Originally Posted by
Paul Barnard
In some ways I feel badly for the young officer as I feel certain he wasn't taught alternative control techniques, but on the other hand intimate familiarity with his agency's use of force policy topped with a dollop of common sense would have prevented this tragic outcome.
I agree, and I think it's also possible that the inexperienced officer may have had a run of bad experiences with drug couriers on bikes that may have adversely affected his perception of the threat posed by the bicyclist. Many departments here in NC, like other states, regularly stop people for bicycling infractions as a pretext for investigation related to drug activity. Less than a year ago, just 20 miles away, a bicyclist in Weldon NC shot at two officers who were attempting to stop him:
http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/8864682/
Weldon, N.C. — A Weldon man is accused of shooting at two police officers who stopped him for riding a bike without lights Friday evening.
Chief Mark Macon told the Daily Herald of Roanoke Rapids that Michael Bernard Ponton, 51, tried to run from officers but they quickly caught up with him.
As they were trying to handcuff Ponton, he slipped on some ice, and a gun fell from his pocket. Macon said the suspect grabbed the gun and fired a shot that missed. The officers got the gun from the man's hand.
Both stops happened near the I-95 corridor, a major drug traffic route. While most of us reading this list may think of bicyclists as harmless, an inexperienced law enforcement officer who had mostly negative experiences where bicyclist enforcement has targeted drug crimes and resulted in a recent past shooting might end up trigger happy as a result, with tragic consequences.