Suicide bomber?

[sgtmac_46]

I made a statement in another thread supporting the decision of the London police in shooting a suspected suicide bomber in a London subway. I still standby my support, but it appears at this point as if the London police may have had the wrong man. Tragic as this is appearing to be, there seem to be far more questions at this point than answers. Now, again, the London police have a very serious situation at hand, and their tactics may very well be necessary. It is tragic if this occurred to be true.

 

[Tgace]

If you have what you believe to be a bomber at gunpoint and start giving commands and he turns and starts to run, what do you do based on what you have to go on? While tragic, I reserve calling it unjustified for now. When a Cop is pointing a gun at you and is telling you to do something, I highly recommend you do it.

 

[arnisador]

Tragic indeed, but it could be justified. The fault lies with the terrorists who force the police into these no-win situations where they can be damned if they do and damned if they don't.

 

[sgtmac_46]

If you have what you believe to be a bomber at gunpoint and start giving commands and he turns and starts to run, what do you do based on what you have to go on? While tragic, I reserve calling it unjustified for now. When a Cop is pointing a gun at you and is telling you to do something, I highly recommend you do it.

It appears as if the shooting may very well have been justified by the situation. A tragic decision on the part of the person who decided to run. Cops are not psychic and do not have the magical ability to either fortell the future or read the minds of people they are dealing with. They make decisions based on the situation as they observe it at the moment.

That decision becomes even more critical when you are dealing with a potential suicide bomber possibly carrying explosives that he can detonate by flipping a switch.

It's not a matter of waiting him out, or trying to negotiate. If he flips the switch, he can kill you, your partner, and a large number of innocent people around him.

The only way to stop him from pressing that button is to shoot him in the head, which is apparently what happened here. You can't taser them, you can't bean bag them, you can't pepperspray them. Any force option other than an instant incapacitating shot will allow them to press that button.

The greatest tragedy here is that this incident will probably serve to hinder the ability of the police to deal with future suicide bombers.

 

[arnisador]

Of course, sometimes it's set to go when they release the button for just that reason, and to insure the bomber doesn't chicken out. It isn't always a positive option device--it might also be a negative option.

 

[sgtmac_46]

Of course, sometimes it's set to go when they release the button for just that reason, and to insure the bomber doesn't chicken out. It isn't always a positive option device--it might also be a negative option.

At that point he's already depressed the button, called a dead-man's switch, and it's too late.

 

[Tgace]

In that case its "no-win" so you have to assume its command detonated and shoot him as that is the only "win" situation you can get.

 

[sgtmac_46]

In that case its "no-win" so you have to assume its command detonated and shoot him as that is the only "win" situation you can get.

Yep, because he's not going to allow you to disarm it. Your best hope is that his death causes him to keep a death grip on the devices trigger. Shooting him is still the best bet.