The Death Of Daniel Shaver

SOMEONE said they saw SOMEONE in that room pointing a gun out the window.

I want to know, did anyone think to call the room?  Ask the people inside to come down to the lobby and have a conversation?

Or did they suit up in the SWAT gear and start screaming to come out from the hall?

The victim is not behaving like someone who's been contacted prior to the screaming from the hall.

The only reason the firing officer wasn't convicted of murder is he adhered to the department's procedures for use of force.  That there should scare you.

The people of Mesa should be looking to replace everyone who had a hand in writing that procedure.

I'm an old fashioned guy.  I believe in self defense.  Ask yourself, "If I shot someone under those circumstances and claimed self defense; could I convince a jury?"  If you don't think so, but the cops can, then they've carved out special rights for themselves they shouldn't have.

Mr Shaver was killed preemptively, because he MIGHT have had a gun hidden on him and MIGHT have been reaching for it because he did not INSTANTLY and PERFECTLY OBEY conflicting and confusing commands.

I'm sober and watching that video and I'm not totally clear on what the cops are trying to have him do.  Raise your hands AND crawl?  It seems that the Mesa PD has created a means to shoot someone whenever they want because they've created a procedure that cannot be complied with.  And as long as they follow the guidelines they've established for themselves, no jail time.

Me, that smacks of conspiracy to commit murder on the part of the department.  Especially since there's established procedures in common use that would have served to ensure everyone's safety.  Procedures that account for the suspect being shit-faced drunk.  Procedures that work even better in a hotel hallway because there's no need to keep the suspect from stumbling into traffic.

NRA silence on this issue?  This isn't in their wheelhouse.

Officer safety above all other considerations is where we got this.  If officer safety trumps all other considerations then it literally is only blue lives matter and that never leads to anything but tyranny.  Maybe not all at once, but in small baby steps, but eventually.  The place where only police lives matter is called a police state, a form of tyrannical government.

Daniel Shaver is dead because the police of Mesa, Arizona created procedures which lead to creating situations where citizens are sure to be shot.  If the guidelines are to "overreact immediately" we will get responses that are grossly inappropriate.

Literally nobody would have died if the police had ignored the witness who claimed to see a person with a gun pointed out the window.  Stew on that.

Update: He was not fired for this.  He was fired over his cute "You're Fucked" dust cover on his AR.  That was found to be violation of departmental policy, and his defense attorney successfully kept it from being admissible in his murder trial.