I have hesitated to comment on this thread for a number of reasons, foremost being I wasn't there. I will answer a few questions as best I can based on MY experiences:
The number of shots is not excessive. When we shoot, we shoot to kill. The .40 I carried held 17 rounds. The ones swat carries can be set to single fire, 3 round bursts or fully auto. The AR-15 the swat officer carried was undoubtedly set to auto or at least 3 round bursts, based on the info they had this guy was some kind of an enforcer. (based on what my department used)
We do not shoot twice and see if we hit someone. We fire until he goes down. Cops in that situation are no different then soldiers on combat. When someone points a gun like that at you, you are more frightened then you ever imagined possible. In a thousandth of a second the round with YOUR name on it might be coming out.
On high profile narcotics warrants, we don't politely knock on the door regardless of the time of day. Dopers arm themselves heavily, are paranoid as hell, and drugs get flushed down the toilet in seconds on a drug raid. We typically position one cop by each bathroom window with instructions to break the window and beat the dopers away from the toilet as we hit the front door.
Before you rush to his defense based only on the fact he served his country, I've known enough bad cops, bad soldiers, bad priests, bad basketball coaches......to know that being the member of an exclusive fraternity, no matter how high the fraternitys' morals and ideals may be, does not preclude you from being a monster in sheeps uniform. I am in no way bashing ANY of these professions, being an ex cop and a HUGE supporter of the military, just saying the fact you served does NOT give you a free pass for life.
It's good to discuss cases like this. Keep the heat on all involved, force them to justify all of their actions. Don't forget, a magistrate signed a search warrant based on an affidavit sworn out to him/her. That needs to be investigated to confirm where their information came from.
Rush to judgements, regardless of the side you are on, rarely produces a fair/impartial verdict.
I'm hoping for the best, while always cognizant mistakes do get made.
Joe
(who is so glad he's retired!
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