No Trigger Happy Cops

[casingpoint]

No trigger-happy cops here. Forced to shoot:
http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_14826948" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[gigag04]

"slain"


right.


Tragic yes...but nobody was slain. I remember being 14 and being old enough to make decisions. This kid made a bad one and paid the consequences dearly. He did this to himself. My heart goes out to the boys family and the officers. I'm sure a civil suit will be forthcoming from family and I hope if falls flat.

[timdsmith72]

"slain"


right.


Tragic yes...but nobody was slain. I remember being 14 and being old enough to make decisions. This kid made a bad one and paid the consequences dearly. He did this to himself. My heart goes out to the boys family and the officers. I'm sure a civil suit will be forthcoming from family and I hope if falls flat.

Well said, gigag04.

[hoot]

Death by police officer?
Permanent solution to temporary problem?
Hoot
(It really disturbs me when teen-agers curtail their life.)

[chabouk]

"slain"


right.


Tragic yes...but nobody was slain.

"Killed" = "slain" in my dictionaries. It doesn't assign motive, nor address justification. It doesn't mean "murdered"; there are several legal justifications for "slaying" someone.

I think you've attached an emotional meaning to the word beyond its actual definition.

[gigag04]

"slain"


right.


Tragic yes...but nobody was slain.

"Killed" = "slain" in my dictionaries. It doesn't assign motive, nor address justification. It doesn't mean "murdered"; there are several legal justifications for "slaying" someone.

I think you've attached an emotional meaning to the word beyond its actual definition.

Disagree:

Main Entry: slay
Pronunciation: \ˈslā\
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): slew \ˈslü\ also especially in sense 2 slayed; slain \ˈslān\; slay·ing
Etymology: Middle English slen, from Old English slēan to strike, slay; akin to Old High German slahan to strike, Middle Irish slachta stricken
Date: before 12th century
transitive verb
1 : to kill violently, wantonly, or in great numbers; broadly : to strike down
(source http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

The meaning is already attached - I didn't do it - "slay" is a violent "kill." While I don't have first, or even second hand information, if the story unfolded as it was published, then a violent attacker was stopped by police after they exhausted every possible alternative. The "boy being slain" headline leads me to expect a different sequence.

Sort of like mislabeling the victim...


Just another example of dramatic headlines to catch reader's attention.

Sincerely,

A former newspaper editor

[boomerang]

The meaning is already attached - I didn't do it - "slay" is a violent "kill."

So was it accidential? Or natural causes? I think neither. It sounds like it was an intentional shooting. It also sounds justified.

Should we object when someone says St. George slew the dragon?

[JNMAR]

Disagree:

Main Entry: slay
Pronunciation: \ˈslā\
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): slew \ˈslü\ also especially in sense 2 slayed; slain \ˈslān\; slay·ing
Etymology: Middle English slen, from Old English slēan to strike, slay; akin to Old High German slahan to strike, Middle Irish slachta stricken
Date: before 12th century
transitive verb
1 : to kill violently, wantonly, or in great numbers; broadly : to strike down
(source http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

The meaning is already attached - I didn't do it - "slay" is a violent "kill." While I don't have first, or even second hand information, if the story unfolded as it was published, then a violent attacker was stopped by police after they exhausted every possible alternative. The "boy being slain" headline leads me to expect a different sequence.

Sort of like mislabeling the victim...


Just another example of dramatic headlines to catch reader's attention.

Sincerely,

A former newspaper editor

[casingpoint]

Wouldn't you know it? The kid was off his meds, and a gun enthusiast. The followup:
http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_14833714" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[karder]

I know a photographer who covered this story. He talked to neighbors who told him that this kid had some mental issues and a history of acting up. It was a matter of time before something happened. Unfortunately, he lost his life, but I don't think that the officers were to blame. It's a sad case, but at least the boy was not able to hurt anyone else.