re: #363 kirkspencer

They entered in confrontation mode instead of making a calm approach. From testimony they basically came in and yelled at the guy to freeze, drop weapon, etc. Since there were two of them what they could have done was a split approach so one officer flanked and moved somewhat behind while the other made a calm, “Sir, may we talk to you a moment” approach. The flanking officer could have had hand on weapon for immediate use while the speaking officer used an open spread (hands slightly wider than shoulder width, waist level, open).

The key tell in officer approach and expectation, I think, is the fact that even though the guy reached for his weapon it was still in the holster when he was shot.

Putting it simply, I think that by the technical measure the officers were right - they thought they were entering a high threat situation and reacted to the perceived threatening move - but their entry expectations created a self-fulfilling prophecy. ie, they thought they were going to have to shoot, and their preparations ensured they had to shoot.

I’ve said multiple times there is conflicting testimony about what exactly happened and I’ve even given the officer the benefit of the doubt that he felt he had to shoot….BUT, bottom line is he hadn’t broken any laws, he was shot a total of 8 times and 6 of those were when his hands were empty. That shouldn’t earn someone a damn medal.