COPS episode: How stupid was this move by an officer?

I'd say that was a bonehead move. Couldn't he have just grabbed that arm? He would have felt even worse had that knife ended up in his partner.

 

Lawsuit, anyone that goes around waving a knife in another persons face should be shot and pissed on. You would think differently if it was one of your family members that had a knife at their throat.

 

Both cops used poor judgement. I can't believe the first cop grabbed the arm that DIDNT HAVE THE KNIFE! It seems a whole lot smarter to make an attempt at removing the knife first!

Crazy

 

I remember seeing that episode years ago and couldn't believe they aired that scene.

 

I saw that exact episode. And I agree with you that it seemed pretty dumb and risky to tackle that lady like a football player. It all seemed to be TOO much of a hurry instead of taking just a little extra time to analyze the situation. I've watched most all of those Cops shows, which have been airing since around 1989. I'm sure that some of their police tactics have been changed during those years. I'll wager that seeing some of their tactics on television sheds some new light on how things were done, and could be done.
The one thing that I totally disagree with is this: I've seen endless high speed police chases on these shows (as well as on satellite TV feeds live as they happen), and it seems that the standard logic is to simply LET the criminal drive anywhere that he wants until he runs out of gas or his car burns up. But this just INVITES the criminal to endanger other motorists, pedestrians, and property. It seems to me that the cops are being PAID to take risks, and therefore, they should simply get ahead of these high speed runaways and cut them off BEFORE they T-bone some innocent Granny in an SUV filled with kids. It happens over and over again, particularly in southern California. Their "high speed chase" procedures must be different from other states.

 

And more of my 2 cents worth. Isn't it amazing that we can send men to the moon, develope a web of computer links that span the world, orbit satellites around the globe, etc,....but we can't develope a way to take down a crazy criminal who is waving a knife or a tire iron 20 feet in front of us. The TAZER has been developed within that past 15 years or so, but some of the cops seem a little too eager to blast away with it too.
And haven't cops ever heard of PAPER TOWELS??? I've seen about a thousand of those shows where they come up on a bar fight or knife fight or domestic disturbance where one or more people are bleeding like a stuck pig, and everybody is walking around with blood dripping off themselves. HELLO!!! Stop by the grocery store and spend a buck on some paper towels to throw in the trunk of your cruiser. And toss in a bottle of alcohol disinfectant while you're at it. It might come in handy the next time you try to slap the cuffs on some bleeding crack ho' with aids.

 

There are definitely some crazy cowboy cops on there from time to time. But I have to admit that by and large this show has generally improved my respect for people who work in law enforcement.

 

I watched COPS one night and it was Jersey city and the next day I got lost in Jersey City on the way to Giants Stadium. Not fun.

 

Note: This post isn't directed at any one user, but at the overall tone of the thread.
________

Truth: None of us was acually there, and were forced to make an instant judgement call about life and death, for 40 grand a year.

Just don't forget who you're gonna call when the real **** goes down.

 

Geez.

You gotta move up our way, the police in my town pull down considerably more than $40K.

And yes, it's easy to Monday morning quarterback.

Protect and serve includes protecting themselves from a crazy with a knife first, then the crazy second.

DM

 

True. The cop should have rifled through her pockets and taken the 65 bucks she had on her.

DL

 

Tazer, pepperspray, both would have worked well. The camera was on so it was 'showtime' for that guy. My dad is a retired cop. 31+ years LAPD/NYPD Stopped an armed bank robber... unarmed. He mentioned to me, it would be really tough to stick a knife in your own throat and have it fatal, not by logistics because every artery/vein is right there. In 31 years, he never hear of someone succeeding, but a few that tried.

You guys should go download that video (gory) of the Russian hostage getting his throat slit by those rebels. It ain't fast or easy, he was in pain the whole time, you get that knife in there and chances are high you'll double over in pain and fail to complete the job. To sum it up, it was like cutting stale french bread wioth a butter knife.

 

I want to take the opportunity and bring up another time when a cop made a stupid move. Ya'll might have seened the dashboard video on Real TV. After watching the video it really bugged and till this very day bugs me:

An elderly man was driving on the highway at a pretty high rate of speed but the reason behind his excuse was because his elderly wife was having difficulties breathing. He continued on the highway until he noticed a state trooper was pulling him over. He signaled to him different gestures to let the police officer know he was having an emergency and had to take this wife to the hospital as quickly as possible. The officer ignored his request and pulled him on the side of the highway and began to question the elderly man why he was speeding and what his problem was. The elderly man said his wife was having problems breathing and pointed at her but the officer continued to give him a hard time. He yelled at the poor man for several minutes while his wife laid in the car seat struggling to breath. After a while he wrote him a ticket and told him to stop speeding. After the officer goes into his police car the elderly man drives off slow and apparently heads to the hospital but by that time it was too late, His wife dies just moments before he arrives.

Nothing ever happened to the officer and 'till this day he still works a state trooper. I dont know if ya'll have seened this video but it totally bothers me. It makes me sad that his wife could've been living right now if the officer would've been a little less stubborn.

Another stupid move by an officer.

 

Where I live police officers who have been around for a while make 70k a year with excellent benefits/pension, and thats why many cops move from NYC to the suburbs. In the past few years there have been probably 6 new cops, and only 2 that i know of didnt work in the city first. Its pretty much hard to beat being a cop theses days... graduate college at 22, join the force at 23, retire at 43 with full pension.

 

I would be intrested in seeing this clip before saying that. How are we supposed to know that the cop ignored this request?? Did they interview the driver after his wife passed? Did they follow him? Oh and whatever happend to 9-1-1 ?? Ambulance/Emt/Fire Dept. can save lifes out at homes too, or at least speed to the hopsital if deemed life threating.

As well on topic, who here knows the mental state of that women? How many times did they get called out for her? Do you know if she had any history of violence towards the police? Oh, btw, she was the one with the weapon in her hand....................

 

40K is pretty much straight out of the academy, goes to around 70-75K for a 15yr vet. Also, cost of living in TX is not anything near the northeast. Also no state income tax.

I know the pay is fairly accurate because I was a C-hair away from enrolling in the academy a few yrs ago.

 

That was a pretty old episode. It happened a few miles from where my Dad used to live.

I thought they did pretty well actually. Did you watch the whole thing? After getting a call about a suicidal lady armed with a knife the cops show up and the first thing she does is ram one of the patrol cars with her minivan. Then when she gets out she is waving the knife and starts moving towards a rookie officer (didn't know if you caught that part or not) pointing the knife at him.

In the end she lived, I'm sure got the help she really needed, and nobody else got hurt. Pretty good outcome if you ask me.

 

Incredibly enough, the local Fox station ran a rerun of THAT episode just last night. I watched it in detail. The cops arrived on the scene and crazy lady rams the front of the cruiser with a mini-van. One cop is trying to pull her out of the driver's side door with her left arm, and she picks up a knife with her right arm from inside the van. She then comes out swinging the knife at the cop. His parter runs around from the passenger side of the van and tackles her. It all seemed TOO much of a hurry for me. If it weren't for a split second of difference, the COP could have been the one falling on the knife. And then the entire situation would have been put up to much greater analysis and scrutiny. But since it was only the "perp" that got sliced, everybody gets a big pat on the back and a hearty "well done". Wonder if they would have thought the same if the "perp" had been their brother or son or cousin. Guess these cops weren't packing pepper spray at the time of this incident. One blast to crazy lady's face and she would have been a lot easier to reason with. At least they could have bought some time before resorting to dangerous football tactics.

 

While we're on the subject, does anyone know why it's illegal to kill yourself...?

 

I don't know why it's illegal. All I can say is that if you try to commit suicide in Death Row the guards will intervene and make any effort to save you so the State can kill you instead.

There you go.

 

a) Are you asking because you are wondering why the cops tried to intervene?

Or

b) Are you asking if there is a specific law preventing you from taking your own life? (Which I do not know that there is one or not)

Other then doctor assisted which we all know is huge in the news right now.

If A, the reason they will attempt to stop you is long and complex. More then just their job of public safety, they are their to protect you. Most people that commit or try and commit suicide are not in the best state of mental health, and are not making wise decisions. Not trying to make it sound of a Police State, but rather of one to help you get help as a citizen/officer/someone who trying to better our society. It’s not a power trip or anything of that matter but rather one of human life preservation.

So, I know you well enough(NNO), and you’re going to argue, why not just let them do it. Well, first and foremost, most people that have police intervention have CALLED themselves. They are not there to show off. They are there to seek help. Hence, the help provided.

If you are bound and determined to kill yourself, you will not have the time to call 911 and tell them that you have a knife in your hand. You will tie that rope and kick that chair, or go buy a great amount of bleach.

 

Or she could have lunged at the cop and sliced him open, or she could have gotten back in the van and run over an innocent person, or she could have cut herself, or, or, or, or...... You could go on forever. There COULD HAVE been a million different outcomes. The fact remains, she lived, got help, and nobody else got hurt. Again I say that's a pretty good outcome for a split second decision on the cops part based on the the information they had and the way things were headed.

Oh and if it were my relative I'd be thanking them for saving her life.