“Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck has found that eight officers who opened fire on two women in a pickup truck during a search for [cop killer] Christopher Dorner violated the department’s policy on using deadly force,” latimes.com reports. Wait. So it’s not standard police policy to open fire on civilians who aren’t posing a deadly threat to anyone? Who knew? “Beck will meet Tuesday with the Police Commission, which oversees the LAPD and has the final word on police shootings, to share his finding. The commission will then vote on whether it agrees the officers violated LAPD policy. It will then be up to Beck to decide how to discipline the officers, if at all.” If at all. Yeah, that’s always an option when it comes to police misconduct. One that requires a great deal of deliberation . . .
For months, police officials have been deliberating whether the officers’ mistakes were reasonable in light of the extreme circumstances that led to the incident . . . A panel of high-ranking police officials that reviewed the shooting urged Beck to clear the officers of wrongdoing.
Extreme circumstances, meaning someone was targeting their own – as opposed to “civilians.” An exigent situation that led the cops to fire on the wrong type of vehicle, the wrong color vehicle, occupied by two white women. John McEnroe had an expression for this: “You have got to be kidding me.” Sadly, no. Can you say wrist-slap?