Is a bullet faster than a chain saw?
Ok this will be short.
Recently on CNN.com there was an article about a man who was shot by police officers as he was yielding a chain saw.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/02/22/saw.attack.ap/index.html
My issue with this is I believe that the police used excessive force. I agree that this person had some serious issues. I also agree that a chain saw is a lethal weapon, at short range. In short the man was shot and killed. An officer was struck with the saw, the chain was obviously not engaged he had minor injuries and was treated and released.
Why was there the need to kill this man? Sure a police officer was hit by the saw but there is no reason to get that close. The police were using their authoritative power to control this person based on the knowledge that they can ultimately put this man down. There were 10 officers surrounding him. Enough man power to control the situation.
"About 10 state and local officers formed a semicircle around Henkle and ordered him to drop the chain saw, but he revved the saw and refused to put it down, Hill said.
Police said they used pepper spray, then fired when Henkle lunged at Hartzel."
Poor judgment by both parties. If a person is waving a chain saw around they are most likely not in a stable mind set. Why were the officers so close that he could lunge at them? A distance of 20 feet would have allowed for a trained officer to maneuver out of the way.
If pepper spray doesn't work is the next logical step to kill someone? Most likely not. Police officers should have enough experience handling firearms that they could aim for a leg or another non lethal part of the body.
Another observation I can make from this is the officers were getting lazy and not using their coaching skills to calm this man. Instead it looks like they jumped for a quick forceful solution that did not go as planned. The police are here to serve and protect. Being public servants of this nature they need to serve and protect the public but also the people they interact with. Just because you can kill someone doesn't mean you have to.
Sincerely,
Disturbed Stew