Milwaukee Newspaper Columnist Takes Officer's Point of View in Shooting
You tell him to put the gun down. He doesn’t. You then know you have a mere instant to make a decision that is going to affect you for the rest of your life. But the rest of your life could mean just seconds if you let him turn and shoot at you.
Close your eyes and imagine yourself as a 24-year-old African-American police officer in the City of Milwaukee. On Saturday afternoon, you make a routine traffic stop that results in a young black man fleeing the scene. According to the events laid out by Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn, you turn on your body camera and give chase, eventually cornering the suspect in a fenced in yard.
He turns toward you. And then you see he has a gun.
You tell him to put the gun down. He doesn’t. You then know you have a mere instant to make a decision that is going to affect you for the rest of your life. But the rest of your life could mean just seconds if you let him turn and shoot at you.
Read complete column at Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
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