Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Don't Bring a Knife to a Gunfight

News Flash
If you have a knife and lunge at someone with the intent of stabbing him/her, and that person has the means to defend himself/herself, there’s a good chance you’ll get hurt or killed.

Back in February, a man whose mentally disturbe son, Michael Pais, was having problems coping, summoned a cop to help calm the 30-year-old down. The 30-year-old pulled a knife and went after the cop. The cop shot him dead, “in cold blood,” according to the father.

Video of the incident clearly (and I mean clearly) shows the cop backing away from the knife-wielding man. What else was the cop to have done? Should he have called time out to give him a chance to deploy his pepper spray? Right. “Uh, can you hold on son? I don’t wanna kill you, so gimme about 10 seconds to get this pepper spray out of my belt so I can temporarily blind you in order to restrain you and take you to jail for assault with a deadly weapon.”
It's a shame that the guy was killed, but I'm really at a loss what else the cop could have done. The cop was cleared.

The surviving father is now suing the City of San Antonio for a few million dollars. I don't have details regarding the suit, so I'll reserve comment.

++++++++++

Memory du Jour:
Tuesday, August 8th, 2006, San Antonio, Texas
Yesterday I took The Girl to her high school’s freshman orientation. She all of a sudden seemed so grown up – So adult. The way she talked to me, looked at me, and laughed & joked with me at the orientation and at Jack in the Box afterward made me proud and sad at the same time.

Quote of the Day:
"One thing is clear, is relations between America and Russia are good, and they're important that they be good." —George W. Bush, Strelna, Russia, July 15, 2006

Graphic Du Jour:
New Year’s Eve, 2000, San Antonio, Texas
It was 29 freakin’ degrees, I was intoxicated
and stoopid
!

8 comments:

Webmiztris said...

damn, didn't look like the cop had much of a choice to me. if he hadn't killed that guy, that guy would have killed HIM.

Miss Cellania said...

I dunno. If I were called to help a family with a grown but mentally disturbed son they couldn't control, I think I'd be prepared with some kind of non-lethal defense going in. Makes you wonder how much info the cop had.

Sudiegirl said...

so that's what you look like!

I have to say I agree with both sides of the story...it's a hard call to make so I can't fault the cop.

Anonymous said...

Ok. After watching the security cam video I really don't think the cop had any other choice but to shoot the poor man. This is very sad. I believe the article stated that Pais suffered from some type of mental illness.

I understand completely how you feel about "The Girl". Where did the time go? One minute they are children - the next adult"ish".

Quote of the Day: Verb tense George!

Great pic!

PS: Don't forget the clam chowder recipe!

We sing we dance we steal things said...

I don't think the cop had any choice. Sad the city is being sued, that really pisses me off.
About the Girl,you know what they say... "Thank goodness for little girls".

BUSH SUCKS!

Carlos said...

WebMiz: I agree. Not much choice.

MissCellania: I was thinking the same thing. Did the father just ask the cop to help him with his son, or did he at least say the guy was a little unstable?

SudieGirl: Yes, that’s me! It really must have been a hard call to make for the cop. Something they have to do very frequently.

Sheila: “Adultish” is right. Last night she was as far from being adult as she could be without wearing diapers! :-) Won’t forget the chowder recipe!

Y: Thank goodness for little girls indeed!

Boobless Brigade Master said...

Yep, the video is perfectly clear...he had no choice. I personally don't care if the man with the knife was stable or unstable, it's a grown man coming at him with a knife. He did what he had to do.

If a stanger had been approaching their unstable son with a knife and he shot and killed the guy out of self-defense, you can bet they'd be pissed if their son went to jail for it.
I also bet if the unstable son was chasing down a child and the cop shot and killed him to save the child that the parents would still want to sue.
Pathetic but true.

A couple of years back, we had a similar situation here. Father and mother called because their mentally unstable son was going ballistic at their house where he lived with them. We'd been to this house, for the same reason, several times before. All the times before the officers were able to calm him down and calmly handle the situation. They thought this would time would be the same. As per usual, the parents waited out front and two officers headed in the house and up the stairs. Sadly, the son knew his parents had called the cops *again*...but this time the son was waiting at the end of the hall and as soon as the first officers head was in his view, he blew it off with his shotgun. Then, as the other two officers were dragging his body back down the stairs to get out...the son set off a bomb he'd made, engulfing the house in flames and instantly killing himself. The other two officers were injured but survived. The slain officer was three weeks from retirement.

So...my opinion: Sorry the guy was mentally unstable, sorry he lost his life and sorry for the parents...but the harsh bitch in me says that I'd rather the cop be the one who lives to potentially save more lives down the road and let the bullshit waste of life be gone.

reneegrrrrrrrr said...

and "Don't Bring Shampoo on a Plane" ;)

Hi there!!!