this post was submitted on 14 Feb 2024
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Not The Onion

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[–] [email protected] 134 points 8 months ago (20 children)

So I watch the video and Jesus fucking Christ. That man should not be allowed to own a gun.

I wonder if he's a veteran or something because his reaction seemed like abject terror and panic. Regardless , no one should have let that man have a gun if he's so terrified and unstable.

[–] [email protected] 74 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I think he is a product of copaganda. If he was a vet, he wasn't combat.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

The article said he did two tours overseas

Edit: the first comment stated the 2 tours, without any link to back it up. My bad

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[–] [email protected] 84 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

So, I went to the bad place at the bad place, and the cops there were totally meme-ing on the event and seemed to agree he was an idiot and shouldn't be a cop. That was a pleasant surprise, I'll admit.

I also saw a bit of defending his "perception" of what was happening though. It's weird that they forget perception is subjective when the person isn't wearing a uniform though. :shrug:

Stole a couple of the memes with absolutely no guilt about it though.

[–] [email protected] 70 points 8 months ago (4 children)

This is like a scene in a Leslie Nielsen comedy

[–] [email protected] 65 points 8 months ago (5 children)

Do you know how loud a gunshot is..? And he thought the sound of an acorn hitting the car was a shot fired by the suspect inside the car he's standing next to? Either he's lying or he's remarkably stupid, either way he should not have a gun.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 8 months ago (3 children)

The suspect in the car was known to have at least one pistol with a suppressor. That being said, the guy was given a cursory pat-down and could not have had a suppressed firearm on him unless it was in him.

A properly setup suppressed pistol fired from within a vehicle would be fairly quiet, but would sound nothing like an acorn bouncing off a car and you would know if you were hit.

He has no business being a cop if he freaks out when an acorn bounces off a car and taps his vest. Luckily the suspect was not physically harmed and the cop resigned. Hopefully the suspect gets a nice payout from the city.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 8 months ago

That suspect was also handcuffed, not just hanging around.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (3 children)

I think I read that the noise reduction from a suppressor is actually pretty minimal, and it's still in the same "incredibly painfully loud" ballpark as a regular gunshot

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 8 months ago

He's definitely PTSD and not responding rationally to the situation. This person is not competent to hold a firearm.

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[–] [email protected] 57 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

What doesn't get mentioned much in articles about this: that cop is a military veteran with PTSD... Like, the absolute last person who should be a cop.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 8 months ago (3 children)

Watching the video with this context I feel bad for him.

Like, obviously I feel worse for everyone else affected. That poor woman!

But this man is broken. To the point where an acorn hitting his car made his legs go numb. Made him think he had been shot. Made him unload his magazine at ghosts.

This doesn’t absolve him or excuse his actions. It’s irresponsible for a man that broken to put himself in a position where he could snap like that.

But woof. I don’t envy him or his life.

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[–] [email protected] 50 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (3 children)

What did he actually shoot at though? He had no verified target. Did he just empty his clip wildly into thin air? What was he pointing his gun at?

Edit: holy shit, he shot at his own cop car with a suspect in the back

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[–] JamesStallion 48 points 8 months ago (1 children)

This video has the makings of an immortal classic

[–] [email protected] 20 points 8 months ago

While its terrifying that he easily could have injures or killed someone from the overpenetration of his rounds at this distance, I actually laughed watching this.

So anyways thats the only thing thats made me audibly laugh in 72 hours, Im jaded, hope everyone is doing great lol.

[–] [email protected] 38 points 8 months ago (5 children)

this feels like a good time to mention that the police fought a legal battle for the right to institute a maximum IQ among recruits

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[–] [email protected] 37 points 8 months ago (11 children)

Cops are among the easiest people to spook. They're like bunny rabbits, but with guns.

Other triggers include

  • removing something from a pocket especially when asked
  • being brown
  • running, for any reason
  • Owning a dog
  • not being white
[–] [email protected] 30 points 8 months ago

There's a whole cottage industry around training cops to believe they have the most dangerous job on the planet, and everyone is trying to kill them. Having been deployed to a warzone several times myself, we were NEVER taught to be as scared of normal people as police are.

The training is called "killology," and I'm not dumb enough to have come up with that name myself.

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[–] [email protected] 35 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

Much as we like to joke about it, to me this hints at the bad state of the mental and emotional care system.

For cops in particular in this case, but of course the population at large, too. A person who is armed - and in the US that can be everybody 2 years or older basically - should not be left without help to get into a situation where they can be this delusional and on edge while carrying a gun. People need help. Medical help.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Whats really bad for cops is if they get mental help that is used as proof they are unfit fir duty. Yes a cop getting help to better handle their job is treat like a bad cop.

Add to that most cops are trained to always be on red alert. Always be ready and willing kill anyone at anytime. Everyone not a cop is an enemy soldier.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 8 months ago

Whats really bad for cops is if they get mental help that is used as proof they are unfit fir duty. Yes a cop getting help to better handle their job is treat like a bad cop.

This is even a far wider problem.

People readily accept someone has say, a broken leg and goes to the hospital and will be out for a few weeks.

But have a mental problem? Going to the clinic for a few weeks? People look at you really weird and start distancing. Which is ridiculous, mental issues should not be as stigmatized as they are, an illness is an illness, whether pathological or psychological.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Mental health treatment, for both cops and soldiers, should be mandatory. If we are going to give them the power of life and death over another human being, they should have as much support as possible.

Personally, I think all police should be required to attend a mental health session at least once a month (even more, if they choose to). What happens in that session is entirely down to them. Hell, set up some games consoles, a TV and a small library. If they want to turn up and just read a book for an hour, that's fine! However, they should be required to be in the room, with a trained professional.

This would go a long way towards helping them. They can vent off, get some constructive tips, chill out, or fully engage. All would help. It also helps nip things like PTSD in the bud. Shooting a teen, because they drew a gun on you, and watching them die, is still watching a teen die by your hand.

In a perfect world, it would be a good exit path for retiring officers. Train them up, and they also know what it's like to be in their shoes.

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 8 months ago (1 children)

American cops sure are bunch of twitchy mf

[–] [email protected] 30 points 8 months ago

He shot as much bullets because of an acorn like the whole german police force uses in a whole year.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 8 months ago

I was absolutely CONVINCED that this was accidentally posted in c/nottheonion rather than c/theonion

Nope. Its 100% legit

[–] [email protected] 28 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Its time to stop thinking of cops as big boys with guns and think of them more like dogs with guns that fire when they bark.

[–] Chakravanti 23 points 8 months ago (6 children)

I'd like you to stop insulting dogs like that.

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Reality is just a Whitest Kids U Know skit

[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago

Can you imagine if it was a squirrel instead?!?

[–] [email protected] 19 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Umm the article left out if the person inside the car survived.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 8 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 23 points 8 months ago (1 children)

They missed after unloading an entire clip into an unmoving car that had a handcuffed suspect??

I mean that's great to hear, but this entire story is so confounding.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Cops (as a near universal rule) are not good shots. Most of them get tested once/twice a year, and the chief wants to check off the ‘qualified’ box for the students, and go home. So they get a watered down test, and Johnny Law here magdumps and thankfully misses everyone despite being at close range with a red dot sight - the closest there is to cheating for pistol shooting

This same perverse incentive structure exists for most LEO training if done internally by the department. So the public gets cops like this guy

FBI and Sky Marshall’s are the only two agencies that actually make sure all of their agents know how to shoot

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago

Thank you. I was wondering if they were ok

[–] [email protected] 15 points 8 months ago

Wow, just.. wow. The story doesnt do it justice, the video is insane.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Officer Chicken Little reporting for duty.

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Roland Pryzbylewski in the house!

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