More Than Anything, an Officer Needs to Judge What's Right and Do It

   Roll back the rules, and bring on good reasoning. Would that when an officer faced a situation, he could call on his moral compass to see him through. Oh, give them guidelines. Teach them when and when not to use force. But, let them understand that every situation is a little bit different, and more than anything, they need to just size up what is going on and do the right thing. More than anything, they need to just consider what is right and what is wrong, and choose the right.
   I think of Bernardo Palacios, fleeing from the police in fear, tripping and scrambling back up, only to stumble and fall again, never threatening police with his gun, but perhaps it dropping from a pocket as he falls, and he appears to pick something up. The training of an officer might say you shoot and you shoot to kill in such a situation; He has a gun. The rule book now gives me the right to kill him. But, I wonder if a moral compass suggests you can tell he isn't going to use the gun, and you don't shoot. You at least wait until there is further provocation.
  Officers need two things when they go on the streets. They need a badge to give them the right to be there, and they need a moral compass so they won't mess up while they are on those streets. All the training is great, but it cannot replace the moral compass.

(Blog slightly revised June 10, 2020)