Report critical of officers for not 'stopping the killing' during Uvalde school tragedy
The report mentions that prior to the gunman entering the building at 11:33 a.m., a Uvalde Police officer saw the suspect carrying a rifle toward the school. The officer, who also had a rifle, asked for permission to fire on the suspect, but he got no answer. The report says the officer turned to get confirmation from his superior, but when he turned back around, the gunman was already inside the school.
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The Uvalde Police officer, who asked his supervisor for permission to fire when he initially spotted the suspect with a rifle walking toward the school, could have fired on the suspect without specific permission. According to Texas Penal Code 9.32, an individual is justified in using deadly force when the individual reasonably believes the deadly force is immediately necessary to prevent the commission of murder (amongst other crimes).
The armchair quarterbacks are have a field day with this, but I don't see it.
If he was visible for that short a time, making a judgement call that he posed a threat sufficient to justify shooting him seems a reach. Remember, this was before he had entered the building. He hadn't started shooting, yet.
But there's this:
When the suspect finally made it into the classrooms, the report stated that seven officers were walking toward the classroom when the gunman started firing. Instead of moving forward into the classroom, the officers backed off...
And that contradicts everything we've ever learned about how to deal with mass shootings.
