Shooting reported at Longview PD

[Rrash]

What a tragic story. The video shows that the officer in the middle used the taser and it had no effect. The officer on the left created distance and she clearly charged him. I wonder why the officer didn't get her cuffed when he took her down? One of the reports I read said it was then that he saw the butcher knife. Can someone with more knowledge than me comment on why he got up and backed off?

[Beiruty]

Why could not he control a girl half the weight of the officer?

[nightmare69]

Why could not he control a girl half the weight of the officer?

Same reason it took 3 officers to control a 90lb meth head female we fought with at the county. You would be surprised how strong one little girl can be.

[A-R]

I found this analysis/explanation useful to understanding the dynamic nature of this complex incident. It is a FB post written by a California deputy sheriff who runs a page called "Matt & Others Who a Serve" and contributes writing to The Bang Switch, The Daily Caller, and other conservative outlets.

Caution: his sarcasm/cynicism is thick; he constantly fields what he believes are dumb questions from ignorant and inexperienced critics of police actions.

The video of the Longview police shooting of the mentally ill, knife wielding 17 year old female has been released.

I watched the video and honestly, what happened is pretty easily explained. In fact, I've been in that solo officer's position before. He was the only officer in the lobby fighting with her for several minutes. It is clear that she is resisting, kicking, hitting and fighting in general. Some people, with no law enforcement experience or training, yet who know better, are suggesting that the officer should have handcuffed her and searched her and thus prevented this incident.

Clearly, said experts (with no experience or training) have never been in a similar situation. AT NO TIME does the officer have control of her. At best, he has her partially subdued, but not remotely controlled. First rule of handcuffing, especially for a solo officer, is never try to put handcuffs on someone that is fighting you if you do not have control of them.

I can only assume he got up off of her because he was getting tired and decided to try a different approach because at that point, he has been fighting with her for two and a half minutes.

What follows is the time sequence from the video:
Solo officer arrives at 7m:43s mark, goes hands on at 7m:56s, they go down at 8m:04s, he gets up off her at 10m:35s, backup arrives at 10m:48s, she charges them at 11m:08s, she is shot at 11m:09s.

At no point during that encounter did the officer remotely have control of her, especially not enough control to try and handcuff her like the inexperienced experts suggest. But hey, I suppose my training and experience can just be disregarded because it is inconvenient to said experts version of how this should have gone.
-Matt

[adaboy5]

I have worked in a few Pysch wards and have seen two women subdue a grown man. I have Preventing and managing agressive behavior training. I'm not a police officer just a nurse. I just couldnt shoot 17yr old girl with a kinife Tackle her, lay her out! I just cant imagine two men shooting her to death. I guess they dont use a billy clubs anymore!

[jmra]

I just couldnt shoot 17yr old girl with a kinife Tackle her, lay her out! I just cant imagine two men shooting her to death. I guess they dont use a billy clubs anymore!

This officer tried that. Didn't work out so well.
http://www.johnrstanczak.com/content/su ... -had-knife

[Excaliber]

Why could not he control a girl half the weight of the officer?

Same reason it took 3 officers to control a 90lb meth head female we fought with at the county. You would be surprised how strong one little girl can be.

Those who haven't experienced a struggle with a mentally deranged or drugged up suspect who is pumping out far more energy in far less time than a person in a normal mental state can just cannot comprehend the strength and ferocity such a person is capable of. To bring a frame of reference to it, it's akin to going hand to hand with a mountain lion or a bear. And, like the animals cited, such people do bite - hard and often with intent to bite deep and rip away flesh.

Subduing such a person is not a one person job. It usually takes at least 3 large, fit officers to get a subject like this under control and restrained. After just one such experience, most new officers say, "NOW I understand" while nursing their injuries.

I've had to subdue many such people and, after that first eye opening experience, ALWAYS called for multiple backups before engaging whenever possible.

I can say with certainty that going one on one with a person like this who is armed with an edged weapon in close quarters is absolutely an immediate deadly threat situation.

[JP171]

Excal, why do you think we wait till you guys knock em down then secure them between 2 backboards with lots of tape then use chemical restraint to keep them from breaking things?

[Rrash]

A-R, thanks for sharing some insight.
I certainly didn't consider the amount of time in that struggle, and I am inexperienced when it comes to rules and regulations for handcuffing a struggling person. Two and a half minutes is a long fight! It was definitely a lethal force situation, and in my opinion, the officer went out of his way to avoid shooting until he had no choice. He moved offline, created space, used barriers, and she got up off the ground and charged him. Watching the video and knowing more about the girl really makes you wish there was something else that could have been done.

[nightmare69]

Excalibur hit it dead on.


I hope this link works, on mobile.


http://www.kltv.com/story/27979295/long ... ts-will-be" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Watch the video and they explain a lot.

[Rrash]

Excalibur hit it dead on.


I hope this link works, on mobile.


http://www.kltv.com/story/27979295/long ... ts-will-be" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Watch the video and they explain a lot.

I believe you guys. I'm not an expert at taking down meth heads, although I do have a rambunctious 4 year old.