Thursday, January 08, 2009

Recent shooting

A Fort Wayne police officer fatally shot a man in the head yesterday. With the information available from this article, the shooting was probably justified. If that is the case, then I heartily commend the actions of the FWPD. This probably was a case of "suicide by cop", since the deceased called the police and made threats, then pointed a weapon at the officers. I wish that this fellow had sought counseling rather than putting the police in this situation.

A couple thoughts:
1. I would like to point out that this incident did not take place on the south side of Fort Wayne. In the past, TV stations, radio stations, and newspapers included the phrase "South Side" in the headline when a killing took place on the south side of town, but never used the phrase "North Side" in the when a killing took place on the north side of town.
2. In this case, the dead man's actions were what led to his demise. Many homicide victims do place themselves in dangerous yet avoidable situations. Your own actions play a larger role in your risk of being murdered than your place of residence.
3. No matter where you live in Fort Wayne, you are more likely to die in a traffic accident than be murdered. I personally feel safer walking down Oxford at night than I do driving on Coldwater Road during rush hour.

1 comment:

  1. Bob:
    I also had my "thoughts" about this tragic incident (and I call it tragic for reasons that appear in my blog today).

    I do SO agree that POINT 1 was never mentioned.
    As to POINT 2, yes, that is ALWAYS the case
    Point 3 - OK, YOU can walk down Oxford after dark...I'll drive (with the windows up...just in case), and I don't drive Coldwater unless ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY!
    (and that might be TWICE a year...lol).

    Good post!

    B.G.

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