Statistically Small

People shot by the cops for being in their own homes.

One pull quote, "I don't know what their training is," Tench said in the "Nightline" interview. "I just know that if an officer is sent out to a house on a medical alert or a wellness alert, I'm not sure having guns blazing would be protocol."

The article lists 25 cases nationwide.

That's infinitesimal.

BUT.

That shit should terrify you!

Police agencies have policies that allow their officers to shoot, and kill, innocent citizens in places where they've an absolute right to be.

I don't think the part that matters is that it hasn't come up very often; but that there's policies in place which make it possible for a cop to commit manslaughter with impunity.

I don't like the potential implications.

I've always been of the opinion that the legal standard for The State to kill someone be higher, not lower, than the average citizen.  At this point I would accept that the standard be the same as what I have to live under.

You might notice that I cannot issue a statement to the police that says, "In accordance to Casa McThag's policies concerning use of deadly force I shot and killed the perpetrator in my front yard."

I'm not allowed to make up my own rules.

This careens into my attitude that the idea of service has been lost on our current crop of cops in many jurisdictions.  It's not universal, but it's creeping in...

The good news is many of these cases are being prosecuted as the crimes they are and shitty cops are being convicted!

With the FBI now tracking police use of force, if we can still trust them, we might even see some policy changes.