[downsouth]

This happened in chicago a couple days ago. They knew the kid had aspergers syndrome, they had been there 12 times since june. The kid had a kitchen knive and lashed out a a cop. He was shot dead. The article says in the head. On the radio this morning it was said that atleast one of the officers who shot had a tazer. If so why would'nt they have used it?

http://loop21.com/life/police-kill-autistic-boy-15-his-home

[unclebear]

well I guess he got what he wanted, in my view if he was attacking police officers with a knife and they tried to talk him down they did their job but when he cut one of the officers he was asking to be hurt. Just because he had a taser doesn't mean he thought of using it, police are human and when you have a knife wielding unstable teen and he's already cut one officer and your in close quarters adrenalin starts to rush and thinking isn't always clear. I can't say I would have been able to do anything different, whats done is done now lawyers and 50 million critics get to nip pick and yell about what officers did. Same every time people have to make a decision right then and there and after alls said and done some pencil pushers get to rip every second of what happened apart for as long as they want...

[downsouth]

Unclebear a large part of me thinks the same way. It seems to be happening more and more. I don't know if we just hear about it more or there is an uptick in these types of stories.

[rigjumpr]

And it starts again . every time somebody posts a story of the nature here come the Monday morning quarterbacks. Don’t ask why they had to kill the knife wielding kid; ask how did the kid with asperser’s syndrome able to get to the knife ask where the parent /care giver/adult supervision was.

[willshoum]

A shot gun loaded with rock salt, bean bags, taser, Don't bring a knife to a gun fight. Todays cops is all about self preservation.... And I hope they remember that when they come knocking on my door......

[cfraga1978]

Now if that cop would have been stabbed and died would you tell his wife/ kids "its ok that your husband/ father is dead, he did not want to shoot a poor kid with a mental disorder" hell NO. I would rather see a man go home safe to his family knowing he did what he had to do to protect himself.

[MrWray]

A knife is put in the same force category as a firearm. You wouldnt pull your taser if the suspect was pulling a gun,same goes for a knife. You cant just leave anything to chance,especially your safety and your life. There could be a chance that you could pull your taser and be able to incapacitate the suspect,but theres also chances that the taser may not do its job and someone still get seriously injured or killed. A taser is used for several purposes but once a situation has escilated to deadly force you need to use deadly force. The fact that an officer has a taser shouldnt turn a deadly force scenario into an unjustified shooting. I have several years experience with the X26 Taser, here is examples of what you face when using one. If the officers were in close quarters with the suspect, the spread on the probes may not be far enough apart to be totally effective,the suspects nervous system may resist the electrical current rendering uneffective, or the officer may have to act quickly and miss altogether. Like i mentioned, dont leave your safety and the safety of others to chance. The situation sucks, but the officers did the right thing

[Overkill0084]

The 220lb, 5'10" boy (?) transitioned from challenged (or whatever the current PC statement is) person to dangerous attacker in one moment. Sorry it had to be that way, but attacking a LEO with a dangerous weapon seldom ends well.

[orangello]

Originally Posted by rigjumpr

And it starts again . every time somebody posts a story of the nature here come the Monday morning quarterbacks. Don’t ask why they had to kill the knife wielding kid; ask how did the kid with asperser’s syndrome able to get to the knife ask where the parent /care giver/adult supervision was.

Oh, come now, haven't you heard "it takes a village to raise a child" nowadays. I think people forget that villages include PARENTS. Hopefully, the kid is at peace now; i doubt the LEO on the trigger will be for some time.


Regarding my "village" humor, did anybody on here ever have the cops called due to their own extreme reluctance to attend school that day? Seriously, WTF? If you have to call the cops to get your kid to go to school, maybe you should find that kid a better support structure/parents/group home/residential school or something. "The family called police this morning after Stephon Watts, who suffered from Asperger's syndrome, became upset and did not want to go to school, said his mother Danelene Powell-Watts." from the cited article.

[downsouth]

Originally Posted by rigjumpr

And it starts again . every time somebody posts a story of the nature here come the Monday morning quarterbacks. Don’t ask why they had to kill the knife wielding kid; ask how did the kid with asperser’s syndrome able to get to the knife ask where the parent /care giver/adult supervision was.

Oh I get it, COPS ARE ABOVE REPROACH. 10/4