Yeah right Paul.L.

You tell me how YOU are so sure, you know all. Speaking of armchair generals, you're not doing too bad an impression of one yourself. When was the last time you were in such a situation? You sound like a zealous born-again.

"You say, deploy a spiderman mesh to wrap up the victims. Seriously? Its very easy for you to stand on the sidelines and suggest police go into situations in which their lives are at stake wielding weapons which may, or may not, work."

You would have to test it first of course. Once it was operational, you'd then deploy the working model, you dill. Not fumble around with a half-working one. And you'd do it with the full backing of the police hierarchy and tactical response squads. It's not that hard to do if the police take the whole initiative seriously.

What did I say earlier? Yeah, "As usual, your post was a masterful piece of maximal hyperbole." You're just proving that in spades.

'Many see visions, many speak prophecies in the Holy Spirit, some raise the dead, others are used by God to heal, many many speak in tongues.
Yes...we are a different people.
Far happier than those trapped in the world.
Why not join us CJ?'

Gibo that sounds really inviting. Hey have you heard that every barcode is divided into two parts by three markers and those three markers are always represented by the number six. Six-six-six.

Foxy,

'I agree with you that screaming, knife-wielding
adolescents are disquieting, to say the least.'
:-) That's a quotable quote.

'All I am asking is that the entire matter be
examined - with no blame being laid - simply
have the matter be looked at objectively - no finger
pointing - just how else could the situation
have been handled?'

Haha. That's very funny. What world do you live in?

kartiya jim,

'Or Tazers used responsibly ?'
Even funnier. Tazers will negate the need for police to ever use anything else. Bzzz, oh, what? you just wanted directions? Bzzz. It's easier talking to you when you're down there.

Col Rouge,

'That you consider me “rude” is not a concern of mine, I do not post as part of a popularity contest but to express my own views and values, regardless of yours.'

Colin, I like your style.

Paul.L,

"This kid calculatedly committed suicide by cop."

How would you know? Are you living inside his head? You can only really know that if you were him.

"and there are people on this thread who want to blame the police for this."

The police pulled the triggers - of course they're responsible for their actions. Are we supposed to suspend scrutiny because they have badges on their arms? We've all had experiences where the police have thrown their weight around more than the situation warrants. It's naive to think that police never make mistakes or act disproportionately.

"This kid asked for and got what he wanted."

Again, how do you really know?

"Blaming the police is simply an unpleasant blame-shifting exercise by people who can't cope with the fact that actions have consequences and that people are responsible for their actions."

Sounds like you've got your mind already made up on this one. A zealot on search of a crusade, perhaps?

"I notice you didn't answer my questions as to how far away from the cornered policeman was from the boy. Or how long the 10 shots took. Do you know how long they tried to contain the boy before it got to the point where a policeman was in imminent and mortal danger?"

No idea - I wasn't there obviously. But, how do you know what the police did? Maybe they swaggered in there thinking that their uniforms would do the trick and didn't prepare themselves mentally for a worst-case scenario. By the time they realised the kid was more than they bargained for, he'd got within lunging distance and they were too panicked to think through a less lethal response.

This is all supposition of course. But the point is, it's no less possible than what you've said. Hopefully, the investigation will be a thorough and discerning one that properly unravels fact from fiction and fills in all the gaps.

RobP,

You say >> “When was the last time you were in such a situation? You sound like a zealous born-again.”

1) I’m not remotely religious
2) Three years back I was at the hospital with a mate who’d been injured in a fight. A guy who had been taking speed went nuts, punched nurses and went on a rampage. Police were called and four of them struggled to contain him and he wasn’t armed with anything other than his fists, feet and teeth.

You say >> “Speaking of armchair generals, you're not doing too bad an impression of one yourself”

I’m suggesting that the people on the spot, the police, are the people who had to make the decision, and I’m backing their decision (as long as the investigation bears out the account given to the media).

You’re the one standing back making pronouncements on what they should have done and how. Not me.

You say >> “You would have to test it first of course. Once it was operational, you'd then deploy the working model, you dill”

Dill? They have been working on non-lethal technology for decades. There’s a reason that we haven’t already seen such weapons and that is they aren’t reliable. In any case, you can’t criticise the police for not using a weapon they haven’t got.

You say >> “. It's not that hard to do if the police take the whole initiative seriously.”

Really? You know this how? Do you have a prototype or have you just seen it in the movies?

I said >> “"This kid calculatedly committed suicide by cop."

you said >> “How would you know? Are you living inside his head? You can only really know that if you were him.”

Besides the phone call from a relative saying that the kid was beserk and looking for a confrontation with the police, he was also reported to have said “kill me because I’m going to kill you”. Furthermore, he shrugged off TWO capsicum spray doses and ignored a warning shot into the ground at his feet.

TBC

CONT,

Furthermore “Detectives investigating Tyler's death are examining an emergency call from a young male saying, "Get the cops. I am killing people tonight. The same caller rang back pretending to be a panicked witness, screaming there was a man with a shotgun who needed to be killed. Both calls are believed to have been made from the dead teenager's mobile phone.” http://www.theage.com.au/national/two-knives-three-alarmed-police-officers-and-a-scared-little-boy-lies-dead-in-seconds-20081212-6xnm.html?page=-1

You say >> “The police pulled the triggers - of course they're responsible for their actions

There is a statute in most criminal codes and also exists in the common law called SELF DEFENCE, maybe you’ve heard of it. Simply put it allows people to act with potentially deadly force if it is required to protect life.

you say >> “Are we supposed to suspend scrutiny because they have badges on their arms?

Absolutely not. My complaint is with
a) those people who have already decided that the police did something wrong and
b) those who sit back and pontificate on what the police should have done, when they weren’t there and they weren’t in danger.

You say >> “But, how do you know what the police did? Maybe they swaggered in there thinking that their uniforms would do the trick and didn't prepare themselves mentally for a worst-case scenario ...”

What? You have absolutely no evidence for that. In fact ALL of the evidence suggests the police did the opposite. Two capsicum doses plus a warning shot into the ground are pointers to that fact. Indeed the policeman who fired the warning shot was breaking the rules to try and prevent this tragedy at significant risk to his and his colleague’s safety and his career

You say >> “What did I say earlier? Yeah, "As usual, your post was a masterful piece of maximal hyperbole." You're just proving that in spades.”

No, what I’ve done is introduce some FACTS into this discussion. Something you have NOT been able to do. So Maximal hyperbole? Your post show that you are clearly suffering from Politically Correct Reactionary-ism so I’ll take that with a grain of salt.

Hi all
Since none of us was present at this incident, we shouldn't really be passing judgment on the adolescent involved,and most certainly not on the police.

The young man was reportedly involved in some white supremacist group, and really, how would you react if you had a gun and were confronted by an apparently crazed individual wielding two knives?

Would you shoot, or try to 'talk him down'?

These officers will have to live with this for the rest of their lives.

Nor are Tazer guns an ideal solutions. They are used in some prisons, and can cause death as well.

Nicky