the Upset is big that the involved officers did not see that Eric Torell was a kind, young man with Down syndrome, as neither wanted to or could do a fly förnär with their guns. It is easy to understand the upset, and the ongoing investigation may show whether the police officers on the spot överreagerade, if they should have been able to do in any other way.
the Answer is not obvious. The police had got the wrong information about who they would intervene against. They thought it could be a very dangerous person. The decision must be made quickly and under extreme stress. Maybe someone more experienced police officer could see that Eric Torell did not constitute any threat, but it is not possible to say for sure.
decided to shoot verkanseld, the risk is very great that it ends with death. They are trained to aim for the body and their ammunition is designed to cause great harm. The aim is not to kill but to stop an attack. To aim at the legs in such a location is considered too risky, it is very easy to miss.
Although it is in Eric Torells case was particularly clear that this intervention was unnecessary as it has happened before that the police made errors of judgment and shot someone who turned out to be harmless. Usually, this has not led to any legal challenges, actually also not to the police have changed their procedures.
It is inevitable that totally innocent people will sometimes be killed, despite the fact that it is not the purpose
In recent years more people have been killed in police shootings, the year 2018 was a dismal record with six dead. But here is a more detailed analysis. The police’s own statistics suggest that you are not shooting verkanseld more often than in the past. In this case, was the high death toll is a sad coincidence.
against Eric Torell been able to stop in a different way if the police officers had better information, if they had known that the dangerous man they thought it meet already locked up.
But also in the future will the police end up in situations where they very quickly decide whether they should use their guns and shoot to hit. Of course, then, there is space for equally disastrous miscalculations that affected Eric. And, of course, even the bouts lead to someone dying.
So with the weapons that police use in day and with the education they receive on how to aim and shoot so it is inevitable that totally innocent people will sometimes be killed, despite the fact that it is not the purpose.
the shootings need the police to change their procedures for when and how the weapons should be used, but it is not likely that they want to expose themselves to greater risk.
another option is to start using other sorts of weapons that can certainly stop a person without killing. The police have right now a pilot project with stun guns. They are considered very effective to incapacitate a person in some situations, but they can not be used in any context. The time for decisions will be short in the future.
Read more: It happened the night when Erik Torell was shot to death by police
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