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Old 9th September 2018, 05:56 PM   #398
Thermal
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Originally Posted by Distracted1 View Post
There's the rub, isn't it.
You are hypothesizing that she went "Dirty Harry" and knew immediately that there was a "bad guy" in the apartment, entering as a cop who was going to put down the criminal. Thus your rhetorical question. Of course "in the line of duty" shoot first-ask questions later is unjustified.
I am offering a counter-hypothesis; that she had no idea anyone else was in "her" home and was startled when the legitimate occupant (who she would resonably see as an intruder) reacted aggressively (hypothesis) and shot him. In that scenario her reaction could be reasonable- in spite of its tragic outcome.

The first time someone walked into your home were you startled? Did you attempt to scare them off by making yourself seem as threatening as you could muster?
The first time is a good example. Under spoiler to not clog the thread.

My current house was built in 1910 and needed a lot of work before I moved the family in. I camped out onsite to work 16 hr days while the family was inland. So amidst raw framing and piles of plaster, I slept there. My first visitors were three young guys around midnight who probably thought they were checking out an empty, spooky old house. They woke me up and I grabbed an 18" prybar (nasty thing with sharp teeth) and ran at them. Now, here's the difference: I stopped before sinking it in their foreheads, which I was more than ready to do, and did the whole 'who the hell are you' thing. No fatalities, not even a scratch, and I'm not even trained as a cop, as Officer Reaper was. I find my actions reasonable, if a little aggressive. I do not find her actions to be so, and she has been trained to handle such situations.

No, I did not try to 'make myself' threatening. I was very goddammed threatening. But I killed no one. Mostly because I am averse to taking a life. She clearly is not.

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