I don't understand those who say they should have maybe not shot her because she probably wasn't aware of what she was doing and she might not have intended to hurt anyone.
That's not really what I was getting at.
I think they could have ended it without shooting her because car chases happen all the time and do not end with gunfire.
I wish they would have ended it differently because she was not aware of what she was doing.
How does that matter when the person is doing what she was doing? Whether she meant to do anything, she was driving into barricades in front of major US landmarks, driving recklessly around MANY pedestrians, ramming into police cruisers, and she would have ran over several policemen as well, if they didn't jump out of the way in time. She already hit a couple officers who had to be taken to the hospital for their injuries.
She's endangering a child, she's literally running down human beings, running into barricades, resisting arrest, and honestly, she could have had a car bomb strapped underneath as well.. which would have explained why she was trying to go through the barries in front of the white house and capitol.
I'm aware of what she was doing and the danger it posed. That's why I acknowledge the potential cost of ending the situation in a manner other than gunfire. That said I'm not going to act like police firing rounds with the same pedestrians and same child in the car doesn't present it's own risks.
Do I feel they made a responsible decision? Yes.
Do I feel they could have made other responsible decisions? Yes.
Could alternative endings have been worse? Sure, but this ending could have been just as bad. What if the kid was shot and killed instead of the mother?
We could hypothetical all day and it wouldn't get anyone anywhere. I understand the decision that was made but knowing that she was likely schizophrenic, I wish it would have ended another way.
Police officers (not to mention those currently not being paid to deal with these psychos) don't have the benefit of hindsight like those of us who sit on the internet and criticize them. For the threat to human life she was causing, and how long she was resisting arrest.. i can't imagine how anyone could have a problem with officers having to end it when they did. Many more people could have been hurt/killed if they hadn't put a stop to it, and i'd much rather explain to this woman's family why she's no longer on this planet than try to explain to an innocent bystanders family why they no longer have their loved one with us.
I don't have a problem with the officers ending it how they did, which is why I said I don't fault them. Not having a problem with the outcome though doesn't mean that I can't wish that it would have ended differently.
