[QUOTE=Doctor Zedacon;32986784]All gun safety courses tell you to never point a firearm of any kind at something unless you intend to destroy it.[/QUOTE]
I love how the wording always includes "destroy" :v:
[QUOTE=Zeke129;32985920]Are M80s or anything else the protesters were throwing capable of causing injuries on the same level of severity as some of the protesters suffered, when used against police in full riot gear[/QUOTE]
Doubtful, unless you had a really lucky throw. They've been known to blow peoples hands off if they hold them in a close fist when they go off.
[QUOTE=Zeke129;32986741]Then it should have gone off at his feet because he shouldn't have been pointing it at the protesters unless he intended to fire it at them.[/QUOTE]
I was joking, by the way. I guess the scene I had in my head was funnier.
[QUOTE=Cone;32985971]If you landed it between the pads. Plus I'd imagine glorified firecrackers are pretty noisy, maybe one of the cops thought someone had fired a gun. Or maybe they just flinched and launched a tear gas grenade by accident and everyone else panicked and did the same, I don't know.[/QUOTE]
It's possible. The police statement was that the gunfire-like sounds were m80s going off, they definitely do sound like firearms (apparently they were originally made to simulate artillery fire). It could have caused an officer or 10 to panic and react as though he was under fire, I remember not too long ago a somewhat similar situation happened between a SWAT team and a US marine, SWAT raided his house while he was napping because they got a tip he had drugs, marine acts on his training when he hears sirens and sees the door kicked down and fights, cops act on their training and shoot (and kill) the marine. Similar situation, both sides instinctively overreacted to the situation because they were trained to.
[QUOTE=asteroidrules;32987209]It's possible. The police statement was that the gunfire-like sounds were m80s going off, they definitely do sound like firearms. It could have caused an officer or 10 to panic and react as though he was under fire, I remember not too long ago a somewhat similar situation happened between a SWAT team and a US marine, SWAT raided his house while he was napping because they got a tip he had drugs, marine acts on his training when he hears sirens and sees the door kicked down and fights, cops act on their training and shoot (and kill) the marine. Similar situation, both sides instinctively overreacted to the situation because they were trained to. Also a teargas grenade is supposed to be less potentially harmful than an m80, that guy getting hit in the head was just wrong place wrong time and the worst luck in the world.[/QUOTE]
I remember that story about the marine.
I'm pretty sure he was cowering in his doorway holding a rifle but not in aim, and he was shot 48 times in front of his family..
[editline]27th October 2011[/editline]
And he had no drugs
[QUOTE=Kopimi;32987267]I remember that story about the marine.
I'm pretty sure he was cowering in his doorway holding a rifle but not in aim, and he was shot 48 times in front of his family..
[editline]27th October 2011[/editline]
And he had no drugs[/QUOTE]
Yeah I know. But still look at the situation from the cops' point of view: you're going into what's supposedly a hostile area, you see the man who owns the building holding a rifle, you've got a split second to react, and for all you know if you don't drop him he'll shoot you (which he probably would've). But either way we're getting offtopic.
[QUOTE=asteroidrules;32987286]Yeah I know. But still look at the situation from the cops' point of view: you're going into what's supposedly a hostile area, you see the man who owns the building holding a rifle, you've got a split second to react, and for all you know if you don't drop him he'll shoot you (which he probably would've). But either way we're getting offtopic.[/QUOTE]
And imagine what it must have been for the riot cops. They'd probably had a few reports of protestors getting violent at points in the night, there's more likely than not been some assorted shit thrown at them, they've been out all night surrounded by people who hate their guts. I don't blame them if there was anything that even sounded like a gunshot. In fact, it's quite good how they acted on their training so well (though obviously too well).
To the dumbasses that think the protesters deserved it, I went to a Rage Against the Machine show back in 2008, a show in protest of the Republican National Convention. After the gig, we all went out onto the streets in a civilized manner and this is what we saw.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQLvpjhsUjM[/media]
People got the shit kicked out of them, had rubber bullets shot at them, had mace, smoke grenades and flashbangs thrown at them because they were protesting corruption within US politics and they went to go see a politically active band? Are you kidding me?
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