| Author
|
Post |
 
|
|
untanglingwebs
El Supremo
|
Early Sunday morning a man was shot by the Michigan State Police after the man pointed a gun at the troopers as they exited their car. Whether the trooper who shot the man properly followed the force continuum or whether the police should resort to wild west tactics became a hot topic on M-Live. Many rabid Flint readers expressed the belief the trooper should have shot to kill and should not have wounded the man.
Steven_Hurley_778 felt the officers should have dropped to a level that used verbal commands to have the man drop the weapon, while Qwertyasdfgh cited the force continuum and stated the trooper was right "to exceed the level of the offender by one level". A Flint officer, numero407 chastized Steven_Hurley_778 because he believed the man shot at the troopers and criticized the use of "the negotiating tactics you saw on tv on some of Flint's criminals".
The issue becomes how much force is the correct force when an officer encounters violence or the threat of violence? Retired Sgt. George Godov, a 22 year veteran in the Denver, Colorado area wrote a training piece on the use of the force continuum.
In Flint, when an officer ecounters a violent or threatening scenario (level four on the force continuum) they only have OC, short for oleoresin capsium, commonly called pepper spray. In order to be effective the OC must be sprayed directly into the eyes or the suspect must inhale it. Unfortunately for Flint officers, OC doresn't work on everyone and may not work on up to 30 % of the offenders they encounter.
Godov, while describing the need to use stronger and non deadly tactics to bring a" suspect under control or affect an arrest", does not recomend OC or pepper spray. "Pepper spray, once thought an effective street tool for police officers has lost popularity over the years because of its ineffectiveness, especially on intoxicated persons", writes Godov.
While he describes the use of the collapsible baton, Godov advocates the use of the taser. Godov says "of all the options available at this level the taser, in my opinion, is the most effective." He goes on to say "they may be more than effective on persons under the influence of PCP and other drugs who do not respond to chemical irritants."
His position on OC (pepper spray) is echoed on a site for law enforcement officers where they discuss the use the spray at work. A corrections officer in a maximun security facility said the spray took up to 5 minutes to work on those who took psychotropic meds. Even after 10 minutes the officers could taste the OC after grappling with the prisoners. A Maryland officer complained that the spray did not work on those you most want it to work on, the pain resistant, those on drugs and alcohol, the mentally ill and those with a goal determination to harm the officer. Many officers said they had to upgrade the power level of their OC.
The ultimate question for Flint residents and Flint officers is why is the Flint Police Chief, Alvern Lock, so opposed to officers having tasers. The Police Officers safety Association states that 150 officers are killed each year in the line of duty and every day 150 officers are assaulted and 10 are shot at. Does Flint have so many officers that we can jeopardize their safety by Lock's lack of vision and refusal to be adaptable in officer tactics.
Flint has been ranked in the top five most violent cities in the nation for cities with populations over 50,000 since 2007. So why is Flint about the only community in the county where the officers cannot carry tasers?
Last edited by untanglingwebs on Sat Mar 03, 2012 9:33 am; edited 1 time in total |
|
|
Mon Feb 27, 2012 8:03 am |
|
|
Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
|
| ZAP! Oops, sorry Chief. This thing's got a hair trigger. |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
|
|
Mon Feb 27, 2012 8:49 am |
|
|
untanglingwebs
El Supremo
|
In less than the first two months of 2012 five officers have been injured while doing forcible arrests. Were these injuries necessary or preventable. When these officers are on workman's comp they are not on the streets. And when an officer is injured in such a way that he cannot return to active duty, we lose another trained officer on the streets.
The toll on the psyche of the officers is unacceptable. For those unable to return to work, no matter the age, the loss of the opportunity to pursue one's livlihood because of a preventable injury is a daunting future. It is also on the minds of those who work with these uncertain outcomes on a daily basis. |
|
|
|
Mon Feb 27, 2012 9:46 am |
|
|
untanglingwebs
El Supremo
|
Man shot by state police charged with seven felonies
Published: Friday, March 02, 2012, 5:26 PM Updated: Friday, March 02, 2012, 8:00 PM
By Khalil AlHajal | kalhajal@mlive.com
(MLive.com files)
FLINT, Michigan -- A man who was shot by state police Sunday has been charged with seven felonies related to the incident.
The 31-year-old Flint man was shot by a state trooper around 2:15 a.m. Sunday.
State Police Lt. Gary Parsons reported earlier this week that troopers were patrolling the area of Pasadena Avenue and King Street when they observed a man standing in the shadows of the Max Beef-Pro Bar-B-Q building, peeking around a corner toward the front of the restaurant.
Shots were fired after troopers exited their vehicle and the suspect pointed his gun at them, police reported.
Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said in a news release today the suspect is accused of assaulting the manager of the restaurant before pointing a revolver at police.
Leyton charged the man with carrying a concealed weapon, felon in possession of a firearm, resisting and obstructing police, three counts of assault with intent to murder and felony firearm.
He's yet to be arraigned. |
|
|
|
Sat Mar 03, 2012 9:35 am |
|
|
untanglingwebs
El Supremo
|
Tasers in Michigan prisons praised
By lansingstatejournal.com - Paul Egan Detroit Free Press
Published: 02/23/2012
LANSING — Michigan corrections officers say a recent experiment carrying Tasers is a success, but a planned cost-cutting measure -- eliminating round-the-clock patrols of prison perimeters -- is a threat to prison security.
Department of Corrections Director Dan Heyns and Michigan Corrections Organization officials are in rare agreement about the use of Tasers, which began in late December as a pilot project in five of the state's 31 prisons.
But Heyns and the union are at odds over his plan to save about $15 million by scaling back vehicle patrols around the prisons' exteriors.
Heyns described the use of Tasers as "a game changer" in testimony Tuesday to state lawmakers.
"
We're seeing a dramatic drop in the number of assaults," Heyns said. Prisoners "are going to think twice before they take on a staff member."
Mel Grieshaber, executive director of the Michigan Corrections Organization, which pushed to allow officers to carry the electric stun guns, agreed the devices are having a positive impact.
Russ Marlan, a spokesman for the corrections department, said comparative assault statistics are not yet available, but anecdotal evidence from wardens suggest just the threat of Taser use can restore order.
Since December, officers have drawn Tasers 59 times and fired them 39 times at Carson City Correctional Facility, Ionia Correctional Facility, Alger Correctional Facility, the Michigan Reformatory and St. Louis Correctional Facility, he said. |
|
|
|
Sun Mar 04, 2012 4:00 pm |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Register
Profile
FlintTalk.com Forum Index
> Political Talk
