Missed Signals may be the Real Reason 8th Grader Lost his Life

Many times the cause of a problem will not be found in events that cover actions taken or not taken the few hours prior.  Sometimes the answer to that most elusive question will be found in the weeks and months prior.  The key reason for this assumption is the one sentence found in an article from Christopher Sherman of the Associated Press titled Texas police kill 8th-grader carrying pellet gun.  That sentence was “shortly before the confrontation, Jaime had walked into a classroom and punched a boy in the nose for no apparent reason.”

Yes, there was a reason for Jaime Gonzalez punched that kid in the nose and until the circumstances surrounding that punch are thoroughly and impartially investigated the real reason for this kid bringing in and branching that pellet gun may never be really known.  Right now the focus is on whether the police action were justified, which I believe they were but it could have been handled better, and why three shots instead of a well placed one.  To answer these questions we only have to take a few minutes and look at the entire situation instead of those pieces that only fit our thoughts and feelings on the subject.

When it comes to situation like this, I submit that they all should be handled like a hostage situation where there is only one assigned shooter to take the shot instead of allowing that choice to be dictated by nerves.  Any officer has the right to take deadly action if that may save the lives of innocence of their own but the real issue is how much do nerves play in the decision to shot or not shot.  As someone who served in the law enforcement field for more than nine years, adrenaline can cause one to do some things that they may not normally do or see some things that they may normally would miss.  By choosing to delegate who the officer will be to take the shot, it may be reasonable to assume that this officer may choose to place the shot where it will not take a life but will take them down.