of the day

 

[vintagesnaps]

You can't go by the Daily Mail - it's a tabloid. In the UK no less.

I'm in SW Ohio, although this relatively small town is north of Dayton and not one I'm familiar with. I looked at a number of area newspaper and TV station websites and some of the info. from the Daily Mail is inconsistent with other local news reports - it does not seem to be reported anywhere locally.

Can we please let the Ohio AG's office investigate this before drawing definite conclusions? We don't know all the details of exactly what happened and inaccurate info. is already out there.

 

[Gary A.]

For me, due to lack of fact and verifiable fact, this is hypothetical ... what if ...

 

[Gary A.]

This is the crux of the matter. Any policeman who is more concerned about his own safety than doing his job correctly shouldn't be a policeman.

I don't believe that's their sole concern, at least not the ones I know, but it is on their mind as it should be. Police officers are human, they have feelings, they have families jyst like everyone else, that expect them to come home at the end of the day

The photojournalist is also human, with a family ... do you think it's okay for him not to be able to come home safe? The cop who shot the unarmed photographer made it home safe.

 

[tirediron]

...Police are rightly concerned for their safety,...

This is the crux of the matter. Any policeman who is more concerned about his own safety than doing his job correctly shouldn't be a policeman.

Uhhhh. Literally the first thing taught to any first responder on day one of school is that the number one priority on the job is your own safety. The number two priority is the safety of your fellow first responders. The safety of everyone else comes after those two things.

Literally the first thing every police officer should be thinking about at ALL times on the job is their own safety. The second the place their focus on something else they can be killed.

And again... schools used to teach that the earth was flat. Just because something is taught does NOT mean it's correct. When you're being paid with public money, it's service before self. Period.

 

[Destin]

...Police are rightly concerned for their safety,...

This is the crux of the matter. Any policeman who is more concerned about his own safety than doing his job correctly shouldn't be a policeman.

Uhhhh. Literally the first thing taught to any first responder on day one of school is that the number one priority on the job is your own safety. The number two priority is the safety of your fellow first responders. The safety of everyone else comes after those two things.

Literally the first thing every police officer should be thinking about at ALL times on the job is their own safety. The second the place their focus on something else they can be killed.

And again... schools used to teach that the earth was flat. Just because something is taught does NOT mean it's correct. When you're being paid with public money, it's service before self. Period.

Would you say the same for the garbage man? The construction worker on the highway? Those working in government offices? Politicians?

Do they have to put their personal safety aside in the name of the greater good?

Nobody, regardless of how they are paid or what they do, should be expected to take risks with their life. Ones personal safety comes first no matter what. There is no amount of money worth trading away your own safety. Who cares that it's government money they're being paid with.. most of them still only make $40-50k per year which is not nearly enough to put your safety aside in the name of public service.

The primary goal for any police officer or first responder always has been and always will be to go home safe at the end of the shift. Period. There is no room for debate here.. those who have worked public safety will agree with me. Those who have not have no room to speak on the matter.

 

[tirediron]

Would you say the same for the garbage man? The construction worker on the highway? Those working in government offices? Politicians?

Actually, I would say the same for any properly raised, moral person. BUT... the difference between fire, police, military, et al and the garbage-man, construction-worker, etc is that in the case of the former, their job is dangerous by design, in the case of others by accident. In other words, a policeman goes to work (or should) knowing full well that he could be five minutes away from a life-threatening situation; the garbage-man does not need to reasonably expect that.

Do they have to put their personal safety aside in the name of the greater good?

Shouldn't everyone?

Nobody, regardless of how they are paid or what they do, should be expected to take risks with their life. Ones personal safety comes first no matter what. There is no amount of money worth trading away your own safety. Who cares that it's government money they're being paid with.. most of them still only make $40-50k per year which is not nearly enough to put your safety aside in the name of public service.

Thanks for letting me know... that's 30 years of my life wasted.

The primary goal for any police officer or first responder always has been and always will be to go home safe at the end of the shift. Period. There is no room for debate here.. those who have worked public safety will agree with me. Those who have not have no room to speak on the matter.

So, if a person (and it matters not whether they're a fireman, policeman, or second deputy assistant burger flipper at McDonald's) is primarily focused on getting home safely, how are they every going to their job, no matter what it is?

 

[Destin]

Would you say the same for the garbage man? The construction worker on the highway? Those working in government offices? Politicians?

Actually, I would say the same for any properly raised, moral person. BUT... the difference between fire, police, military, et al and the garbage-man, construction-worker, etc is that in the case of the former, their job is dangerous by design, in the case of others by accident. In other words, a policeman goes to work (or should) knowing full well that he could be five minutes away from a life-threatening situation; the garbage-man does not need to reasonably expect that.

Do they have to put their personal safety aside in the name of the greater good?

Shouldn't everyone?

Nobody, regardless of how they are paid or what they do, should be expected to take risks with their life. Ones personal safety comes first no matter what. There is no amount of money worth trading away your own safety. Who cares that it's government money they're being paid with.. most of them still only make $40-50k per year which is not nearly enough to put your safety aside in the name of public service.

Thanks for letting me know... that's 30 years of my life wasted.

The primary goal for any police officer or first responder always has been and always will be to go home safe at the end of the shift. Period. There is no room for debate here.. those who have worked public safety will agree with me. Those who have not have no room to speak on the matter.

So, if a person (and it matters not whether they're a fireman, policeman, or second deputy assistant burger flipper at McDonald's) is primarily focused on getting home safely, how are they every going to their job, no matter what it is?

I do just fine with taking care of my patients while simultaneously being primarily focused on the safety of myself and my partner. It's called situational awareness.

Sure I enter people's homes, but I never let someone between me and an exit. I take care of critical patients while going down the road, but I keep my seatbelt on while I do it. You can simultaneously be focused on your safety while doing your job. But when doing your job puts your safety at risk, you stop and your safety comes first every time.