Somebody Do something

I hate to play Monday Morning Quarterback but I think so many opportunities were missed to take this nude nutter down. I know real life is not a s clear cut as is appears when watching video in hindsight, but I still think he could have been sorted out sooner. Your thoughts? Perry

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/bronx/nude_dude_goes_nuts_on_subway_DeFcau0xcwyXhIEZUwoW6L

While the guy was clearly insane, the cop should have stepped in much sooner.

I agree. However, I also acknowledge that my 'cop' days were more than 15 years ago and further back. While PCP and other 'force multipliers' were known, they were not popular in Oz. I also accept there has been changes in attitudes to mental health issues and so forth so what is the current doctrine on handling these situations?

I would have preferred to take him from behind with a kick to the back of the knees while his pants were around his ankles, then restrain and so forth. Failing that, he is never armed, just angry. When he grabs that woman's bag on the stairs, the cop should have jumped in then. But am I out of kilter with the 'zeitgeist'? Anyone currently in the job or more active in LE/Security want to offer their opinion? Perry

Perry Gamsby wrote:I agree. However, I also acknowledge that my 'cop' days were more than 15 years ago and further back. While PCP and other 'force multipliers' were known, they were not popular in Oz. I also accept there has been changes in attitudes to mental health issues and so forth so what is the current doctrine on handling these situations?

I would have preferred to take him from behind with a kick to the back of the knees while his pants were around his ankles, then restrain and so forth. Failing that, he is never armed, just angry. When he grabs that woman's bag on the stairs, the cop should have jumped in then. But am I out of kilter with the 'zeitgeist'? Anyone currently in the job or more active in LE/Security want to offer their opinion? Perry

Why should anyone intervene? Free show for everyone, after all a bit of bread and a bit of harmless entertainment is what public wants

On a more serious note, with all the restrictions for the police and liberal policy, it is possible inexperienced cop just did not know what to do. The offender is obviously mentally disturbed, at the beginning was just shouting (and undressing) and not causing any harm to anyone. Using force (which was the only way, too few cops to overdue him by sheer numbers and weight, and civilians more often than not just stand by, watch and have their fun) is a two edged sword and there is only a thin and blurry line between justified and unjustified use of force.
I'm afraid due time, with all the human rights, liberality and public opinion based ramifications for the LEO-s we'll be seeing more and more of such undecisiveness, words-against-bullets stuff. Damned if you do and damned if you dont.

In NZ it does not matter if he is mentally insane or not. As a cop, I am not a mental health expert so cannot be expected to diagnose and treat the amount of crazies I deal with during the job. You treat them according to our legislation and charge them if they have committed a crime. The lawyers can fight it out about whether they are insane or not.

I believe the cop should have simply taken him down much much sooner. Using OC spray might not have been applicable in that situation due to the crowds present but why not a taser if he doesn't want to risk a violent assault? US cops seem pretty trigger happy with it from what I've seen!