Cop refuses to shoot person attempting to commit suicide by cop, gets fired.

[Glassunion]

Cop was trying to help suicidal person with a gun. Cop refused to shoot suicidal guy, two other officers arrive and shoots the guy in the back of the head killing him.

Apparently it's department policy to always oblige those wishing to kill themselves. Refuse to shoot, and try to talk it out = unfit for duty. Shoot a guy in the back of the head = fit for duty... Of course after a bit of paid time off.

After responding to a report of a domestic incident on May 6 in Weirton, W.Va., then-Weirton police officer Stephen Mader found himself confronting an armed man.

Immediately, the training he had undergone as a Marine to look at “the whole person” in deciding if someone was a terrorist, as well as his situational police academy training, kicked in and he did not shoot.

<snip>

“I told him, ‘Put down the gun,’ and he’s like, ‘Just shoot me.’ And I told him, ‘I’m not going to shoot you brother.’ Then he starts flicking his wrist to get me to react to it.

But just then, two other Weirton officers arrived on the scene, Mr. Williams walked toward them waving his gun — later found to be unloaded — between them and Mr. Mader, and one of them shot Mr. Williams’ in the back of the head just behind his right ear, killing him.

more: http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2016/09/11/Weirton-fired-officer-who-did-not-fire-at-man-with-gun/stories/201609090080

[awoke_in_2003]

1. I wonder, had the man been white

would the cop have been fired?

[Glassunion]

2. I'd dare not speculate... Our local "experts" on the rules of combat

and engagement will, I'm sure, set us all straight on shooting stances, and how fast a person can draw a gun and whatnot. So skin color is not a deciding factor.

[IronLionZion]

7. The more important question is why did a US Marine hesitate to kill someone

while the non-Marine cops decided to shoot him in the back of the head?

Somebody was trained for these situations.

[awoke_in_2003]

8. The one with actual combat training

was taught to assess the situation. The one with only cop training was trained to treat civilians as potential threats and targets.

[Initech]

3. Anyone who thinks we're not in a police state needs to read this repeatedly!

And fuck these murderous cops!

[treestar]

4. That's strange

I would think they would commend this guy for getting somewhere and bravely risking his own life. Sounds like it comes from above as a demand to shoot.

[Nye Bevan]

5. When a cop does not shoot a person who is waving a gun around and refuses to put it down,

in violation of protocol, that would seem to be a firing offence. The person with the gun could easily kill the cop or innocent bystanders and is a very dangerous threat that needs to be neutralized.

[kcr]

9. But that's not what happened

He didn't start waving the gun around till the two other cops showed up. They fired him for not immediately shooting this guy the minute he arrived there. That's not the way to handle a suicide, do you think?

[Lancero]

6. A pity. We have here a example of one of those good cops that apoligists rave about all the time...

And the department goes and fires him.

He was trying to de-escalate the situation. He was trying to save a life. But apparently these two things are a gross violation of department protocol.

[kcr]

10. Apparently at least some apologists think he was wrong.

They actually want their cops to shoot first and ask questions later. The "apologizing" is just for show.

[Jim Beard]

11. Lets see, this is West Virginia and the cop has all his teeth.

The man never had a chance to be successful in West Virginia?

[Glassunion]

13. You best not be knocking West Virginia.

[linuxman]

14. That's a hell of a thing to say.

[Rex]

12. Everything changed after 9/11

They told us to deal with it.