Don't shoot, I'm disabled
&quot;I have to make sure I go home to my family at night,&quot;<p>Well, in that case- maybe don&#x27;t become a <i>police officer</i>?<p>I mean, I don&#x27;t know that I&#x27;ve ever heard a fireman, or a doctor, a rescuer, a
lifeguard, etc, say that sort of thing - &quot;my first priority is to go home
safely tonight&quot;. That doesn&#x27;t mean that they&#x27;re expect to <i>sacrifice</i> their
lives in the line of duty, it means they&#x27;re expected to <i>risk</i> their lives, to
save someone else&#x27;s (the doctor, if you were wondering, because they can
easily catch something nasty).<p>The police officer who made the comment shot a szhizophrenic woman who was
holding a knife (that&#x27;s all we&#x27;re told about that case). So presumably he shot
her because he was afraid she&#x27;d stab him. Presumably, also, that was part of his training.<p>That is very dangerous. Giving someone a gun and telling them that when
their live&#x27;s in danger their priority is to come out of it alive, is dangerous
for everyone around the person with the gun. Because the easiest way to make
sure you &quot;go back to your family&quot; when you have a gun and the crazy lady is
holding a knife is to shoot her dead. I mean, duh.<p>I should also probably point out that I think this is a peculiarly US thing.
I doubt that anywhere else in the developed world police officers are 
adviced to shoot first and ask questions later, or in any case, 
as a first line of defense.