Again with respect I cannot agree, and having been at the sharp end of the wedge I am going to have to "appeal to authority" on this one - in the UK with no other weapon to hand it would have been a MASSIVE risk in a one on one....I would have felt ,ore comfortable than most, but even then headsot with baton would have been justifiable without much of a stretch. In this case he was left with realistically little choice given the dynamics. One hit with a flagpole and your skull can be caved in - they are MUCH heavier than you might think...certainly enough to knock you out or stun you and leave you open to further strikes This is not just about the officers choices - the other person had a choice too and chose to attack with an object capable of inflicting serious bodily harm...they then suffered the consequences for directing that level of force against an armed man It is also worth mentioning that said individual had assaulted a woman by beating and that was the cause for the stop, so you are not dealing with a jaywalker or person who just has a misdemanour here
Being drunk, agitated, mentally ill or in any sort of altered state does not negate the threat one might represent. the attacker quickly closed in on an officer swinging a weapon able to cause serious damage. He faced the consequences of his actions. Hannibal, what did you think of the other video? [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StaceXOlkXw"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StaceXOlkXw[/ame]
I don't really see what he was trying to accomplish. Staying in a confrontation while outnumbered and out-armed and making no attempt to stop or remove yourself from the situation doesn't make sense. If you feel you should engage, do so and finish it. Delaying only increases the risk to property and people. If you shouldn't engage, remove yourself from the situation. Standing there and blocking or just sitting in the car while being assaulted just strikes me as impotent bravado covering an inability to act. Get it done or get clear until you can. No good x-blocking until a shot lands clean or his buddies decide to follow suit.
Agreed. And that inability, unwillingness or hesitation is rooted in culture. That's why I posted both videos - to show the difference in the way law enforcement operate between both countries. Note that the French cop pulls out his gun in the car as an attempt to deter the attackers. that does not slow down the attackers one bit. That's very telling and the passive x-blocking that follows while the youth is swinging away and the car starts burning down just illustrates the point.
