katydid23
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Katykid23, some cops in the UK carry guns and most European police forces are fully armed. Yet US cops do shoot many more people per head than these other police forces. So far as that goes, the Guardian article is accurate.
But it is not the full picture because you are making a valid point. In terms of gun crime at least, the USA is far more violent, with many more shootings per head of population than in the UK or most of Europe. I believe that availability is an issue here, with guns being readily available to most people. Inevitably this means the bad guys can very easily get hold of them too and are mostly tooled up with them in consequence. This also means that the lawbreakers whom police confront or chase down are themselves far more likely to be armed and to start shooting. And even if they are not armed or don't use their guns, the fear that they might be armed and likely to shoot is bound to be much more in the forefront of a police officer's mind. I haven't researched the statistics but I'd be surprised if police deaths from shootings are not substantially higher in the US.
But the issue of availability is a political hot potato for Americans, with the right to bear arms enshrined in the constitution and regarded as a fundamental freedom by millions. I may be a Brit but I know enough to understand that. So as a politically controvertial subject, I'll stear clear of saying anything more about that. The right to bear arms versus gun control in the USA aint my beef. That issue is one I'll leave to Americans.
But to some extent, greater resort to firearms on the part of the police might be due to the fact that the bad guys shoot at them much more often.
However, having acknowledged that, there has emerged some video evidence of individual police officers shooting in very questionable circumstances, apparently believing that they can do so without consequences. The public has a right to feel safe from the police as well as to feel protected by them, and such episodes do much damage to that. Bad apples need to be rooted out and punished for the good standing of the great majority of decent officers out there.
Also, just because the job of anybody - police officer, soldier, sailor, fireman, etc - involves endangering themselves to protect others does not and should not exonerate them from all potential criticism. It is part of the checks and balances in any free society that those who uphold the law must be accountable for their actions and occasionally open to criticism. If they cease to be, that is dangerous.
Thank You for recognizing and understanding what I was trying to say. Specifically:
"... because you are making a valid point. In terms of gun crime at least, the USA is far more violent, with many more shootings per head of population than in the UK or most of Europe. I believe that availability is an issue here, with guns being readily available to most people. Inevitably this means the bad guys can very easily get hold of them too and are mostly tooled up with them in consequence. This also means that the lawbreakers whom police confront or chase down are themselves far more likely to be armed and to start shooting. And even if they are not armed or don't use their guns, the fear that they might be armed and likely to shoot is bound to be much more in the forefront of a police officer's mind. I haven't researched the statistics but I'd be surprised if police deaths from shootings are not substantially higher in the US..."
That ^^^ is what I have been trying to express. It seems very unfair to hold up the statistics between cops in the US and various other nations, with far less gun violence.
And of course, I agree with you that :
"Bad apples need to be rooted out and punished for the good standing of the great majority of decent officers out there."
I totally agree that we need to hold officers accountable and should be open to criticism when they fall short, cross lines and/or ethical boundaries. No argument from me. But it is unfair to try and claim that the entire nations police force is militaristic, brutal, out of control, etc. And I think articles, such as the one in the OP of this thread, are wrongly doing so, unfairly. JMO