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Think of a train rolling down the tracks. The faster it goes the more momentum it’s going to get. More than that, it’s not just going to be able to slam on the brakes and just stop — much less take a quick left turn. That’s a good analogy for out of control situation. Such situations have momentum and they don’t just stop or turn on the dime.
I can pretty well tell you why the guy got shot, it’s because he turned around.
Jam with the cops, shake the TASER, they’re chasing you, guns out, you stop and suddenly turn around? Hands up or not, it’s REAL easy to think you’re turning to shoot at them. Especially because hands up without your elbows up too is fine when you’re NOT facing someone. If you turn you best have those elbows on level with your ears. Otherwise all the cop is going to see is you whipping around.
Far better is to put your elbows level with your ears as you stop running and kneel down. You might still get tackled, but give that train time to slow down…
However, look closely at what happened in this video JUST before the shooting. Notice the dude’s hands dropped to his waist immediately before he turned around. When he turned around his hands were in front of him, not in a surrender pose, but what could easily be interpreted as ‘about to shoot.’
Repeat after me… elbows, ears, elbows ears. (And the faster that train is rolling, the more you HAVE to remember)
Is this a 100% clean shoot? No. Is this a dirty shoot? No. Is the the kind of complicated problem that arises from extreme situations and use of force? Yes. Don’t be surprised when the cops are cleared on this one.