Quote:
Originally Posted by zx10guy
What the hell is wrong with dispatch? Also curious as to Sedan's take on the decision to shoot by one of the officers.
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Actually, dispatch handled it properly. Allow me to explain.
I have known Commander Mah since he was a Sergeant; I know the dispatcher as well. When somebody calls with a service request like what was depicted in the audio, the 415B (..
disturbance: business) and the 925 (…
suspicious person(s)) radio codes are what we utilize. It was a non-emergent call. I know the informant thought it was an urgent call, but by law enforcement standards, it was not [based on the information he provided]. If he were in immediate danger or the person threatened him, that would change the call to a priority or emergent call. Temple Station is one of our East Patrol Division stations; they are not far from the station I patrol out of. The dispatcher also advising there wasn't an exact ETA is just the reality. We are all short staffed and priority/emergent calls are handled first. I don't know the history of the caller, but the fact that he was calling to speak with the Watch Commander tells me that he probably calls regularly. The station likely has frequent interactions with him. Take from that what you'd like.
Now, I could Monday morning quarterback the shooting all day because I would've handled it a bit differently, but the shooting was justified. If it were me, I would've immediately pulled him out of the vehicle and detained him. That's not to say it would've prevented the shooting, but I surely wouldn't have given up position at the B-pillar multiple times. The male Hispanic adult in the driver's seat had no identification, was blasted (…
tatted all over his head, arms and neck), and was fidgety and constantly looking/moving around. That's an immediate red flag.