This week we had yet another incident where someone with Special Needs came into contact with the police with deadly results. In Half Moon Bay an 18 year old holding a knife was shot and killed by police when she allegedly lunged at a police officer. The officer claimed deadly force was justified because of the danger the woman supposedly posed to the officer and the public at large.
Read the story at: http://halfmoonbay.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/sheriffs-office–officer-who-shot-killed-half-moon-bay-teen-felt-his-life-was-in-danger
The family called 911 because their daughter needed help. She may have gone off her medication. She was behaving erratically. She did have a knife. But did this standoff really have to end like this? All the facts aren’t known. The investigation continues; however, what we do know is that a young woman has died. She was someone’s daughter, someone’s sister. Is deadly force our only response? It shouldn’t be. Last year there was a very highly publicized shooting death of a homeless man in Southern California. Police were cleared of wrongdoing. But the larger question remains: is there a better way to respond to incidents like these? There’s an old saying that if your only tool is a hammer, every problem will look like a nail. So if your only tool for these sorts of incidents or confrontations is a gun….. This is the 21st century, shouldn’t there be a better response to a citizen in need?