"F.O.A.D." wrote in message ...

On 4/21/13 9:59 AM, Eisboch wrote:


The older brother got out of the car in Watertown and started
walking
towards the growing law enforcement presence. Fearing a potential
suicide bomber attack, law enforcement opened fire and filled him
full
of holes. The doctors who worked on him have reported that he had
so
many injuries that they can't determine what exactly caused his
death.

....

Here's where I started to have some questions about how this was
handled. It was imperative that he be captured alive, if possible.
So what did law enforcement do? Opened fire on the boat (that
had a
full tank of gas) with fully automatic weapons. At least two
weapons
can be heard on the videos released by the media, with large
capacity
magazines being emptied into the boat. This is how you capture
someone
alive?


I certainly appreciate why the cops were fearful of a guy who might
have
had a bomb strapped to his chest, but I've never understood why it is
necessary in so many instances to respond to a threat, real or
perceived, with a hailstorm of bullets, especially when only one or
two
guys are involved. Perhaps my theory is correct, that cops are really
bad shots, and they don't have enough mandatory practice with their
firearms.

---------------------------------------

I don't know about that because I have only limited experience
witnessing law enforcement people shooting at the range.
The four that I know ... a local cop, two state cops and another who
works for homeland defense in some capacity are all phenomenal
marksmen. Intuitively I suspect the average Boston cop who pounds a
daily beat on foot probably isn't a great shot but I suspect many of
the SWAT team and special operations units that were involved in
hunting down the marathon bombers are excellent marksmen.

Also, I doubt very much the actions taken were a free-for-all. Orders
to open fire must have been coordinated with those in charge.
That's why I don't get the action of opening fire on the guy in the
boat, sight unseen, if the goal was to capture him alive. They
couldn't have known if he was armed, had a bomb, or was even still
breathing. There are no reports of the suspect opening fire first.
It was *after* that exchange ... well, it really wasn't an "exchange"
.... that a negotiator got involved and had the suspect stand up and
lift his shirt to demonstrate he was unarmed and "unbombed".