Blendon Twp. police allege pregnant woman stole liquor, was shot trying to run over officer

I think I have to disagree that the shooting was necessary. She was in a parking space starting from a dead stop and was moving at about 2MPH. The officer’s life was not in danger. He could have stepped to one side. And, as you said, it was a minor shoplifting offense, they have her on camera, and her car and license plate on camera. People calling in complaints of theft on bicycles, cars, or other thefts are regularly dismissed by police officers. They’re told to fill out a form and that they’ll be contacted if anything comes up. It’s such a common occurrence that it’s become a trope. If they responded in this incident with that same level of commitment to the law, they would have just let her drive away and them filed a report after they had some lunch.

If you think you’re not giving the police a special break on this, think about how you’d feel of it was a private citizen drawing their own concealed weapon. Other than the police having the legal right to order her from the car, the situation is no different unless you want to consider disobeying a police officer to be a crime worthy of immediate execution.

I think that, like with the municipalities that banned high speed car chases for anything but major felony infractions, the ROE needs to reflect that if the officer’s life is not in immediate danger, they should not fire.