Here's a deeply troubling article about William Lewinski, an expert witness on how cops are never, ever wrong in police shooting incidents. Someone shot in the back? The perp obviously flashed a gun (or the cop thought he did) and then turned and ran. Shot in a passing car? The cop clearly was focused on his safety and, through "inattentional blindness," shot even when not actually threatened.
His bottom line: if cops wait until they see an actual gun and perceive an actual threat, they'll be dead. So cops should shoot first, and worry about the annoying paperwork later.
“A batter can’t wait for a ball to cross home plate before deciding whether that’s something to swing at,” he told the Los Angeles deputy sheriffs. “Make sense? Officers have to make a prediction based on cues.”
Because the stakes involved are, of course, no greater than a baseball game. And if innocent people get shot? Well, heck, better that than cops getting shot, right? At least as far as the cops involved go, and they're the ones we've authorized to carry guns and, as they see fit, use them.
Training Officers to Shoot First, and He Will Answer Questions Later – The New York Times
When police officers shoot people under questionable circumstances, William J. Lewinski often appears as an expert witness who says they had no choice but to fire.
