Ah...This discussion hits me right in the middle of my soul.
Hock, you and several others have hit the nail on the head, but it does'nt stop there. I have been in countless physical altercations as a police officer. No, I've never had to use my gun, but it could happen tonight. The arguement that you can guess what people will complain about when it comes to any police action is to truely underestimate the "Complaint Factor" of a major part of our society. I have, as someone already posted, just given some people as good ol' ass whoopin when I could have used deadly force. Did anyone notice that I did this? Nope!! All I heard was "Fire him", "That's wrong", ect, ect, ect.. People who are not police officers think they know what the job is all about because they know this cop, or chief so-n-so, or sheriff high-n-mighty. But, at the end of the day, these people simply have no idea of what they are talking about. I could go on and on with this topic, but it won't really change anything. The officer in that tape did what he thought was best at the time it occurred. Will he lose his job? Heck, that depends on the mood of his superiors at the time any complaints are brought forth. What type supervisors does that officer in the video clip have? Have they been in the thick of things many times? Have they spend most of their careers picking out knee pads at the local sporting goods store because they are going to see the chief/captian/Sheriff/ect. the next day? I hope that the officer does'nt get in any trouble for his actions, but doing right does'nt mean you won't get screwed in the end. The world is a cruel and uncaring place...Welcome to planet earth!