The Louisville, Kentucky Police Department released two body camera video of a police shooting that should be shown in every police agency in the U.S. It is a textbook example of handling a crisis situation
Officer 1 is in a foot chase of a suspect carrying a screwdriver. When the suspect turns around and faces the four officers at the scene, he is holding the screwdriver above his head. Officer 1 issues commands to drop the weapon while officer 2 assures the individual that he will not be hurt. Officers 3 and 4 have their Tasers drawn, Officers 1 and 2 have their firearms drawn.
It appears that the Tasers were deployed but, for whatever reason, were ineffective. The suspect moves toward Officer 2 and Officers 1 and 2 fire their weapons hitting the suspect an unknown number of times.
The incident shows that the officers attempted verbal de-escalation techniques, then less-than-lethal force was used, and, only then, was lethal force employed.
The suspect was clearly moving toward Officer 2 placing him in imminent danger of attack and his shot(s) were in self-defense. Officer 1 acted in defense of another when the other was in imminent danger and his actions were both reasonable and necessary. It can be argued that Officer 2 could have retreated, but police officers have no duty to retreat. The “21 foot rule” does not apply here because that distance applies when the officer’s weapon is holstered, but Officer 2 does not have to be stabbed with the weapon in order to defend himself from harm.
The officers acted within the reasonable standard set in the Graham standard and this is a good shooting. It visually displays how to professionally handle a difficult situation.
Whether it is with new recruits or officers nearing retirement, this video is a great training tool to establish the justification for the use of deadly force. It would appear that this was another case of “Suicide by cop,” but that does not impact the validity of the actions of all of the officers at the scene.