What would you have done? If the Cop or the Father?

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David2012

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The article below shoud be a good lesson to people to control their anger... as not doing so can get you killed.

How would you have handled the situation in the article below if you were the little girl's father or the cop? I think too many people these days are like the father and the 18 yr old cousin and just can't [or won't] control their emotions & anger. It is getting so people live like they are on the Jerry Springer television show.. thinking they have to respond to every situation with punches / violence..... like it is expected of them.

You can see from the way the person who wrote the article thinks.. that she knows nothing about weapons training.. she thinks the cop probably should have just fired a warning shot in the air or tried to wound the father in the leg.... like that is soooooo easy to do when you are fighting for your life against two attackers and on the verge of going unconscious.

This happened in Maywood, Illinois.

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Off-Duty Cop Crashes Motorcycle Into Little Girl Then Kills Her Enraged Dad
Posted by Kiri Blakeley
on August 13, 2012 at 3:45 PM

It wasn't that long ago that people were "cheering" the "hero dad" in Texas who beat off his daughter's alleged child molester, killing him in the process. We tend to like these stories for the obvious reason: It sets a terrible situation right. A child is being hurt. A parent rushes to the rescue. The parent gets revenge on the child's attacker. All is well with the world again. But what if that scenario goes horribly awry? What if the person who hurt the child genuinely did it by accident? What if the father who rushes to the rescue is overcome with the understandable desire to beat the bejesus out of the person who hurt his child? And what if the person who hurt the child just happened to be a cop who was carrying a gun? There's no "happy" ending to this story. But it might teach everyone a lesson about using fists instead of the law.

Saturday night, an off-duty police officer was riding down the street on his motorcycle when apparently a little girl darted out from nowhere in front of his bike. He intentionally "ditched" the bike in an effort to avoid hitting her, but it was too late. His bike slammed into 4-year-old Taniyah Middleton, as well as her 18-year-old cousin, who had run out to help her.

The cop, despite being injured himself, reportedly began trying to help the little girl. This is when the girl's father, Christopher Middleton, ran out of a nearby restaurant, saw the scene, and began taking out his fury on the man who had hurt his daughter.

Reportedly the man identified himself as a police officer, but the infuriated man just kept pummeling. Then the 18-year-old cousin joined in. About to lose consciousness from the beating, the cop pulled out his gun and fired, killing the father.

This horrible scenario brings up a whole lot of questions: How did the little girl get out of the restaurant? Why was she running across the street? Why would the cop feel his life was so in danger that he had to fire into the father to get the fight to stop? What about firing into the air? Or, at the most, his leg?

The little girl is recovering from her injuries, as is the police officer. The tragedy is being investigated. But it does make you wonder if this all could have been avoided if the father had called police rather than begun lashing out physically. When it comes to our kids, it's not easy to let our heads, not our hands, be in charge. But it might be for the best.

What do you think the father should have done?

http://thestir.cafemom.com/in_the_news/141912/offduty_cop_crashes_motorcycle_into?quick_picks=1

Video news story-

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/soci...orcycle-child-attacked-her-father-christopher
 

rebelracer79

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I have a boy about that age, I can safely say if I was the father my first priority would be to get my child medical attention.

As to if I was the cop, what else could he do?
 

rehpot

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I would be more worried than mad in that situation, and just like any accident, I would check my love ones first then others involved. As for the cop shooting, what else can he do, he is on a disadvantage. I don't think he is is a position to asses the situation and decide, he was protecting himself as punches in bunches specially from a large person do kill. We live in a real world and most story don't have happy ending.
 

Fyrtwuck

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The cop is injured, trying to take care of an injured child and then attacked by two adults and beaten to the ground. Fight or flight response kicks in and in this instance there is no flight option.

This horrible scenario brings up a whole lot of questions: How did the little girl get out of the restaurant? Why was she running across the street?Why would the cop feel his life was so in danger that he had to fire into the father to get the fight to stop? What about firing into the air? Or, at the most, his leg?

Too many movies where people see the good guy shoot the bad guy in the hand and disarm him. Not going to happen in real life.

Reportedly the man identified himself as a police officer, but the infuriated man just kept pummeling. Then the 18-year-old cousin joined in. About to lose consciousness from the beating, the cop pulled out his gun and fired, killing the father.

They just answered their own question. Two adults beating the officer and he's about to lose consciousness. I would say that he was in fear of HIS life.
 

Josh Smith

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Mr. Darwin strikes again.

Once the threat has passed, you move forward to help the injured. Nature tends to reject those who do not.

Unfortunately, nature also tends to reject the children of the irresponsible. Try as I might, I can't see that one as quite fair...

Josh
 

David2012

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Shows how a situation can 'go South' in a hurry. Last thing that cop ever expected was to be fighting someone for his life after a traffic accident. I posted this story under self defense / safety training because the officer was in plain clothes and off duty... it could have been any one of us in his situation.... just going about our day driving down the street and have a kid dart out in front of us. To me, the fact he was a cop didn't have anything to do with the story. Being off duty and in plain clothes, he was just Joe Citizen.

Between the people who can't or won't control their emotions, the racial hatreds that some people have, the mentals, the drunks & druggies and the bad guys in general.... we can't let our guard down for a New York Minute... even when we are at home these days.
 

mugsy

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Shows how a situation can 'go South' in a hurry. Last thing that cop ever expected was to be fighting someone for his life after a traffic accident...Between the people who can't or won't control their emotions, the racial hatreds that some people have, the mentals, the drunks & druggies and the bad guys in general.... we can't let our guard down for a New York Minute... even when we are at home these days.

This ^^^^^ sad but all too true. Its the kind of thing no one wants to happen but can and will if people are unable to govern their emotions and to control themselves. Based on the facts provided in the links this was aterrible tragedy but there was no cause to attack the driver. The downed rider had every right to defend himself - which has nothing to do with him being a police officer - just as any of us would have. Likewise, if one of us freaked and started attacking people after a tragedy we could properly expect to be taken down.
 

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