"Cannibal" victim was shot by cop !!

[mistermack]

I'd want the officer to make the attacker stop eating my face as quickly as possible, and the fastest means to that end is shooting him. Sure, I'd rather not take a bullet in the process, but in the real world shit happens and not every variable can be precisely measured and accounted for.

Actually, having seen the pictures of the victim even this far into recovery, I personally would rather the officer aimed higher with that one bullet, to be perfectly honest.

Well that's a different matter. Maybe I would too. But I wouldn't want some cop deciding that for me.

Especially one as dumb as this one.
With blood everywhere, it would be hard to make an accurate assessment of the injuries.

I'm pretty sure if a cop put a bullet in my dad, I wouldn't be saying "shit happens".
Not when he had LOADS of options that DIDN'T involve him shooting me.

[mistermack]

If someone was chewing my face off, I would defiantly want the cop to shoot.

So you like being shot then?
The cop shot four times. It's lucky he only shot the victim once.

Rather be shot and most likely not die, than not be shot and most likely die.

Ok, but the problem with that, is that these relatively harmless bullets that your police use wouldn't stop him eating your face, would they?

The loony was chewing his face. It would take AGES to kill someone that way.
The cop put a bullet right through his body, breaking two ribs, missing his heart and lungs by inches, and very nearly killed him INSTANTLY.

[Twoflower]

If some jackass is eating my face I want him dead.

[mistermack]

If some jackass is eating my face I want him dead.

Well, that's not exactly the point. So would I, but I still wouldn't be keen on being shot.

I like my ribs, and my inner organs. If I decided that life was still worth living, I would prefer to do it without the added complication of getting over a gunshot wound.
Some of those internal organs are actually necessary, and it's adding insult to injury to have them shot through, just because some wanker of a cop didn't have the guts or brains to do a proper job.

[Gallstones]

It may come as a surprise to you, but British cops deal with violent loonies every day.
They don't spend all day helping old ladies across the road. And they do it without guns.

I'm not surprised that you can't imagine that, but it's absolutely true.
I have two in my family, and one retired. None of them have EVER fired a bullet on duty.

I'm not surprised that you can't picture dealing with that situation without a gun, because that's the mindless gun-nut attitude. But it happens every day over here.

Face biting is not unheard of, I know someone who bit a man's nose off in a fight.

There is extreme violence here, handled by cops without guns, every day.
A British cop would have radioed for emergency help, and laid in with stick and mace.

If the US cop had used his stick, he still had his gun, if the attacker had come after him, he could have still shot him.

I still say it's cowardice in theh extreme. I AM a coward, but I know I would not have done what he did. That's up a few levels from my level of cowardice.

This was a mistake.

[Gallstones]

If some jackass is eating my face I want him dead.

Well, that's not exactly the point. So would I, but I still wouldn't be keen on being shot.

I like my ribs, and my inner organs. If I decided that life was still worth living, I would prefer to do it without the added complication of getting over a gunshot wound.
Some of those internal organs are actually necessary, and it's adding insult to injury to have them shot through, just because some wanker of a cop didn't have the guts or brains to do a proper job.

A through and through (guessing a 9mm) would cause less damage than having large portions of one's face ripped off by the filthy teeth of an attacker.

[Drewish]

So you're trying to use a case of an officer accidentally injuring a man as he saved his life to justify why cops shouldn't have guns?

[mistermack]

So you're trying to use a case of an officer accidentally injuring a man as he saved his life to justify why cops shouldn't have guns?

Well, in my OP, I made the point that if a COP can't shoot, without hitting the victim, there was very little chance of a permit holder doing any better. The innocent bystander is the one who should be worried, more so than the villain.

It would be nice if cops didn't need guns. In Britain, they are being issued more often, because there are more guns getting into the country from abroad, and into the wrong hands.

It's lax gun laws abroad that make it harder for this country.

[mistermack]

If some jackass is eating my face I want him dead.

Well, that's not exactly the point. So would I, but I still wouldn't be keen on being shot.

I like my ribs, and my inner organs. If I decided that life was still worth living, I would prefer to do it without the added complication of getting over a gunshot wound.
Some of those internal organs are actually necessary, and it's adding insult to injury to have them shot through, just because some wanker of a cop didn't have the guts or brains to do a proper job.

A through and through (guessing a 9mm) would cause less damage than having large portions of one's face ripped off by the filthy teeth of an attacker.

Well, it's a theory, but not a very good one.
You are hinting that it had to be one, or the other. That's rubbish.
As I've already pointed out, the cop had other options. Much better options that didn't involve nearly killing the man he was supposed to be rescuing.

But that's what happens, when stupid people carry guns. What little brains they had stop working, and all they can think of is pulling the trigger.

It took the loony about twenty minutes to do all that damage to the guy's face. He clearly wasn't going to die within seconds.
But seconds is all it would have taken for the cop to pull his baton, and do enough damage to stop the attack.

If the cop had killed the guy by hitting him too hard with the baton, nobody would have blamed him. And at least he wouldn't have shot the victim.

[Wumbologist]

Well, it's a theory, but not a very good one.
You are hinting that it had to be one, or the other. That's rubbish.

Yeah, a man eating the face off another man couldn't have torn open his carotid, given the time and opportunity to inflict more damage.

As I've already pointed out, the cop had other options. Much better options that didn't involve nearly killing the man he was supposed to be rescuing.

None of the other options you've pointed out would have been acceptable, according to his training. Too much potential risk to himself, too much opportunity for the situation to get worse. I've explained why a law enforcement officer would not want to get close in on a situation like this with what information they had available, whether or not you choose to accept those reasons isn't something I can control, I can't make logic happen in your head if it won't on its own.

But that's what happens, when stupid people carry guns. What little brains they had stop working, and all they can think of is pulling the trigger.

To be honest I find stupid people with internet access much more unsettling.

It took the loony about twenty minutes to do all that damage to the guy's face. He clearly wasn't going to die within seconds.
But seconds is all it would have taken for the cop to pull his baton, and do enough damage to stop the attack.

Monday. Morning. Quarterback. This is all after the fact speculation about what COULD have happened if he did something your way instead of his. Yes, this man COULD have killed his victim within seconds. The carotid artery is relatively accessible, and if he was already tearing off chunks of the man's face it would have been no big deal for him to move a few inches down and bite straight through that. Victim would have bled out before the cop even closed the distance with his baton.

If the cop had killed the guy by hitting him too hard with the baton, nobody would have blamed him. And at least he wouldn't have shot the victim.

It doesn't seem anyone with the faintest sense of reason is blaming him for his actions as they transpired anyway.

[Robert_S]

I would like to advise any gun nuts who might see me getting my face eaten off: If you get a reasonably good opportunity for a shot, take it. I don't mind the risk, just cap the motherfucker ASAP. Even if it looks like Bill Murray, I LIKE my face.

That is all.

[Kristie]

I would like to advise any gun nuts who might see me getting my face eaten off: If you get a reasonably good opportunity for a shot, take it. I don't mind the risk, just cap the motherfucker ASAP. Even if it looks like Bill Murray, I LIKE my face.

That is all.

I like your face, too! It's a great face!

[Wumbologist]

I would like to advise any gun nuts who might see me getting my face eaten off: If you get a reasonably good opportunity for a shot, take it. I don't mind the risk, just cap the motherfucker ASAP. Even if it looks like Bill Murray, I LIKE my face.

That is all.

At the risk of mistermack calling me stupid for it, if I ever see your face getting eaten off, I'll shoot the bastard for ya.

[mistermack]

I would like to advise any gun nuts who might see me getting my face eaten off: If you get a reasonably good opportunity for a shot, take it. I don't mind the risk, just cap the motherfucker ASAP. Even if it looks like Bill Murray, I LIKE my face.

That is all.

At the risk of mistermack calling me stupid for it, if I ever see your face getting eaten off, I'll shoot the bastard for ya.

OK, stupid. You just go blasting each stupid other in stupid land. It's your own stupid ribs, and stupid lungs and stupid livers and spleens that you will be stupidly shooting anyway.

Obviously it's the definition of stupid that's the problem.
What we British call stupid makes good sense across the water. I see that now.

I've been so stupid.

[Robert_S]

I would like to advise any gun nuts who might see me getting my face eaten off: If you get a reasonably good opportunity for a shot, take it. I don't mind the risk, just cap the motherfucker ASAP. Even if it looks like Bill Murray, I LIKE my face.

That is all.

I like your face, too! It's a great face!