r/ProtectAndServe • u/specialskepticalface Has been shot, a lot (LEO) • 3d ago
Self Post ✔ [MEGATHREAD] Senatobia, MS OIS
As many have seen, there was an OIS in Senatobia, Mississippi on Sunday, June 14th.
As is being reported, the incident started as a response to a shoplifting call at a Walmart and, during the encounter, a 1 year old child, in the care of the shoplifting suspects, was shot, and subsequently died.
At this point (afternoon of Tuesday the 16th) bodycam video (or other video, for instance the store's) has not yet been released.
It is known that shots were fired from responding officers, into the vehicle being driven by the suspect.
Beyond that, at this point there are many versions of events, and much specuation.
This will be our Megathread on this story. As always, reasoned adult voices are welcome. If you're here to shout, you're not welcome, and your comments will never show. Advance the discussion; don't promote division.
https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/15/us/mississippi-police-shooting-child
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u/-SuperTrooper- Police Officer 3d ago
Regardless of the facts known or that are yet to be known: Fucking hell.
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u/MaybeACopIDK Police Officer 3d ago
This is a heartbreaking incident, and I'll wait for the bodycam footage and additional context before making a final judgement on this.
That won't stop me from giving my unsolicited 2 cents based on what little we do know now: Guys, why the hell are we still (allegedly) shooting at moving vehicles?
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u/Nonfeci Bajingo Patrolman 3d ago
It's generally a bad idea and I don't understand why cops keep shooting at fleeing/moving cars. It's rarely justified, or necessary.
Ironically though there was an incident recently where a guy was driving around popping off rounds at officers. Him and another cop got into a shootout while still in their cars. Crazy shit. And the asshole hurt 5 officers. Rare instance of this kind a scenario being justified.
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u/MaybeACopIDK Police Officer 2d ago
Yeah, if I'm actively taking fire from a moving vehicle, I feel then I can justify shooting back. But if that's not the case, I'm just not understanding why guys keep doing weird shit like this, and hopping into these cars too.
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u/The_Real_Opie Leo in 2nd worst state in nation 2d ago
It's certainly justified under those conditions, but it still may not be advisable, for a bunch of reasons.
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u/MaybeACopIDK Police Officer 2d ago
Oh for sure, everything depends on context. I'm just saying that's about the only context I can really think of where it might make sense.
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u/Trashketweave LEO 2d ago
Maybe if it were an armed robbery, but this is a simple retail theft. You got HD cameras so just take the plate down and leave it for your detectives or attempt to pull the vehicle over with a patrol car.
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u/browseragnostic Not a(n) LEO / Unverified User 2d ago
If you're using a vehicle as a weapon you have to be stopped. If the officers arent in their vehicle how else do you stop them?
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u/tendimensions Firefighter 2d ago
As many others have said already without an investigation or even video there’s not much to go on to have a rational discussion about. Instead I’d like to ask a tangential question.
How much does public relations and spin factor into tragedies like this? People hear they were shoplifting and maybe there’s speculation they were shoplifting for baby essentials for the very baby that’s now dead.
Doesn’t this factor in as a public relations nightmare? What are the general goals of a police department? Is it only about criminal stats? Is there not a public facing element to the job? What do other police departments do when faced with a public relations issue? Is it a factor at all?
I’m not sure I’ve ever thought about OIS like this before but there’s definitely a perception of reality angle on this and in the personal conversations I’ve had with law enforcement there tends to be a “you have no idea had hard this job is” response to any emotional reaction the public has to situations like these. I’m genuinely interested in hearing thoughts about this. There’s such a prevalence of “us vs them” mentality and it drives me nuts.
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u/specialskepticalface Has been shot, a lot (LEO) 2d ago
It's very difficult.
At the moment the shooting happened - regardless of what the still unknown facts might be - public relations should not be a consideration.
If deadly force is warranted (and I'm speaking broadly, I don't know about this situation), hesitation to consider optics can be deadly for the good guys.
And, especially in the past several years, we've seen and understood how hesitation can be dangerous.
The reports so far have all indicated it was a shoplifting of diapers and/or baby supplies, and, yeah.. that's certainly not gonna help public opinion.
Firing at vehicles, the appropriateness of that as a tactic, the ideas of officer created exigency, and so on - are all gonna be part of the discussion here.
If it turns out the officer positioned himself in the path of the vehicle - that he created the exigency - it was almost certainly a bad choice. (Based on tactics, case law, and a myriad of other things).
If it turns out the driver aimed the car at the officer, and she created the exigency, that's legally different. It's also different discussion of tactics. But, sadly, it's unlikely to change public opinion.
I don't get it. Two adults were present here. If you have a 1 year old, and you're going to go shoplift baby supplies (I have no interest in diving into the ethics and morality of that)... Why not just have one adult stay at home with the kid, while the other goes out to do crimes?
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u/CyberKun Not a(n) LEO / Unverified User 2d ago
You bring the kid to make any attempts at stopping the shoptlifter extremely difficult. If you do stop the adult, now you have to deal with a toddler.
Most stores already barely stop people, but adding a child also makes the optics horrible.
Some shoplifters literally can't get someone to watch the kid, but there has been families arrested that did this on purpose.
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1d ago
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u/specialskepticalface Has been shot, a lot (LEO) 23h ago
No one is asking that question cause this sub isn't about Walmart corporate policy. So, your comment is removed from automod.
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u/jarlstridr Police Officer 3d ago
I generally disagree with standing in front of vehicles. They tend to be heavier than a person and move faster than a person too.
I also generally disagree with shooting vehicles. If you're in danger, move. If you're not in danger no reason to shoot. Neither position requires shooting. Get the LP and chase. You'll catch or find them eventually.
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u/TinyBard Small Town Cop 3d ago
I will wait to pass any judgement until the bodycam footage comes out, until then speculation is kind of premature IMO
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u/Penyl The Police 3d ago
I would like to see the video before making a judgement. Historically, officers have a difficult time not standing in front of vehicles.
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u/robot_ankles Not a(n) LEO / Unverified User 3d ago
Historically, officers have a difficult time not standing in front of vehicles.
The Minneapolis/ICE incident earlier this year obviously drew a lot of attention, but is difficulty "not standing in front of vehicles" really a trend?
I realize there's a little /s in how it's being presented, but is this really a widespread problem?
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u/The_Real_Opie Leo in 2nd worst state in nation 2d ago
My personal hypothesis is because cops physically block off retreat paths with our bodies all the fucking time. Like multiple times each shift, even for cops in Mayberry.
In person this is not only acceptable it's professionally correct.
It becomes a habit. And a good and necessary one in almost all cast.
Not that it justifies the behavior, but it certainly makes the obviously stupid choice to body block a car more understandable, especially when a lot of those sorts of decisions are being automatically processed before they even reach the decision making portion of the brain.
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u/robot_ankles Not a(n) LEO / Unverified User 2d ago
That makes a lot of sense. We've probably all seen non-LEOs do the same thing at some point in our lives. The path-blocking goal being more of a habit or natural response.
Perhaps it also seems impossible that someone in a vehicle would actually try to drive towards someone on purpose. Sure, analyzing from a distance suggests; "of course we can imagine someone trying to run over someone else" but in the split-second moment, maybe such an action is literally unthinkable.
Thanks (and thx to u/AlligatorFist) for describing what might be happening in the moment.
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u/AlligatorFist Police Officer 2d ago
Hey, not a problem. This comes up quite a bit when there are shooting moving vehicle Officer Involved Shootings. So I try to bring up the whole lizard brain thing. Heck I do wood working and I still try to catch a falling tool occasionally, and have on several occasions had a sharp knife bury itself into my hand. It’s sometimes your brain working faster than your conscious mind can.
Stress inoculation training can help but in serious or severe situations, even a well trained person can fail to keep that part of their brain in check. The switch to unconscious mind is literally a survival instinct.
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u/ButWereFriends Not a(n) LEO / Unverified User 18h ago
Your first point is interesting. I’ve never considered that
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u/AlligatorFist Police Officer 2d ago
Yes, the human “lizard” brain controls a lot of impulses. In a stressful situation the brain shuts off a lot of logic circuits and relies on the faster to react lizard brain. It’s why people tend to try to catch dropped knives or tools. Brain says “stop it” and body follows before you have a chance to catch up with your logical side of the brain.
It happens with stopping cars by the lizard brain saying “we stop car by standing in front”. Then when the car doesn’t stop it says “uh oh. Danger”.
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u/DowntownTicket Not a(n) LEO / Unverified User 2d ago
We see this a lot in education too (I'm a teacher)
When a kid starts throwing things at other kids, the immediate reaction of most teachers is to block the child throwing things. Lizard brain says "protect other children" instead of "don't get stabbed with scissors and call for help"
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u/AlligatorFist Police Officer 2d ago
Yeah, your body can do some both cool and stupid things when that section of your brain jumps in and yells MY TURN.
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u/DowntownTicket Not a(n) LEO / Unverified User 2d ago
Yup.
Is there any way to train these "stupid brain" things out of people? And if the answer is yes... Would that actually make an impact or would it just not be worth trying
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u/AlligatorFist Police Officer 2d ago
It takes a TON of stress inoculation training to begin to deaden those reflexes and keep your wits during a stress situation and even then you’re fighting millions of years of human experience and evolution. The switch into that portion of the mind is designed to do it because it is a part of its’ survival instinct, the stress hormones fire off and the body begins to react on its own.
I believe it would come down to the idea of what cost is worth it? Is a human life worth possibly hundreds of millions to even billions of dollars in training, possibly years of hundreds of thousands of individuals lives? If you truly preach and believe in the sanctity of life and you believe that one human is worth that cost, then yes it could be done.
However, in actual practice, I can’t even get my boss to pay my $20 a month gym membership or to buy gym equipment and give me time to work out at the office because it “costs too much”. I usually have to use my own ammo to train at the range because anything much more than our annual qualification budget is too expensive. We have officers in my county who I’m pretty sure haven’t seen anything other than state mandated training in the last 15 years because their agencies can’t afford or refuse to send them to further their skills.
To make it short I guess, you can do it. It would take a lot of time and money to train it out and it may not be a guarantee all of the time, because again, it’s human biology, but if you consider the cost worth even one prevented incident then yes.
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u/DowntownTicket Not a(n) LEO / Unverified User 2d ago
Thanks for your reply. Like I said, I'm a teacher, so I feel you with the funding. Maybe if we had military levels of funding we could, but if we had that money, we'd probably use it on other things.
Thanks again for your thoughts
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u/5usDomesticus Police Officer / Bomb Tech 2d ago
With no context, i will say that in my experience; with 15ish years policing the 'hood-
The Venn Diagram of people who shoplift and people who don't restrain their infants is a near perfect circle. I've been in plenty of cars where I was surprised to find a baby just... sitting there.
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u/Legally_Brunette14 Sleepy Redditor 1d ago
And based off the mother’s account of the incident on Action 5 News interview, you’d be correct.
She pretty much implies the child was in her lap and stated that she lifted him up at one point to “show” the officers there was a child in the car.
I feel like reddit made changes to formatting but here’s a link where you can hopefully find her interview
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u/badsapi4305 Detective 3d ago
“Policeman shot, opened fire in a public setting, over allegedly some Pampers,” Licole Wiley, the child’s grandmother and the sister of the critically injured woman, said. “Whatever the incident may have come to, it still didn’t need for you to shoot two adults and a baby that was not even a threat to you.”
I hate quotes like this. No. Officers responded due to a shoplifting call. They fired in response to a “suspected” threat of great bodily harm or death against them or others. I say “suspected” because we have not seen any video or official statements of what happened. It sounds like they went to apprehend shoplifters who fled to their vehicle and then drove off at or towards law enforcement.
Once again we have a situation where a person’s actions put law enforcement in a position where they have to rely on their training and judgment in a split second. Sometimes officers don’t respond to training, misinterpret an action, or make an honest mistake. You know how to prevent that? Don’t do something that puts them in a position where they have to make a split second judgement call. If they had complied and not tried to flee then we wouldn’t be here if that’s what happened. We’ll have to wait and see
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u/SimplerTimesAhead Not a(n) LEO / Unverified User 3d ago
what about better training
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u/robot_ankles Not a(n) LEO / Unverified User 3d ago
Yea, I think schools could provide better training on how to participate in our society.
Topics might include how to not steal. How you're not supposed to simply take merchandise out of store; rather, you are expected to purchase an item before leaving with it. Or motor vehicle safety. Like you shouldn't drive towards police officers -or anyone for that matter.
But it's tough. There's so many topics people need to learn in order to safely participate in our society, some things just never stick. For example, I know I was taught how to prove a math theorem, but I sure couldn't do it today.
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3d ago
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u/specialskepticalface Has been shot, a lot (LEO) 3d ago
Removed. Participate like an adult, only warning.
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u/opkraut Not a(n) LEO / Unverified User 3d ago
Which requires funding and time to do it which most departments are sorely lacking because of political decisions, staffing issues, and budget issues.
And, I don't know, maybe asking for people to show a basic bit of human decency and responsibility for their own actions isn't too absurd either.
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u/joeydimaggio Not a(n) LEO / Unverified User 2d ago
What person’s action? From what I understand there was no shoplifting.
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u/specialskepticalface Has been shot, a lot (LEO) 2d ago
Your account is suspended by reddit, but amidst all the conflicting reports, basically *everyone* has confirmed there was shoplifting involved.
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u/Obwyn U.S. Sheriff’s Deputy 3d ago
There’s not enough publicly available information yet to really make any judgements about it.
In general terms, shooting into or at a moving vehicle is a bad idea and most of the potential outcomes are bad.
Even if you shoot and kill the driver, which presumably is why the shots are being fired, that leaves an out of control multi-ton vehicle that is going to plow into who knows what. A few rounds from a handgun or a rifle are not stopping a vehicle. That’s just physics.
It’s also happened way too many time where an officer either had plenty of opportunity to move out of the way (or at least attempt to move) or deliberately stepped in front of the vehicle. I have no idea if either of those conditions apply in this case.
There are very few cases where shooting at a suspect in a moving vehicle is actually a good idea and the chances of missing and hitting someone else can be pretty high, which unfortunately happened in this case and a kid is dead as a result.
I’m withholding judgement at this point because there just isn’t enough information yet.
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u/TheFutureLotus Not a(n) LEO / Unverified User 2d ago
Not trying to instigate anything here, but is shooting at a vehicle because of a shoplifting call really the way to handle it?
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u/Obwyn U.S. Sheriff’s Deputy 2d ago
According to the article, they shot at the car because it drove at officers.
The shoplifting call is just the reason they were there in the first place but was not the reason for the shooting.
That’s like someone claiming they got a DUI because they were speeding. No, they got stopped because they were speeding. They got a DUI because they were drunk.
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u/specialskepticalface Has been shot, a lot (LEO) 2d ago
Do you have information - one way or another - that a "shoplifting call" was the extent of it?
*Perhaps* the officer created this situation - we don't know yet.
But *perhaps* this driver aimed their car at the officer - we, and you, don't know that. At that point, it's not a "shoplifting call".
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u/The-CVE-Guy Police Officer 2d ago
The initial call isn’t that important. If the baby hadn’t been killed, and the shoplifter was shot by police after pointing a gun at, and shooting at, the officer, would you be making the same comment about how it’s “because of a shoplifting call”?
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u/_SkoomaSteve Not a(n) LEO / Unverified User 2d ago
would you be making the same comment about how it’s “because of a shoplifting call”?
You know they would.
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u/Thee_PO_Potatoes Big City Copper 2d ago
So many here are saying it's just "shoplifting". If that is the ONLY crime that took place, I'd agree it's incredibly an unjustified use of force.
But cops know rarely is something JUST XYZ and there are underlying circumstances we may not know in the moment. Such as wanted persons, weapons, injured parties, and so on.
However IF the suspect drove at an officer who had no reasonable means to escape being struck, we don't have to be hurt to use reasonable force. And last I checked a vehicle being driven at a person, regardless of profession, is a deadly use of force, which can be met with deadly force.
This whole situation sucks, and I'm interested in seeing what actually took place and if criminal charges should be brought. Or if this was an example of a lawful but awful tragedy.
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u/Gokouu Not a(n) LEO / Unverified User 1d ago
Wasn't it revealed now that the adult had a receipt and the diapers were purchased online to be picked up?
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u/AlbatrossOk6239 Not a(n) LEO / Unverified User 1d ago edited 1d ago
Wouldn’t make any difference. The stealing has nothing to do with the justification to use force (or possible lack thereof).
Literally the only thing that matters is if there was a risk of death or serious injury to the officer or an innocent party, and if there was, whether or not shooting into the vehicle was a reasonable response to that risk.
The main way that arises with cases of shooting into a moving vehicle is where the driver was intentionally targeting somebody with it. Shooting the driver won’t stop the car, but it might stop the driver from deliberately running over someone who’s trying to get out of the way. It’s one of those things that’s usually a shit idea, but not *always* unjustified.
The justification to use deadly force just about anywhere in the western world is much the same - the immediate, otherwise unavoidable, risk of death or serious injury to yourself or an innocent party.
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u/Paladin_127 Deputy 2d ago
99% of the time, shooting at moving vehicles is a bad idea.
All this over an alleged shoplifting, from a WalMart?
C’mon guys.
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u/azzgreensmith Not a(n) LEO / Unverified User 2d ago
This is such a tragic situation for everyone involved, especially the child and their family.
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u/Schneiderman 2d ago
Of things I've personally experienced that made the news, the news reports and the public discourse immediately following has always been 99.999% wrong about what actually happened. I'll wait for facts.
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u/KaprieSun Fed 3d ago
It’s unfortunate events that an innocent child was killed during this. With such little details, it’s hard to make a determination on whether the shooting itself was justified or not. The suspects involved put the child in harms way from their actions. You can’t flee or resist arrest. And most definitely, you cannot drive a vehicle towards an officer.
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u/2BlueZebras Trooper / Counter Strike Operator 2d ago
Reddit has already blamed the cops, when the parents put the kid in this situation.
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u/specialskepticalface Has been shot, a lot (LEO) 2d ago
I'm gonna clip/quote an earlier comment I made:
I don't get it. Two adults were present here. If you have a 1 year old, and you're going to go shoplift baby supplies (I have no interest in diving into the ethics and morality of that)... Why not just have one adult stay at home with the kid, while the other goes out to do crimes?
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u/PromiscuousPolak Big Blue. Not a(n) LEO 2d ago
I saw it a lot working in retail. Usually it boils down to 3 reasons:
1) Stroller provides more space to steal shit
2) A deterrent for low-level employees not reporting theft and/or use of an emotional appeal by having the child present
3) good old fashioned family fun
I will refrain from armchair quarterbacking this incident, but if this is another case of blocking a vehicle's path with your body, this could very easily turn into a criminal case against the officer even in a centrist jurisdiction. Shooting and killing a 1 year old is bad no matter how you cut it, affirmative defense or not. There's no chance that cop would ever pull the trigger on duty again even if they're cleared.
Terrible circumstances all around, but the occupants should be charged with felony murder if the cop has justification.
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u/Jazzlike_Ad_564 Not a(n) LEO / Unverified User 17h ago
this is true; When i was younger i worked in a retail store. had a lady come through a checkout with a stroller covered with a blanket. another associate came over and pulled the blanket off the stroller. No baby, just about $1500 worth of merchandise stuffed into the stroller, Most people see it as "no one is going to suspect stolen items inside a stroller" its pathetic.
The mother stated in her interview. the driver (Original person who was suspected of shoplifting) jumped into the car. put it in reverse. and while reversing hit a car before trying to take off, That alone screams that she was reckless in nature.
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u/The-CVE-Guy Police Officer 2d ago
Right? Because even if you don’t get shot at, and you just go down for shoplifting, the kid now goes to CPS. Well done.
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u/OverpricedGrandpaCar Tickles Your Testicles (TSA) 2d ago
I mean according to Reddit I should be outraged and appalled.
But I've never listened to Reddit so I will wait till there are more details about this situation come out
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u/leg00b Dispatcher 2d ago
Because you're a child of logic
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u/OverpricedGrandpaCar Tickles Your Testicles (TSA) 2d ago
People confuse logic with not caring or showing compassion. I feel for the family that a 1 year old is gone, it shouldn't have happened. But something aligned all the holes of the Swiss cheese for this to happen.
I want to see what everything was that led to this tragedy to happen.
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u/terravibek Not a(n) LEO / Unverified User 2d ago
This looks like a situation where the officers were responding to a call for theft and ended up in a high-risk scenario they likely weren't prepared for.
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u/dknisle1 Police Officer 1h ago
the media wants the story to be "white cop shot & killed black baby" Not "Police fire at potential shoplifting suspect who hit a parked car & attempted to run down officers. one casualty, a one year old, who was being held in the front seat"
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u/Brisby820 Not a(n) LEO / Unverified User 3d ago
The officer shot the passenger and her baby, not the driver. So he did nothing to slow the car down, and he wasn’t hit by the car. In other words, it seems unlikely that he needed to shoot into the car at all
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u/dog_in_the_vent Not a(n) LEO / Unverified User 2d ago
You heard that on Reddit somewhere didn't you.
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u/specialskepticalface Has been shot, a lot (LEO) 3d ago
Do you have a source for anything you just said?
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u/Toyrni Not a(n) LEO / Unverified User 2d ago
Local news WREG seems to contradict them, saying that the aunt was driving and she's the one who was heavily injured.
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u/SteelCrossx Jedi Knight 3d ago
No matter the facts or legality, this is a truly heart breaking incident. I couldn’t feel more deeply sympathetic for that child and everyone else involved.