Unwise, unfair to prejudge split-second life-and-death decisions police face

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/11/2024 (321 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Officers do not go to work planning to take a life, Winnipeg Police Service acting chief Art Stannard told reporters during a Sunday-evening news conference.

He made the comment after police shot and killed a man outside a shopping centre on the west edge of the city.

“They come to work to serve and protect the community,” he said.

I truly believe that.

I also believe there are circumstances when police have no other option but to use lethal force when their lives or safety — or the safety of others — are in jeopardy.

What happened Sunday outside a bus shelter at the Unicity shopping centre is likely one of those situations.

It’s important not to jump to conclusions before all available evidence is assessed in cases where police use lethal force against another human being. There is a reasonably independent process in place for such examinations to occur through the province’s police oversight agency.

Nevertheless, if what police are reporting is true — that a man with an edged weapon allegedly stabbed an officer in the neck and failed to drop his weapon as he advanced towards two cops who repeatedly ordered him to drop it — it appears, on the surface, to be a cut-and-dried case.

I have no reason to doubt what police are saying in this case is true. Video evidence of the shooting from a bystander posted on social media appears to corroborate the statement, even though it tells only a fraction of the story.

Two police officers are seen and heard shouting “put it down, man!” and “drop it!” to the suspect, who is standing in close proximity to them. The video appears to show the man does not drop whatever he may have been holding and instead starts walking towards the officers, who likely had no option at that point other than to use lethal force to stop the threat.

It is not the job of a police officer to wrestle an armed suspect to the ground or to use less-lethal options, such as electric-shock weapons or pepper spray. Doing so would likely put their own lives and safety at risk.

They are trained to shoot at “centre mass” in cases such as these to stop the threat. If they try to shoot the suspect in a limb or elsewhere in an attempt to avoid a fatality, if they miss, it could cost them their own lives.

Cops don’t go to work every day to take a life, but they also don’t go to work to put their own lives — or the lives of others — needlessly at risk. They go to work to protect the community and they have a right to protect themselves in the line of duty.

They also have a responsibility to use the least amount of force necessary under the circumstances, which they learn through use-of-force training, and should be held accountable if they don’t.

Still, it’s important to keep in mind that incidents such as these usually occur in a matter of seconds. Police have to make extremely quick life-and-death decisions.

This does not appear to be a case where a mental-health care worker could have been on the scene to de-escalate the situation, especially after police say an officer had already been stabbed in the neck.

Imagine if the suspect in this case was not stopped and it resulted in death or injury to others? Police would have been accused of not doing their job to protect the community.

Fortunately in this case, because it took place outside a shopping centre, there is likely other camera footage available to Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba investigators, as they try to piece together what happened. Shopping centres, their parking lots and many other public places are commonly equipped with surveillance cameras.

Mostly, though, this case is just tragic. What happened in this man’s life that led him to allegedly attack an officer and refuse to follow orders when police demanded he drop his weapon? Why would anyone walk towards two cops with their firearms drawn, barking “put it down, man!” and not expect to get shot? It’s incomprehensible to most of us. But there are likely sad and unfortunate reasons behind it.

We now know the shooting victim, Jordan Charlie, 24, had a history of violence and a criminal record. He suffered from depression while in prison and attempted suicide while incarcerated.

Regardless, this was a human being who lost his life. Even if he was responsible for his own actions, the situation is no less devastating.

It is also tragic for the police officers who discharged their firearms. It will affect them for the rest of their lives. They will be scrutinized and investigated and may forever wonder if they could have done something different in the moment.

They did not go to work that day to take a life. But they may have had no other choice.

tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca