Quote:
Originally Posted by Phage
Is you people retarded? I know it has been said many times, but maybe this time it will make it through your thick skull! You do not fire a gun to scare people! 10 rounds is hardly drastic when you consider the decision had already been made to shoot him.
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I wouldn't consider this the best choice of words in responding to the people posting here.
Now, back to the topic.
I spend my days around kids like this. I'm not a cop, though. But speaking from experience, even at 13, some of the kids don't give a fuck about the police or authority. One of the volunteers in our school is a cop. He works nights and can't sleep so helps us out in the school during the day. 3 days ago, there was a fight in the hallway between two 6th graders. The kids in this neighborhood fight for keeps.
The cop went to break up the fight. One of the 6th graders, who is twelve years old, told him, "Get the fuck off me, motherfuckin' pig, unless you want a bullet in your ass, too." This was a 12 year old talking to an off-duty cop. He was arrested of course. These are the "children" many of these police officers deal with. Before we get weepy over the death of this kid, keep in mind what they're dealing with on a daily basis.
It's easy for us to sit in our homes, away from these neighborhoods, and say how the police overreacted or how it was only a child and such, but the reality is that in these neighborhoods, a 13 year old is just as violent and deadly as a 23 year old.
I think we, as a society, are missing the Titanic of a boat on this issue. Instead of questioning why the police killed a 13 year old, we need to be figuring out why 13 year olds are engaging in this kind of behavior. Changing the way the police handle these situations isn't going to stop 13 year olds from stealing cars or engaging in violent behavior. Our energy needs to go into programs and initiatives that prevent these things from happening in the first place.