As recently reported here, on Sunday, April 27, at approximately 3:15PM, “(a) man was shot and killed by police on the beach in Long Beach Sunday following a vehicle pursuit from Compton.”

As has unfortunately become very typical after such tragedies, many on various news and social media sites immediately erupted with claims against LBPD of “excessive force,” “abuse of authority,” and even “murder.” These comments, in turn, have prompted the far fewer–yet no less unexpected–counter-claims that those lodging the accusations have no idea what they are talking about, that police work is a terribly dangerous job, and that we have no right to judge police officers’ actions under these sorts of high-stress conditions.

In the middle are the law enforcers involved, with whom we have to be fair and presume (absent factual information to the contrary) that they were doing the best they could during a dangerous incident and ultimately used deadly force to bring the situation to a necessary (if tragic and undesirable) conclusion.

In these incidents, particularly in the days and weeks that immediately follow, our police are typically “damned if they do, and damned if they don’t.” If they use deadly force to stop a reasonably perceived threat they are often branded “murderers.” If they do not use deadly force they are often assaulted and sometimes feloniously killed just for trying to do their jobs.

Police work can, indeed, be extremely dangerous and before anyone responds with the typical data that compares deaths and injuries in various civilian occupations, let’s inject a bit of intellectual honesty into the discussion. In the United States, law enforcement is the only –-repeat only–civilian profession in which its members are consistently assaulted and feloniously killed just for trying to do their jobs.

Yes, other professions such as commercial fishing, logging, and even roofing have higher fatality rates than law enforcement but no one is routinely and physically attacking or feloniously killing any of those workers for fishing, logging or roofing.

According to the latest data available from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in 2012:

  • 48 law enforcement officers died from injuries incurred in the line of duty during felonious incidents. That’s four law enforcers “feloniously killed” each month
  • During the same period, 52,901 law enforcers were assaulted while performing their duties. That’s over 4,400 law enforcers assaulted each month and over 146 each day throughout the nation

So let’s put to rest the specious assertion that law enforcement is somehow less hazardous than other civilian professions, shall we? Where being feloniously killed and assaulted just for doing one’s job is concerned, no other civilian professionals even remotely compare.

That said, those who try to suggest that the general public should not judge the actions of law enforcement are equally deluded.

Of course the public has not only a right but an affirmative duty to monitor and judge police activity. It is, after all, from the public that law enforcers derive their power and authority in the first place. Of course law enforcers should be subject to scrutiny by and judgment from the public they serve. This is simple fact and not subject to reasonable debate or discussion.

The question, then, becomes: “How should the public best apply scrutiny and provide judgment? Should that occur as has become so typical in today’s social media and internet era; based upon cursory information and in the midst of ongoing investigations? Should some in Long Beach and elsewhere accuse their sworn police officers of “murder” based solely upon the entirely preliminary information provided in a press release, as edited down by whatever news outlet publishes it and despite that such releases always include an admonishment for the reader that: “This information is preliminary and is intended for early information use rather than being a formal investigative report” ?

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I don’t think they should. Not, in any case, if these critics (and, by the way, defenders) desire to be reasonable, rational, and responsible residents of their communities. Leaping to judgments and conclusions, in any direction, without access to all of the facts that can be reasonably obtained, is neither reasonable nor rational, and is certainly not responsible.

As difficult as it can sometimes be, it is essential that we allow the various investigations into these sorts of tragedies to proceed unimpeded and to conclude unobstructed. Those who doubt the legitimacy or thoroughness of these investigations may believe they have good cause, but we have no other reasonable way to proceed. As citizens we freely elect government representatives who, in turn, appoint others to conduct these investigations on our behalf.

There are currently no less than four separate local and county agencies investigating this tragic officer involved shooting. Given that both City and County law enforcers are involved, State and even Federal agencies may also eventually play some part in these investigations.

We must allow these agencies the time to do as thorough a job as may be possible before we reach our own conclusions about whether this latest officer involved shooting was justified.