Colorado officer arrested after threatening to shoot suspect during stop

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel solid read and share.

Having a firearm out also is a risk to the Officer Himself and to properly handcuff a suspect it takes two hands and once that is done the suspect has been restrained. If the suspect isn't armed or Your life isn't in danger there is just no justification for the use of a firearm. I've been assaulted by suspects but was well trained in unarmed self defense and able to subdue them without actually harming them. The only time I ever threatened to shoot anyone, they were still armed and standing over a victim they had shot and killed but they did drop the weapon and were taken into custody injury free. When We got the call We were talking to someone in the neighborhood and actually heard the shots and were able to respond right away. My exact words, "You move I'll blow Your Fuc--in head off" He dropped the gun , was placed against a wall, searched for other weapons and handcuffed. He had shot two people, one had died. Other than that I'd taken in other armed people and never made that threat although one that attacked Me with a straight razor I broke four of His fingers with a club by hitting the hand the razor was in. He had just cut a victim across the throat with the straight razor and was still on the crime scene. Once He was disarmed handcuffed Him and took Him into custody. None of those calls though were on a Civilian Department but Military Police duties. Not that I didn't make any arrests as a civilian but not quite like those.

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."At a news conference on Tuesday, Aurora police chief Vanessa Wilson said the arrest was a "very despicable act."

"It is very disturbing," Ms Wilson said. "We're disgusted. We're angry. This is not police work. We don't train this."

A bill passed by Colorado's legislature last year bars police from using deadly force against suspects unless they are facing imminent danger from a weapon.

Additionally, the law bans chokeholds and removes the qualified immunity legal protection for officers, potentially exposing them to lawsuits. By 2023, all police officers in the state are required to wear body cameras.

On-duty police officers in the US kill civilians at a rate of 33.5 people per 10 million each year, according to advocacy group Prison Policy - a higher rate than most wealthy nations."