Lie face-down and let yourself be cuffed?
Vin Suprynowicz at The Las Vegas Review Journal - commentary on the homocide of Erik Scott by William Mosher, an only one.
On Sept. 28, a Clark County coroner's inquest jury predictably found three Las Vegas police officers did nothing criminal when they shot and killed West Point graduate Erik Scott as he exited a suburban Costco store shortly after high noon on Saturday, July 10.
...
Because Erik Scott did not comply with orders, officer Mosher "did the right thing in shooting him," Mr. Villareale said. He proceeded to explain how things are supposed to go when one has a concealed carry permit and a police officer arrives on the scene.
Mr. Villareale, who himself has a concealed weapons permit, reported his own confrontation with police about a year before. He said he dialed 9-1-1 on his cell phone in that earlier incident, and that before police arrived he placed both his cell phone and his pistol on the ground in plain sight. When police arrived, he lay face down on the ground and let himself be handcuffed.
After police investigated, they set him free and gave him his back his handgun, unloaded, he said, quite cheerfully. Mr. Villareale clearly implied every sensible permit holder knows this is the way things are supposed to go.
Mr. Scott's biggest failure that day was being too slow on the draw.
The police have a policy of pointing their guns at you as they command you to do what they wish. Anybody pointing a gun at me for any reason is assaulting me with lethal force, and it is my right to defend myself, also with lethal force if I find that necessary, no matter which fancy uniform, funny hat, or shiny badge the perp happens to be wearing at the time.
If the police were trained to give their commands at low ready, instead of pointing directly, I would feel differently. Of course, that would delay their shooting by half a second, were that actually necessary. Good. Maybe a few more dead cops will dissuade the rest of them from escalating situations unnecessarily.
Rule II: Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
