I'm gonna go with: don't send cops on welfare checks. Send somebody competent to respond to mental health challenges, preferably someone not wearing a police uniform (after all, at this point a lot of folks think "unaccountable killer" when they see that uniform and there's honestly reason for that).
I’ll say it again and again, before you call the cops for anything, you need to remember what you’re actually doing. You are willingly inviting an armed person, who will not lose a fight or back down, who is shielded from legal consequences, into your situation.
Grandpa isn’t answering his phone or the door and you’re worried? Call a locksmith, not the cops. Cops will just kick the door or call the locksmith anyway, now you have extra problems
"The Columbus Police Department was conducting a welfare check on a subject following a report of potential self-harm," Nebraska State Patrol said in a press release.
The awfulness of the story aside, I do want to put a small bit of appreciation toward ABC News for not dropping some bullshit like "17-year-old man dead following an officer-involved shooting during a welfare check." The voice is passive still, but at least it cuts to the point, that the kid was killed by a police officer.
My only notes are that it should say "Officer shot and killed 17-year-old while conducting a welfare check." As it is, it's like it's saying the kid was shot and killed, and it just so happened to be by an officer.
For some reason the police just love to murder suicidal people. I think that the brain of a conservative short circuits at the thought of it, then the monkey rage comes out.
They need to send qualified people. Cops are so trigger happy and everyone knows it. At this point the easiest way to commit suicide is to call the cops on yourself, wait for them to arrive, take a $15 airsoft pistol out the door with you, turn so they can see it, wait for them to draw their guns, then level the airsoft pistol as quickly as you can at one of the cops and then boom! I imagine it's not super popular because cops aren't the best shot, and you might not die.
Oh boy, this post ain't gonna be popular. Humor me and read it all.
First off, there's no meat on the bone here. Police called on a young man threatening self-harm, young man killed. Nothing to see here ATM.
Did the kid have a gun? Did he threaten the cops? WTF happened?! Nothing in this story addresses the simplest questions. Hell, it didn't ask questions, let alone get answers. FFS, this is Journalism 101. (I literally took that class, and more.)
Here's the question we should all be asking: Why are police the default mental health responders in America? We can all give a dozen reasons why that's bullshit, but that's not interesting. How do we actually make change? Read on.
"Defund the police" is the dumbest political slogan I've ever heard. Jesus. I know what's meant. You know what's meant. Worst. Marketing. Ever.
Had an opinion changing YouTube binge last night. Watched a dozen sov cits getting their asses handed to them in court. That evolved into watching cops bust idiots running around impersonating police officers.
In both cases I was stunned at the calm and measured responses from the judges and cops involved. Over and over and over again. The patience on display was stunning. Me? LOL, I'd throw these asses in jail or beat them down with a billy club. Been on the receiving end of bad judges and cops. As bad as you think it is now, didn't used to be like that!
And why is it so much better today? We got public CAMERAS. I can usually argue both sides of an argument, if you can't, you don't understand the argument. I got nothing arguing cops shouldn't be wearing body cams.
Of course you don't release the footage immediately to the public! Of course you don't live stream that shit! And yes, there's a technical\budgetary cost well above buying a fat HDD.
Still, recording is plenty doable. And we can work out sane ways for those recordings to go public.
Go to your local sheriff's FB page and ask why they're not using body cams. Demand answers. LOL, I got no answers from mine. But press them anyway and do not stop!
FEBRUARY 8, 2024 (Columbus, Nebraska) — The Nebraska State Patrol is able to provide additional details on the Columbus Police Department officer-involved shooting that occurred Tuesday afternoon.
At approximately 1:00 p.m. Tuesday, February 6, Columbus police officers were conducting a welfare check following a report of potential self-harm at a residence in the 3600 block of 39th Avenue in Columbus. Officers contacted the subject, a 17-year-old male, inside the residence. The subject was in possession of a knife.
During the encounter, a Columbus police officer discharged their duty weapon, striking the subject. Another officer deployed a taser during the incident. The subject succumbed to injuries and was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The subject has been identified as Chase Ditter, 17, of Columbus.
The Columbus Police Department has requested the Nebraska State Patrol to investigate the incident. The NSP Special Investigations Team is conducting the in-custody death investigation.
The Columbus Police Department has placed both officers involved in the incident on administrative leave. The NSP investigation remains ongoing.
Wow. There are literally zero details in this article and everyone has labeled the cop a murderer. What a thankless, shit job, police. Could it not have been that the officer arrived on scene to an armed individual who then attempted to murder him? He's conducting a welfare check, the person he's checking on may not be all there.... Both the checker and the checkee are humans and matter here!
Which is where I and the rest of the ACAB folks will probably start to agree - cops shouldn't be the ones responding to these calls. The hard part is that sending unarmed social workers into dangerous scenarios is not the answer either. Tough problem to solve. World's not perfect. Give your fellow human the benefit of the doubt, though. Not every cop is a murderous bastard, and thinking that way isn't helping anyone except tickling your own smug feelings. It's also a sweeping generalization, something that's both foolish and frowned upon these days. This an appeal to the humanity in all of you - quit writing off humans with a single acronym. You are removing their humanity and labelling them a monster. We can look to history to learn from the same mistake.
Hey, what if a terminally I'll crazy patient visit the police department of every city? I mean many terminally I'll patients. They could be 12 years old if that helps.
Wouldn't they all just start shooting themselves in a crazy shark feeding stupid way? Like when you see Koi ponds getting fed and all the Koi make the pond go crazy.