I don’t know what their protocols consist of, would you mind filling in what exactly they are and how they were violated?
Ok, I guessing I’m looking at this from a defense attorney stand point.
Cops get a phone call from a concerned neighbor that a residents door is open but no movement has been seen in a while.
Dispatcher relays call to officer. No doubt the officer has scenarios going through his head. Medical issues? Hostage situation? Home Invasion? Potential cop ambush situation where someone lures cops to a call and then ambushes them?
So upon arriving at residence, he walks around the house looking for evidence of foul play and doing a basic threat assessment. As he passes a window he sees someone, he gives an an order to put their hands in the air and sees a gun and fires (split second span).
Maybe he arrives on scene knocks and a potential hostage situation goes way wrong?
I was under the impression officers always check a perimeter and assess potential threats when arriving on scene. Maybe I’m wrong on this.
As for the Chief, I’m not saying he is covering, I’m just surprised he is so quick to assign blame to his officer instead of saying, let’s allow an investigation to proceed and go from there. To me this feels like the public wants a scapegoat and the Chief is caving to that pressure.
If I’m a defense attorney that’s the way I would spin this.
sheds a little more light to your comment.
I'm pretty sure, from what the media is reporting, that the officer never even entered the house. They're also saying that dispatch advised there wasn't alarm either. Now you or I don't know anything because we weren't there, we're going off what is being stated.
As far as what the Chief did, you have to analyze the state of our community policing as a whole throughout the country. He needed to wipe his hands of any wrong doing as to not put the rest of his department in public scrutiny. I believe what he did was correct. Officers are to use their weapons at absolute last resort.