Stu, Ebbie, et al: "So *why* do police - given all the equipment/training/experience they have - feel so much fear that they shoot? "

Police are trained to assess the risk of serious bodily injury or death the subject poses to the people around them, the general public, fellow officers and self. Assuming "so much fear" = irrationality here, how did you conclude this as opposed to what a rational person would have concluded given the same set of facts and required reaction time? fwiw: In urban America the meme of premediated genocide is at least as popular as random or systemic cowardice.

Stu: "the fact you see a deadly weapon where I see a child with a toy gun, because where I'm from we can go years at a time without ever seeing a gun; they are not part of our culture."

If Rice (5'7"- #195) pulled his stunt at Heathrow today I'd give him 50-50 on survival. Even so I'm not sure how useful any one human lifespan (or three) is in comparing the evolution of whole nations and societies. And one may find plenty German Glocks; Italian Berettas; Chinese Norincos; ad naseum in "Chi-raq" these days. "Not part of our 'domestic' culture." Perhaps?


"It's part of the slaughter deemed a part of daily life in some countries. That is pretty sad."

A huge slice of American society worships thuggery, the badder the better, and would agree a "snitch" needs killing. They don't see themselves as sad, cheesed off yes, but not sad. It's the exact opposite of what they and the mainstream(?) and you demand of the police. The world tuts about the status quo while their arms industries merrily shift millions of units/annum into the U.S. markets. I am shocked—shocked—to find that gun violence is going on in America!