About time media did this...

[conalabu]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17790886/



An excerpt from the article...(Taibbi is the reporter, Williams is a firearms scenario instructor)

Our live-action scenario takes place in this make-believe bank. It may not be a darkened street, like the one the cops in the Sean Bell shooting faced, but trainer Wiliams says it holds similar elements: unexpected actions that demand instantaneous reactions. They’re never an easy task for a veteran cop, let alone a novice trainee like me.

Williams: You’re being sent to a bank.

Taibbi: Right.

Williams: There’s a person there. He won’t leave. He has no bank business, as far as the manager can tell.

Taibbi: And that’s it?

Williams: That’s it. That’s all you got over the radio.

Taibbi: Do I go in with the weapon drawn? Or is that up to me?

Williams: That’s up to you.

What dangers could be lurking just behind a door like this one? A cop never knows for sure, but does know that his life and the lives of others he’s sworn to protect could hang in the balance.

Williams: Start scenario!

Bank scenario #1:
Bank Manager: Officer, officer. Over here.

Taibbi: OK, you’re the manager?

Bank Manager: I’m the bank manager, officer.

Suspect rushes to Taibbi and shoots him in a barrage of bullets.

Taibbi: Oh I did everything wrong there.

As soon as I enter, I got distracted. I have no chance—never even pull out my gun.

Taibbi: I felt them a little bit. Where did I get hit?

Williams: You got hit here, here, here, here and here.

Taibbi: I’m dead.

Williams: Yes, most definitely.

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

Williams: Did you see the suspect with the fleece?

Taibbi: I didn’t even look. I should have. I, I didn’t see him.

Williams: Which is bad.

My instructor said I should have ignored the bank manager and just focused on why I was there—the threat, while, at the same time, seeking out a safe zone.

Any cop with more than a day of training knows the drill:

[BigDawg]

I saw that report, Its about time.

[Piggybank Cop]

Go there and rate it.

[countybear]

This should be expanded... A shoot, don't shoot for all media. I'd donate the simunition.

[Rhino]

I agree. Kudos to the reporter for actually reporting the facts, and not keeping it one-sided.

The only critique I have about the piece is he said that Sean Bell was unarmed.

He was behind the wheel of 1500lbs of metal that can go over a hundred miles per hour. To me, that's being armed.

[mfranklin01]

This should be expanded... A shoot, don't shoot for all media. I'd donate the simunition.

+1

[lewisipso]

This should be expanded... A shoot, don't shoot for all media. I'd donate the simunition.

I'd donate the real bullets and an attorney.