VIRGINIA BEACH
A police officer shot and wounded a man armed “with a large knife” in confrontation with police Sunday night.
The incident occurred shortly after 9:30 p.m. in the 200 block of 83rd St., said Officer Adam Bernstein, a police spokesman.
The officer involved in the incident was not hurt, Bernstein said. Neither his name nor the identity of the wounded man were immediately available.
Bernstein said the man refused numerous orders to drop the knife and “came at the officer” who was then “forced to fire at the subject.”
The scene is at the North End, where Atlantic Avenue and Shore Drive merge.
A neighbor, who asked that her name not be used, said she called police after overhearing what sounded like a domestic dispute at the home.
After police arrived, she said she heard an officer tell the man several times to “back up” and to “drop the knife.”
She said she then heard a “pop, pop.”
The woman said she then called 911 again to urge that more police be sent.
Within minutes, she said, more than a dozen police cars were on the scene.
Bernstein said early today that investigators had determined that the incident did not involve a domestic dispute, but rather that the man had become "destructive and disorderly" while inside the home.
No one else was hurt. Bernstein said the man who was shot was being treated at an area hospital. His condition was not available as of 2:30 a.m.
Steve Stone, (757) 446-2309, steve.stone@pilotonline.com
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Crime makes the news
I'm glad to see this type of crime being reported. As someone who works in an area hospital I'm amazed how many shootings or stabbings we don't hear about. Its almost as surprising as how desensitized this area is to its high rate of violent crime. I feel far less safe here than in most other cities I've lived. The public seems completely willing to accept a car jacker with a gun as long as he targets someone else, but if its a police officer meeting that violent crime with equal force its a violation of their civil rights.
Kudos
To the professionals of VBPD.
Let's review:
Armed assailant, coming toward police. Told to stop and drop weapon (by witness accounts) multiple times. Still advances.
Police, are in reasonable fear for life, shoot in self defense.
Police hit intended target, as few shots as needed to stop assailant. No shots hitting innocent bystanders, no shots hitting other officers.
All police, neighbors, witnesses, puppies, nuns, etc get to go home and the armed assailant gets a trip to the hospital.
Sounds like good police work. I am glad that we have officers like that to respond to dangerous situations.
Kudos.
A Safer Way
Maybe if the cop did a triple somersault over the bad guy's head, followed by two barrel rolls, shot the knife out of his hands, threw his club at his leg causing him to fall, and then finished him off with a WWF pile drive. It works. I see them do it in the movies all the time!
yea, Right!!!
I am sure the VBPD makes many traffic stops, deals with many concealed weapons, recovers many knives, and I don't see a bloodbath. This is a professional agency that only uses deadly force when necesary. remember it does not take any skill to hurt someone with a knife. You may not die, but you will surely be maimed going up against a knife.
Only an idiot takes a knife to a gunfight, and this citizen was an idiot.
Oh my....
There is no training in the world that allows you to disarm a man with a knife. This isn't the movies where some karate expert can disarm a man armed with a weapon. In the real world, that just doesn't happen. As for tasers, yeah they work great. The problem is all the bad press over folks who die after they are used. The 21 foot rule is not a Virginia thing. That is a national tactic. A person who is within 21 feet of you can attack and kill you before you can react to stop them. It is a scientifically proven fact. The reaction to the force was appropriate as set down by the supreme court. A knife is a deadly weapon. When faced with deadly force, you respond with deadly force. If you respond with lower force you greatly increase the chances of someone getting hurt. The concept is a simple one. Don't break the law. Don't have a weapon when dealing with an officer. Follow the officer's command. It is just that simple.
We just lost an officer and if that doesn't prove how dangerous that job can be, then nothing will show it to you.
If you don't think officers help you when you need it, next time someone threatens you life, try calling a crack head instead off
How close?...
Would you let somebody with a weapon (knife,broken bottle,bat,gun) get to you. Or how close would you like a police officer let someone get close to you before it was "ok" or "appropriate" to shoot? You are the kind of people who get mad at the police for doing their job and then blame them for not doing their job if something bad happens to you. As far as the Va Bch police being "yahoos" and "reining them in"..I have lived in this area for many many years and haven't had one single issue nor have any of my friends, family or neighbors. But oh wait, I'm a law abiding citizen and I don't put myself in places or situations that would put me in trouble. Hmmm....
I remember Mr. "Not a fan of cops", do you?
Anyone that reads these comments with any regularity will recogonize BCHCAT1124 as a person "Not a fan of the Cops" He truly has no clue and is in my estimation one of those individual that make being a police officer a very dangerous profession. A mister (or Mrs.), "I didn't do anything wrong, you're just on a power trip because you have a gun, and I know my rights". However LEO's are out there to protect even their kind. I hope he/she at least learned from this incident that if you are told to drop your knife, or gun, or broken bottle, or bat, or sword etc.etc. just do it immediately when told by a LEO. You see they all want to go home at the end of their shift too. They have wives, kids, mothers, fathers, brothers,sisters that care for them even if you don't.
Tasers, maybe...?
Are Hampton Roads Police Officers armed with tasers, as well as pistols? If so, wouldn't the sidearm be the second line of defense? It seems to me that there should be some room between telling someone to stop...and shooting them. I grant you, I only know what I read, but aren't there ways besides two 9mm rounds to stop someone with a knife?
A weapon is a weapon...
A person with a knife within 21 feed is just as deadly as a person with a gun. Police are trained to keep a suspect with a knife beyond 21 feet. If they come within that distance, and the cop feels in fear of his life, they are to immediately shoot to stop the threat. To not take this action jeopardizes their life. Most people have no idea how dangerous a knife can be. If the choice must be made as to who goes home (unhurt) that night, the suspect or the Cop, I vote for the Cop every time. When the Cop give an order, like 'drop the knife', obey it immediately! If you don't like what the Cop did, complain the next day at the station or Commonwealth's Attorney's office. If your complaint is unfounded, it is because the Cop acted lawfully.
Tend to agree with bchcat
There are too many "officer-involved" shootings in this area for comfort, and I think powertrip fits these cowboys. Something needs to be done to rein in these yahoos. If a police officer (and you know there was more than one on the scene) can't disarm and subdue a knife-wielding suspect, what good is his/their training? That is simple self-defense!
Instead, they shoot a man using far greater force than they were faced with - I say "they" because we all know there are so many cops in VB that they show up to a "cat in the tree" call in multiples. I hope a case comes down the line soon that forces the VBPD to reexamine their directives regarding the use of deadly force as well as their general attitude toward the public they are supposed to serve and protect - what a joke that is!
I've never lived anywhere that has such an arrogant and nasty police force. If they aren't reined in soon, I'm sure there will be a good trial attorney that will. Unfortunately, it will be too late for yet another under-armed citizen.
Read first, then post.
Bchcat, try reading the entire article before you post. The subject was armed with a knife, not a gun, and according to the witness was warned several times before being shot. You obviously have no idea what a deranged person with a knife can do to another human. You also obviously have no real clue how street cops deal with the public. My recommendation would be for you to sign up for the Citizen's Police Academy, and get an education on exactly how cops are trained and what it takes to do their jobs. Maybe then you will have a clue before you post another one of your rants.
The VBPD is Off to the Races Again
Why are the cops in VB on such a power trip? They don't need to shoot everybody just because they have a gun. They're all on some mission to shoot, wound, or kill everything that crosses their path.