A man robs a post office in Gainesville, Florida. Two Alachua county deputies arrive on scene shortly thereafter, and encounter a male suspect matching the description of the perpetrator. He refuses to comply with instructions, reaches into his pocket, and produces a handgun. He is shot by both deputies. Here is the dashcam footage of the incident, watch how quickly it all unfolds:
They make contact with the man at 15:18:23
The deputy tells him to put his hands on the car at 15:18:27
The suspect doesn't comply and begins to back away at 15:18:30
The suspect reaches in his pocket at 15:18:32 and the deputy orders him to stop, saying "I will f--king kill you!"
The hand comes out of the pocket with the gun at 15:18:33
The shots begin one second later.
The cop has less than a second to decide shoot or no shoot.
That is how quickly things play out.
The officers were suspended with pay, and the case was turned over to FDLE, as it is in all cases where an officer uses deadly force. The FDLE declared that the shooting was proper on August 13th.
The cops have to decide whether or not to shoot in one second or less, on penalty of death. Those who review their actions get three months to review the shooting from the comfort of their safe office.
There are still those in the #blacklivesmatter community that will use this shooting to disparage police officers, and claim racism. There are those in the anti-gun rights community that will use this shooting to say that the law abiding should be disarmed.
Do those sound like rational people to you?
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