I watched with horror on the TV news the other night as Police officers in Providence pursued a white pickup truck, based on information that an escaped felon had abandoned a stolen Police car in favour of a “a white pickup”.
Now, I don’t know how many “white pickups” are cruising the streets over there, but there must be a few. In this case the Law picked a seemingly random target and chose to pursue it in typical “cops and robbers, reality TV” dramatic style. The result was disastrous, incompetent and an unnecessary Judge Dredd style execution., despite the claims that it was necessary “to protect the public”.
In this day and age of high tech law enforcement gadgetry that would make Batman envious, surely there are more efficient methods of dealing with suspects who fail to pull over and co operate? We can read a license plate from outer space; we have surveillance drones that can outpace a Lamborghini; some vehicles can be remotely disabled.
How hard would it have been to follow the pickup truck to it’s destination covertly and without fuss?
Better still, do a quick of ALL white pickup trucks in the area and track them until you get the RIGHT white pickup?
As for the claim that the guy had to shot and killed (he was unarmed) because he was endangering the public? Shoot the car’s tires out? Shoot to disable as a last resort? Hell, they fired FORTY rounds into this guy, and wounded his passenger in the process.
There is no justification whatsoever for the incompetent and inefficient procedures that were followed during this failed attempt to apprehend the wrong guy, in the wrong car, at the wrong place and time.
Whether he had good reason to evade the police or whether he just panicked, we may never know.
Dead men tell no tales.
Martin H
