Some of the comments over at KOMO News are interesting. Apparently Seattle’s law against knives outlaws common steak and table knives.
And apparently, the victim was well known in the area for whittling in public, and his knife was less than three inches in length, making it perfectly legal to carry and use under Seattle’s law.
A few gunbloggers (Tam, Marko) recently discussed the importance of keeping a knife. Some folks expressed amazement that some people willingly didn’t carry a knife as a daily routine.
Well, this is an extreme example of why I don’t carry a pocketknife. It’s just not considered socially acceptable anymore.
Police said an officer was on patrol when he spotted a man sitting on the sidewalk, whittling, and approached him.
The officer told the man to drop the knife several times, police said, but instead of doing so, he stood up. When the man refused to heed to his commands, the officer opened fire and hit the man.
Why did the officer approach him in the first place? Why would the man not put the knife down when commanded by an officer who has drawn his gun? (I assume he drew at some point while ordering the victim to drop the knife, but the report isn’t clear on when.)
There are too many unanswered questions in this. The biggest one right now is “were there any witnesses other than the officer?”
I have become so jaded that when I read the article the only thought that came to mind was standard police operating procedure. The officer will be cleared of any wrongdoing and awarded a citation for valor. That simple.
How old was the victim? What was his physical condition? Did he stand up asking the officer, “Huh? I didn’t hear?” Then raise his knife carrying hand to his ear to illustrate he didn’t understand?
BangBangBangBangBang…?
Or did the victim say, “screw you bacon pig!” Stand up and say, “I ain’t dropin’ this knife, you can take it from my cold dead hands!”
BangBangBangBangBang…?
Or did the cop approach, draw and say, “Hey munchkin!”
BangBangBangBangBang…?
We just don’t know anything- the news isn’t news anymore.
Can we please have a news station/program that is at least 2 weeks “behind” the news cycle, that actually INVESTIGATES and gets FACTS to report, rather than just providing catchy headlines between commercials that provide no solid info because the police investigation is “still in progress”? Still in progress? It hasn’t ever STARTED yet, and they try to pretend they have decent FACTS to report!
By the time REAL info comes out, it’s an “old” story and is dropped in favor of the latest celebrity fallout.
Wait a minute. Tueller drill? 21 feet? Beuller? Beuller?
See dude with knife, decide to converse with dude with knife. Approach to but not within 21 feet(or further). If neccesary ask dude to drop knife.
Dude can stand, yell, huff and puff – but until dude starts to encroach upon the safe distance that officer should have began the encounter at – there’s no need for the boom boom.
September 2nd, 2010 at 9:06 am
Some of the comments over at KOMO News are interesting. Apparently Seattle’s law against knives outlaws common steak and table knives.
And apparently, the victim was well known in the area for whittling in public, and his knife was less than three inches in length, making it perfectly legal to carry and use under Seattle’s law.
September 2nd, 2010 at 10:06 am
A few gunbloggers (Tam, Marko) recently discussed the importance of keeping a knife. Some folks expressed amazement that some people willingly didn’t carry a knife as a daily routine.
Well, this is an extreme example of why I don’t carry a pocketknife. It’s just not considered socially acceptable anymore.
September 2nd, 2010 at 10:27 am
This seems odd.
Why did the officer approach him in the first place? Why would the man not put the knife down when commanded by an officer who has drawn his gun? (I assume he drew at some point while ordering the victim to drop the knife, but the report isn’t clear on when.)
There are too many unanswered questions in this. The biggest one right now is “were there any witnesses other than the officer?”
September 2nd, 2010 at 11:03 am
I have become so jaded that when I read the article the only thought that came to mind was standard police operating procedure. The officer will be cleared of any wrongdoing and awarded a citation for valor. That simple.
September 2nd, 2010 at 11:55 am
When a cop says “Drop the knife”, and you stand up instead, you very likely will get shot.
September 2nd, 2010 at 1:43 pm
How old was the victim? What was his physical condition? Did he stand up asking the officer, “Huh? I didn’t hear?” Then raise his knife carrying hand to his ear to illustrate he didn’t understand?
BangBangBangBangBang…?
Or did the victim say, “screw you bacon pig!” Stand up and say, “I ain’t dropin’ this knife, you can take it from my cold dead hands!”
BangBangBangBangBang…?
Or did the cop approach, draw and say, “Hey munchkin!”
BangBangBangBangBang…?
We just don’t know anything- the news isn’t news anymore.
Can we please have a news station/program that is at least 2 weeks “behind” the news cycle, that actually INVESTIGATES and gets FACTS to report, rather than just providing catchy headlines between commercials that provide no solid info because the police investigation is “still in progress”? Still in progress? It hasn’t ever STARTED yet, and they try to pretend they have decent FACTS to report!
By the time REAL info comes out, it’s an “old” story and is dropped in favor of the latest celebrity fallout.
September 3rd, 2010 at 12:07 am
Wait a minute. Tueller drill? 21 feet? Beuller? Beuller?
See dude with knife, decide to converse with dude with knife. Approach to but not within 21 feet(or further). If neccesary ask dude to drop knife.
Dude can stand, yell, huff and puff – but until dude starts to encroach upon the safe distance that officer should have began the encounter at – there’s no need for the boom boom.
September 5th, 2010 at 3:27 pm
my favorite part is the mayor:
He didn’t have a taser because he didn’t have enough experience. OMMMM you gave him a GUN instead