BLeP wrote:
I wouldn't say that he got lucky. He correctly deduced that the driver didn't actually have a gun and that he wanted "Suicide by Cop". So he put his gun away and advanced with his baton raised. The idiot wanted to die. He didn't want to be beaten, so he gave up.
My concern with it isn't that he put the gun away and drew his baton. I think what most police would be concerned with is that he had a position of cover (behind the police car) and he gave that up and walked into the middle of the street. Behind the car, he had protection if the guy had a gun, or knife, or any other weapon. He obviously still felt there was some level of threat since he backed away when the guy walked toward him. The only justification for moving away from behind the car is if he was concerned about the backing of any potential shots he fired. Where he moved to put the van almost directly behind the guy, which would be much better than firing into a backdrop of say, a crowded restaurant.
Did he achieve the desired outcome? 100%. Did he follow his training and do it while maintaining the highest level of safety? No, and I think that is where the "lucky" statement comes from.
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Starting from scratch...