DC police in shooting of young woman

Miriam Carey, 34, from Stamford, CT was shot dead while using her car as a battering ran, from where she was at a full stop. So the officers clearly knew the car's driver was a young woman.

Is it not possible to bring a car to a stop which is starting from stopped without shooting the driver dead?

No.
Using the car to try to kill an officer is like using a gun to try to kill an officer....you meet a hail of bullets if you do it. Even if they have to arrange for it to happen later... it happens.

A car can be a deadly weapon, something to remember, actually, if you are in a car and threatened by, say, crazed motorcyclists.

Quote: Fleastiff

No.
Using the car to try to kill an officer is like using a gun to try to kill an officer....you meet a hail of bullets if you do it. Even if they have to arrange for it to happen later... it happens.

I can appreciate that police use deadly force when one of their own is hurt.
But the woman tried to crash the barricade and hit a Secret Service agent. She then sped down Pennsylvania Avenue when she came to a full stop. The police were surrounding her with at least half a dozen police and cars behind her when she backed up into a police car and sped away. It was at this point that 7 shots were fired. Presumably she was mortally wounded, but drove for a few minutes before crashing.

I think that once a car is at a dead stop with multiple officers around her, you still should be able to keep her at a stop. I doubt that the DC police were seeking retribution for the Secret Service agent that had been hit.

Quote: Pacomartin

Is it not possible to bring a car to a stop which is starting from stopped without shooting the driver dead?

If you know a way, I'm all ears. Meanwhile, the direct head shot to the driver seems the most effective way to me.

Quote: Pacomartin

Is it not possible to bring a car to a stop which is starting from stopped without shooting the driver dead?

If you had the angle you could perhaps shoot the tires out. But given the era of terrorism we are living in and the location you have to consider that cops are not going to mess around with such things.

Quote: Wizard

If you know a way, I'm all ears. Meanwhile, the direct head shot to the driver seems the most effective way to me.

I am not arguing that it is not effective.

Quote: Pacomartin

I am not arguing that it is not effective.

Are you arguing that shouldn't have been the goal?

Perhaps I should have done a little research before I posted an opinion. Usually I try to do research, but this time I slipped up.

It seems that police are instructed not to attempt to shoot out tires, because bullets end up ricocheting off the pavement or the vehicle and potentially striking bystanders.

They normally don't shoot at moving vehicles in the middle of the city, but given the requirement not to shoot out the tires, they did not appear to have a choice.

Quote: Pacomartin

Perhaps I should have done a little research before I posted an opinion. Usually I try to do research, but this time I slipped up.

It seems that police are instructed not to attempt to shoot out tires, because bullets end up ricocheting off the pavement or the vehicle and potentially striking bystanders.

They normally don't shoot at moving vehicles in the middle of the city, but given the requirement not to shoot out the tires, they did not appear to have a choice.

Not just that. It is my understanding that they are trained that a direct head shot is the most reliable way to eliminate the danger of a suspect with a deadly weapon.

When I lived in Baltimore there was a very controversial police shooting of a deranged man with a knife in a crowded area. They ordered him many times to drop the knife, but he refused to. Eventually when it looked like he was about to do something they shot him in the head. Critics asked why they didn't just shoot him in the arm or leg. As I was taught in my class to carry a concealed weapon, that only makes the suspect even more angry and dangerous. I suspect the police are trained the same way. There was a similar shooting in the Costco parking lot by my home a few years ago as well.