The facts are yet to be known, and truthfully we may never know exactly what happened in the seconds before the Lima SWAT officer made the decision to shoot.
As I discussed previously, this raid could and should have been planned better. There does not seem to have been an emergent situation making entry into the home necessary at 8:15 on a Friday night to prevent the destruction or distribution of large amounts of drugs or other evidence etc. Knowing children lived there, and the boyfriend being the subject of a long standing investigation, other options were available.
But, once the decision was made to execute the warrant, it had to be done tactically to protect EVERYONE. Cops, residents of the house, neighbors, and yes even the subject felon. Serving warrants is dangerous business (of this I know what I speak). Family members, or other residents of the houses, pose a real threat to cops serving warrants. We do not know what actions this mother took to trigger the situation that ended her life.
Reports stated that she ran upstairs upon the police’s entry. BAD decision. For all we know the officer was pursuing her up the stairs, into a room, she reached down with her back to the officer - despite his commands to stop - and spun quickly toward him holding……….unfortunately….her son. She could have as easily been holding a shotgun. In that split second the officer had to make a life and death decision which he will never forget.
I am not a citizen of Lima. I have never been contacted by, pulled over by, or spoken to a Lima police officer. But, to make this case about race (the officer has a Hispanic name), call it MURDER, and make statements that citizens are insulted because the FBI did not send a black agent to investigate, is counterproductive.
Investigate fully. Hold ANYONE AND EVERYONE properly responsible, yes including the deceased, try to make Lima a better safer place to live.
The A-Hole.
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1 comment:
What a shame, the whole situation. I have to agree with the statements about her running upstairs and all that...to know, you'd really have to be in the situation.
One thing most everyone in law enforcement knows is you can't trust in a situation like that.
If she was leaning over the bed and the officer didn't realize she was picking up the child... well, we know what happened.
I have personally had a gun pointed at my head by surprise and I can tell you, once is all it takes. I haven't been surprised like that since.
Not knowing all the details of this situation, but knowing what situations can and often do arise in drug related police action, it's not a stretch to think that a poorly planned and executed operation could result in a more serious mistake.
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