The police, unthinking citizens and weapons
August 22, 2010 - 11:00 pm
To the editor:
I have been following the Costco shooting, as I do every police shooting in Clark County. As usual, everybody jumps to conclusions before the facts are out.
I'm a retired Metro officer who served for 27 years. During my career, I could have been justified in shooting about six or seven unthinking citizens whose actions with a gun caused me to perceive a threat to my life. Two situations in particular come to mind.
While I was on a family disturbance call, a man answered the door with a pistol in his waistband. When he saw me, he went for his gun. I went for mine but waited an extra second to see what he was doing. He was handing it to me as he had taken it from his wife.
The second incident involved a 22-year-old man who was out with his girlfriend in a windowless van. I made a traffic stop, approached his van in the dark and peeked in to see him with a gun. He was pulling the slide back. Instead of pulling my gun, I backed away as he did not see me approach. I called for backup and he was pulled out at gunpoint.
It turned out he was under the impression that it was a violation of the law to have a loaded weapon and was "merely" unloading it before I walked up.
Both of these citizens could have been shot -- and when I scolded them for their actions, they went white. They did not perceive a danger from me, as I'm the good guy. But I perceived a danger from them.
Police officers have only a second or two to perceive a danger and react. Sometimes you can't afford that two seconds. Thank God I took the chance. I can't imagine how many citizens are shot all around the country for not thinking when handling a weapon around police.
Clark Coleman
Las Vegas