Tragedy in Wichita

[Jarlaxle]

I truly think the only thing that might stop it is people dropping the hammer on bad cops.

[Big RR]

It’s not the mission of 911 call center dispatchers to be suspicious of or question callers reporting emergencies; beyond the primary mission of helping people in distress and intervening in criminal acts in progress, imagine the liability exposure if the operator decided to second guess a caller based on something as innocuous as an out of area phone number and thus failing to send EMTs, FD or PD timely to a genuine emergency?

I agree, but then given that there have been documented cases of swatting, giving the police a heads up that it was from out of the area (if the ID showed it was) could be helpful; I did not suggest that they refuse to provide any assistance. Yes, I am sure there are many ways caller ID can be thwarted, but telling the police "this call came from out of the area so use a bit more caution in your response". It's only part of addressing the problem, the other parts being better training and targeting the bad apples, along with removing persons from the force who are not emotionally qualified to be a police officer (or at least an armed one).

[liberty]

[Econoline]

Somehow a great many other countries have police who are trained and able to deescalate such situations the great majority of the time without ever drawing a firearm.

While I agree with your post, I have to point out that (unlike police in the U.S.) police in most other countries can start with a reasonable expectation that a suspect does NOT have a loaded firearm in his waistband...

[Big RR]

deleted

[Jarlaxle]

It’s not the mission of 911 call center dispatchers to be suspicious of or question callers reporting emergencies; beyond the primary mission of helping people in distress and intervening in criminal acts in progress, imagine the liability exposure if the operator decided to second guess a caller based on something as innocuous as an out of area phone number and thus failing to send EMTs, FD or PD timely to a genuine emergency?

I agree, but then given that there have been documented cases of swatting, giving the police a heads up that it was from out of the area (if the ID showed it was) could be helpful; I did not suggest that they refuse to provide any assistance. Yes, I am sure there are many ways caller ID can be thwarted, but telling the police "this call came from out of the area so use a bit more caution in your response". It's only part of addressing the problem, the other parts being better training and targeting the bad apples, along with removing persons from the force who are not emotionally qualified to be a police officer (or at least an armed one).

That.

Getting the trigger-happy thugs off the force would also help.

[Big RR]

No argument; but the real problem is that the police forces always attract bullies and their victims out for revenge, of which trigger happy thugs is a big subset.

[MGMcAnick]

No argument; but the real problem is that the police forces always attract bullies and their victims out for revenge, of which trigger happy thugs is a big subset.

A good friend of mine used to work for one of those companies that does psychological testing for various outfits looking to fill a myriad of positions. One hundred questions that don't seem to be connected, but tell someone what you truly think. He told me that there is a very fine line between someone who would make an excellent cop, and someone who will make a very bad bad guy.

I only know a couple of cops personally. One would probably qualify as a guy who was bullied as a kid. I've long suspected that he joined our small town force to get revenge on some of the jerks he knew in Jr High and High School. I know his whole family, some of them very well. I've known him since he was ten or so. He's about 45 now. He has risen through the ranks of the Wichita police department, and will probably make captain in the next few years. He was one of the detectives present during the initial questioning and confession of BTK. (He says BTK spilled his guts.) I don't think he is a bully anymore.

The other one is a 34 year old legacy cop whose father (retired) and grandfather (deceased) were both on the force. I don't think he was ever a bully. He's just a guy who is dedicated to doing the job. I look for him to go far too. Just give him a few more years.

[Big RR]

I know a few cops, even like a couple, but many do have a tendency to like to push people around--I think the authority of the job attracts people like that. But I do recall a guy from late elementary school/high school who was always picked on. He had a tendency to cry when he was mad or frustrated, so you can imagine the hell other kids dealt out to him. nd to make it worse, he was a big guy, and the little Napoleons delted in making him publicly cry. After high school he went into the service and (from what I was told) came out a changed guy who flew off the handle at every imagined insult. He joined the police force of a local city/town, and ultimately would up killing a suspect (I think he beat him to death)--so far as I know he is in jail now for murder. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of cops aren't a bit like him--guys with something to prove.

[ex-khobar Andy]

Apparently there are now four billboards outside Wichita calling for the cop to be prosecuted . . .

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... ident.html

[MGMcAnick]

I haven't seen any of the signs, but if the WPD runs true to form, the shooter will be absolved of any culpability. I've seen it too many times.

[Jarlaxle]

Of course: they will investigate themselves and find they did nothing wrong.

I hope someone hunts the fucker down and puts a bullet through his melon.

[MGMcAnick]

Of course: they will investigate themselves and find they did nothing wrong.

I hope someone hunts the fucker down and puts a bullet through his melon.

Supposedly the Kansas Bureau of Investigation is doing the follow up. Granted it's still cops investigating other cops.

The fact that someone might well hunt the MF down is exactly why they are not releasing his name. I'm assuming "his" although we did have a female cop absolved of a very similar shooting a few years ago.

Apparently it is an executable offense to pull up ones sweat pants here. Her name has never been revealed, even after the city paid off (an unknown amount) for a wrongful death lawsuit.

[Econoline]

Another case of "swatting"—this time with a high-profile potential victim. This one did not end in tragedy, but a big part of the reason for that seems to have been the fact that no one was home at the time.

• SWAT team busts into home of Parkland teen David Hogg after hoax hostage call
  
  A SWAT team entered the home of Stoneman Douglas shooting survivor and activist David Hogg on Tuesday morning after a hoax emergency call.
  
  Media outlet Local10 reported that Broward Sheriff’s Office received a call claiming a hostage situation at the house.
  
  The caller said that someone broke into the home with an AR-15 rifle and was holding the family at gunpoint.
  
  A SWAT team surrounded the property before entering the home, according to NBC Miami. No one was home at the time.
  
  Hogg is currently in Washington, D.C., with his mother to accept the RFK Human Rights award.
  
  The teen has been calling for stricter gun laws in the wake of the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman High School, where 17 students and staff teachers were killed.
  
  “[They’re] trying to distract people from the March For Our Lives Road to Change, which we announced yesterday,” Hogg told WSVN. “[It’s] a push to get the highest numbers of youth voters ever in American history turn out to vote come this November.”

[Crackpot]

They think this kind of antics will help thier cause?

[Econoline]

????? Who do you mean by "they"?

I assume that the call was made by someone of the ammosexual persuasion, hoping for an outcome that would hurt a member of David Hogg's family (ideally David himself) and shut him up. (And if the shootings in Newtown and Parkland—and everything before, in between, and after—haven't hurt the pro-gun cause, I'm pretty sure there's nothing that will hurt the pro-gun cause.)

[RayThom]

These 'swatting' tactics are going to continue to have scary and tragic consequences.

Everyone knows the first thing the police will do is to shoot and/or beat anyone in front of them. Secondly, then they'll ask questions. The beauty in all of this is that no one will ever be held accountable.

Like school shootings, there will be more.