quote:
It's not the cop's fault he was drunk and stupid -- and it's not his responsibility to put his life at risk because of it. If someone is physically larger than me and I have a firearm, I'm not going to give them the chance to take it and use it against me. Anyone can get a lucky punch, and before you know it you're paralyzed or take brain damage because a "good kid" stomped on you while you were unconscious. frick taking chances as a police officer, and I've seen way too many tasers not function to trust them to take someone down and not piss them off.

I also have several good friends who are cops.

For their sake, in a tough situation, I hope they do what's best for them.

Part of the problem here is that criminals are much more brazen than 30 years ago. There are folks that will shoot a cop without batting an eye.

This makes cops much more willing to pull the trigger. You don't know if that guy is a drunk dumbass, or a cop killing gang banger.

I get it, but it still sucks. It sucks even more that it's happening in an area I grew up in. My grandparents lived there, my parents owned a bar on West Florissant Ave. I don't think of a place where I used to live as a place where cops shoot people, and people riot.

Times change though, and there's a reason my family left. It wasn't great there in the '80's. I can only imagine what it's like now.