This happened. There was a suicidal black man. Someone called 9-1-1. Said "this guy owns a gun." Canines, snipers, all showed up. Somehow a miscommunication happened over the radio, someone shot the suicidal guy in the head with a sniper. Portland Oregon in 2010. Aaron Campbell. No one remembers this shit.
Because it's happened at least a dozen times since then.
The tactical equipment these guys use, they see it like kids see toys. They're actively looking for any excuse to break it out and play with it.
The handful of cops I knew when I was younger and thought I wanted to be one all had the same attitude. If there's any possibility that the toys could be useful, they get the toys out. They're giddy about it.
So miscommunication? Maybe. Sounds more like they heard what they wanted to hear and anything else was just noise between them and getting to get the toys out and kill a man.
If they don't get the toys out, then they don't get to keep the toys: bureaucratic incentive amplifies risk.
A couple of years back I was at a wedding and ended up talking to a cop, they were telling us as if it was a good thing how they send out helicopters to catch people underage drinking in parks. Completely absurd and far more of a nuisance than people having a drink.
They also bragged about how their dog handler sicced a dog on a suspect and just let them get mauled, then everyone pretended they didn't see anything happen. Straight-up gloating about police brutality. The job just does not attract well-adjusted people.
First honest cop?
Almost, he didn't mention shooting the dog too
Yeah, I realized my mistake, but didn’t refresh quickly enough.
On second thought, claiming to be able to shoot them in the face is probably overconfidence in their ability to aim.
They're aiming for the dog.
Of course, is it just the baby who’s going to catch strays then? 
Would you call the police if your house was on fire?
you don't even call the police is your house is burgled. You call insurance.
Insurance will require a police report
lmfao, no? What are they going to do? Surround it and start yelling for the fire to come out of the house with its hands behind its back?
of course not.
the cops are there for the smoke because it's black.
I should have known 
This is so unrealistic. They don't ask if it's okay.
If you're a regular working stiff in MAGAmerica, don't count on the police to protect you. That's not their job anymore. They are there to keep us docile and confined, when we're not working or commuting.
their job is always to enforce the law —who writes the law these days though? Laws that the police enforce are meant to keep the working class behaving in accordance to capitalists
Then you should call the mental hospital, not the police
Mental hospitals don't have people on hold can leave on zero notice and drive across town with light and sirens. The police are out there all over and are supposedly trained to deal with all kinds of situations that do not need escalation and shooting people in the face. At least in the world outside of USA.
That's why every civilized country educates officers for years, not just 3-4 weeks.
At least in the world outside of USA.
That's your problem right there: not their job description in the US, which is to do everything wrong & get qualified immunity. In the US, the police are the wrong people to call.
Ambulances are a thing
Yeah, except ambulance personnel are primarily trained to take care of wounds and injuries and not physically violent individuals. That's where police come in.
Potentially violent, and because the police are not trained health professionals it is sub optimal.
"Sub optimal".
Ok dude.
EMT are trained to stabilize and transport.
We need to stop pretending that we can take a group who's responsible for one thing, and apply them to something completely different, just because we don't want to pay to have the right kind of people. That kind of thinking is shitty boss thinking. It's like your boss trying to get the plumber to do drywall because he doesn't want to pay for both.
Don't be a shitty boss.
while they're at it the medics can tell the person to "calm down" and try "not being sad".
Tried that. They send cops to escort the psyche nurses, they absolutely get in the way. Ended up traumatizing my buddy even more, he jumped out the window. We didn't see him for four days.
Mental hospitals (in their current state) don't work, or so I've heard
Depends on the hospital. I've had a couple friends genuinely enjoy their stays and claim it helped them get better faster, on the other hand, doctors have warned me about others.
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how about the person who called it in, then? Do they catch strays or are they also destined for a flashbang?