Portland Police Shootings

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I have read all of the articles lately about the Portland Police shootings and have seen how polarizing of an issue it is. This morning I read an article in the Oregonian about the shooting at the Hoyt Arboretum and Officer Jason Walters. Since I was not at the scene, I cannot make a firsthand judgment, but from the sounds of it, this office was put in a very tough position. According to the article:

Walters fired four shots at Jack Dale Collins, 53, after Collins emerged from the restroom and walked toward him, refusing to drop an X-Acto knife Collins gripped in his left hand.

However, if you read the full article, it appears he was thrust into a situation lacking quite a bit of vital information. Then if you read the comments, which I am learning not to do, many of the readers are painting this officer as some sort of a vigilante gun slinging murder. This makes my blood boil!

Being the proud son of a police officer, I am definitely biased, but these people make me sick! This goes along with the protesters that were marching through Portland a week or so back. According to one commenter who posted several times:

Posted by OregonShout.com

April 08, 2010, 8:55AM

May I correct this,... it was a six inch X-Acto tool not a weapon as in WMD..but yes could be a weapon non the less...A startled officer who immediately as his training (military/police) has taught him to do responds with a gun pulled quickly and Jessie James then slams two bullets into the Villianized and crazed man screwed by the commienazisocialmarxist system...that was not bad enough..but then two more shots rang out in the hearing of witnesses...those were the Kill shots IMHO.(correction may be needed)

Last time I checked, you could kill someone with a box knife or an X-Acto knife. See 9/11 transcripts if you need this proof. Secondly, the so called ‘victim’ could have dropped the knife at any point and time and saved his own life. Why is it that there is no accountability for the people that actually caused the problem? He may have been certifiably crazy, but does that change the circumstances that Officer Walters was thrust in to? I don’t care how much ‘Mental Health Training’ the officer had, if a person is irrational, a rational discussion is not going to happen. I would like to see these people that cast stones at the officer insert themselves into the situation and resolve it. Feel free to talk until you are blue in the face, we’ll see if it gets Jack Dale Collins to drop his knife and quit threatening people.

Until you are put into a life or death situation and have to react, don’t throw stones! I have heard the first hand accounts, through my dad, about the life and death decisions officers are put into constantly. Luckily for him, he has never had to shoot anyone. This is not to say he hasn’t been close, but so far he has been able avoid firing his weapon at a person. I understand that there are bad officers out there, just like there are bad people, but for the most part these men and women are heroes. There have been far too many officers killed recently just for wearing the uniform. (See Lakewood) Also, when you’re casting your stones, remember who will be responding when you are in the biggest crisis of your life. It will be a police officer coming to your aid, doing their job, and everything they can do keep you safe and sound!