New California Law Seeks to Limit When Officers Can Shoot

[stanc]

If police are going to be authorized to shoot citizens in "self defense," why shouldn't they be required to determine for sure that there is actually a need to shoot?

Because to be 100% certain that deadly force was imminent an officer would have to wait until the subject actually fired on him before he could then respond with the necessary force to save his life or the lives of others. The mere production of a deadly weapon (or something that appeared to be one) would not reach your "Necessary" criteria. In fact, if a weapon were produced and pointed at the officer, it is still unnecessary to shoot, because the subject might be talked out of shooting.

Unfortunately, that would require police to only react and shoot after the subject has fired a round (or two or three - not unreasonable based on reaction times). Taking the "Necessity Argument" to it's logical end, it is only truly "necessary" to use deadly force if deadly force is actually being deployed against the officer.

Um, yeah. My comment was not worded as well as it could've been. I don't consider 100% certainty of a suspect's intent to be necessary, which -- as you note -- would require waiting until he/she has actually started shooting at the police.

But, I do think that a higher degree of certainty that a suspect actually has a weapon, should be required. Ending a person's life on the basis of fear-induced imagination serves no one well.

If a subject makes a furtive motion reaching to a location that a pistol is often carried and produces a dark object and points it at an officer, the officer has been placed in a position of reasonably fearing for his life...

None of which applies in this case. I've seen no claim that the deceased made a furtive motion reaching to a location that a pistol is often carried, then producing a dark object and pointing it at the cop.

According to reported transcripts of what cop #1 said, he repeatedly ordered the suspect to "Show me your hands!" When the suspect did show his hands, holding a cellphone, he was immediately shot.