These aren't "accidental" shootings. These are cops that aren't taking the time to assess the situation. "
There has been a rather distressing trend over the past couple of decades -- actually, even longer -- where officers have shot people taking cell phones or wallets out of pockets, fired shots at subjects holding what appear to be weapons when video later reveals that there was no
immediate danger to the officers, further, it's clear, that many of these incidents occurred without officers employing any verbal orders. The more amped up the officers are, the quicker to guns and the less likely clear verbal commands are given.
Even in the 1980s, in the SoCal city near which I lived and worked, we joked about the SDPD's use of verbal directives:
BANG BANG BANG -pause - "Sir, drop the weapon!"
Bottom line, it's a training issue, but there are so many officers out there with little or no experience handling a situation where they respond to a call and a weapon is present, that shots are fired before even a split-second assessment is made. The prevailing attitude is, "If I think I see a weapon in hand, I am shooting." I've seen it.
But the real fact is, you can't know what this is like until you respond to a violent incident.
There are still cops getting killed because they did not read a situation correctly, or quickly enough, and put themselves in a position to be shot before they could deploy their own sidearms. So this knowledge is in the front of your mind when you are out there in the streets.
The fact that so many lawyers are so ready to step in and litigate after all these tragedies occur is a seriously sad commentary on our society.