No, this will not be a blog about Rhianna, at least not today. No, today I want to talk about police actions. Often our actions are misunderstood. People think we are rude, cocky, and uncaring. The truth is, there are officers out there that are like that, but the vast majority of us are not. The problem is people often times misinterpret our actions to mean something they dont. What I plan to show today is that often times, in emotional situations, people can act irrationally. As police officers it is our duty to restore order to a chaotic situation. Until there is some form of order, we cannot properly investigate a crime and/or help you as a victim.
Recently, in the northwest, a man filed a lawsuit against two officers and the department they work for. Earlier in the week the man had called 911 to report a robbery, which was occurring in front of his residence. During the call dispatchers attempted to get the man to give an accurate description of the suspect, victim, and himself. The man was in such a panicked state that the dispatcher was never able to get a description of any of the involved parties. The last thing the man said was, "Oh my god, I think he's gonna shoot her." The phone was dropped to the floor and cut off. Officers were dispatched to the scene. Upon arriving, officers could see the man who had called standing on his porch, holding an assault rifle, and standing over a woman crying hysterically. As officers were getting out of there cars the man turned towards them, and began running towards them screaming something. Officer's immediately drew out there weapons, and gave the man a warning to stop or they would shoot. Surprised, the man stopped and began yelling and cursing at them. Officers continued to give the man orders to drop his weapon, which he finally did, and lay face first on the ground. As the man laid down on the ground, police approached and placed him in handcuffs, then put him in the back of a patrol car.
Now, some of you may be reading this and wondering why in the world would the police point their weapons at an innocent man and then put him in handcuffs. He was just trying to help, right? Let's stop for a second and go back and look from the officer's view point of what they saw. As I said officers were dispatched to a robbery call. In the text of the call officers know the last thing said was, "Oh my god, I think he's gonna shoot her." So the officer's know there is a male calling in about a robbery in front of his house. We know another male is the suspect, we know the victim is a woman, and we know there is a gun involved. As I said in the story, the dispatcher was never able to get a description of any of the above people. When officers arrive what do they see? They see a man, holding a rifle, and a woman sitting in front of that man crying hysterically. The man, who for all officers know is the suspect, turns and runs towards them while still holding a dangerous weapon. You'll remember I said the man was panicky on the phone; he's now screaming something at the officers. At this point the officers would not have been completely unjustified in shooting the man. Are you starting to see my point?
When we arrive on the scene we have very little information to work with. Most of the time people are not able, or willing, to give accurate descriptions of suspects involved. As I said above, before we can help we have to restore order to a situation that is usually chaotic. Understand, if you are at a scene of a violent crime, and you are still holding a weapon in your hand when police arrive, you will find their weapons pointed directly at you. We are not psychics, and we do not know who is guilty and who is innocent when we first arrive on the scene. This same scenario can be said about situations where guns are not involved. People panic when bad things happen, we understand that. Often times, people interpret our telling someone to calm down as us being rude. You have every right to be upset when you are a victim of a crime. However, we can not help you properly until you calm down and give us an accurate portrayal of what happened.
So what can you do to help us help you when you've been involved in some type of violent crime.
1. Take a breath, and slow down. You're scared we understand that. We want to help.
2. When you first call 911, give the fullest description of the suspect and any victims involved.
3. When police arrive, DO NOT run at us. Again, we don't know who you are when we get there.
4. When speaking to us, take another breath, speak slowly and calmly.
5. Have you ID ready to give us so we can identify you.
6. If you have a weapon, when police arrive drop it or put it up in a holster. Raise your hands and identify yourself. Police may ask to hold on to your weapon while they are there. GIVE IT TO THEM! We will give it back, unless we have to submit it for evidence.
7. Do not pace back and forth in front of us, stay still please. We will ask you to sit still, this is not us being rude. We are trying to restore order.
8. If we tell you to get on the ground do it and do it fast. If you don't, we will yell at you, and may assist you getting to the ground. Again we don't know who you are when we arrive. It's nothing personal, but we can't help you until we make sure the scene is safe. Just because you tell us you are the victim doesn't mean you are. Suspects can say the same thing.
9. Don't get mad and start cursing us. We are there to help, but we have to follow certain protocols you may not understand. If you are confused, ask us. We will try to explain.
10. Do not try to take justice into your own hands! You can very easily go from victim to suspect.
I hope this clears up some confusion when it comes to police actions. Again, if you are confused about something an officer has done or said to you, don't hesitate to ask. We want to help.
Thanks!
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