When faced with armed threat, officers are being told to "redeploy" or "create distance"
With police shootings dominating the news, the Los Angeles Police Commission has a novel idea to avoid the kind of controversies seen from Ferguson, Mo., to Charlotte, N.C.
When confronted with an armed suspect, run away.
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The Los Angeles Police Protective League is none too happy about the advice.
The directors of the league responded on an LAPD blog like this: "It sure must be easy to talk about 'redeploying' an officer's position while sipping a Diet Coke or bottled water while sitting in a police-guarded, air-conditioned room, in a cushy office chair, watching the events unfold in slow motion on a big-screen TV. But that's not reality. The commission is becoming nothing more than a politically motivated rubber stamp for the warped worldview of a handful of activists that they pander to. The message the Los Angeles Police Commission is sending to officers confronted with a violent and dangerous suspect is clear: You can save your life or save your job, but you cannot do both. You choose."
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The police advocates called the commission's latest meeting a "three-ring circus."
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The case under review involved two officers who fired at a female assailant who charged them while swinging a knife.
The commission decided the right thing to do under the circumstances was "redeploying" or "create distance" between themselves and the attacker.
Comments from officers were enlightening:
Steve: "In 1971, I made the most important decision of my life - I chose LASD over LAPD. Not for a minute have I regretted that choice, solely because of your police commission and your politically appointed chief. I don't know how you folks can go to work each day knowing there's a panel of know-nothings eagerly waiting to convene to put you under a microscope and judge your every action - then hang you out to dry. I have the utmost respect for those of you who can continue to function under such a screwed up system."
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Andy: "Running away is a fundamental tactical error. Closing the distance to the threat will improve the chance of survival. The Commission is simply wrong."
Tish: "Well said. This is a dangerous and discouraging opinion from a group of self-important dilettantes who will endanger the public and put officers unnecessarily at risk."
Patricia: "This is how cities devolve into chaotic war zones, like Baltimore, Charlotte, Chicago. When the mayor appointed race-obsessed activists to the Police Commission, he put every officer's life in grave jeopardy. Los Angeles police officers deserve support, but instead they are being targeted by the race-grievance conspiracy that, at its core, is promoting anarchy and the breakdown of our civilization."
