Cedar Rapids; officer with drawn gun

I don't know the circumstances surrounding the picture, but come on...drawn gun?

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Come on? Like you said, you don't know the circumstances.

Wanted felon, tried to run officer down, anything could have happened here.

Why even ask this kind of question until we have some facts?

It is possible that the resident in the truck did not stop (was inching forward, or something). The police officer is in front of the truck (or so it seems), so maybe he is making the universal "don't run me over" gesture. No idea what really went on there, but it's one dramatic picture.

hard to tell. cops often do things that us mere mortals do not understand and do not approve of.

with only a picture who knows what the context is.

might even be a photoshop.

Looks like the passenger window is about to get broken too.

CNN also had this picture that shows a bit more. Looks like the driver didn't want to take no for an answer.

Add that this is a road block into a flood damaged area.

I've worked traffic control at Razorback football games and nearly been run over by irate fans who wanted to go down the street I was blocking. I've had them nearly run me over and I've almost drawn my weapon on two occasions. This just for a football game. You bet I'd draw a weapon if someone kept coming at me with a vehicle.

On one of those occasions where I almost drew on the driver, I pulled him over to the side and arrested him for vehicular assault on a police officer, a felony. The vehicular assault part all by itself is a class D felony, doing it to a cop raises it to a class C. Nope, nothing wrong with the drawn gun and the extended baton here.

Take into account the source of this information, ie mass media. We will be lucky to know the WHOLE story. At a check point, a weapon is drawn, an ASP is deployed. Obviously, someone is looking to get the hard end of the boot, but the "why" won't be disclosed completely, especially if it doesn't suit said outlet's political agenda.

I'd be more concerned about the Hogwarts alumnus at the bottom left. Getting shot is one thing; getting turned into a newt is something else, even if you do eventually get better.

If you read the article, apparently residents are being restricted from returning to their homes for safety, however, burglars are having a field day in the empty houses. A real shame.

I understand why tempers are flaring. The best advice is probably- do not leave anything of major value when ordered to evacuate.

my family and i live in south mississippi. some really bad stuff happened after the storm blew over. things can get pretty bad, and folks can start feeling desperate.

people are capable of doing some crazy stuff in situations like that. there is no telling what happened in that pic.

One picture is worth a thousand suppositions.

If you read the article, apparently residents are being restricted from returning to their homes for safety, however, burglars are having a field day in the empty houses. A real shame.

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yeah, that is a shame.

The best advice is probably- do not leave anything of major value when ordered to evacuate.

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Or simply do not obey the order to evacuate.

Or simply do not obey the order to evacuate.

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You can do that but if you home is under 5 feet of water its not real practical.

The problem is that even if they allow you to stay, they won't let you back in until they decide its OK. By then the abandoned and completely unsecured homes have been ransacked and little of any value is left.

And even if your home is not underwater, you eventually have to go out for supplies, or to work, and you won't get back in.

Long term the answer is to remove the authority to exercise these kind of emergency powers. They serve no real purpose anyway. If people want to stay in their water logged homes, let them.

We granted a lot of power to government and have gotten very little in return. Its time to take back most of the powers granted to government.

Two days later they were allowed back in but residents living there had a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. indoor curfew; i.e. they couldn't be outside their own houses at night, I presume so they wouldn't be shot if thought looting.

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Sounds like perhaps the residents of Chapman should deal with whomever put that curfew into effect in a very harsh way at the next election.

From CNN

One resident, however, grew angry when he was not allowed to pass a checkpoint Monday, according to a news release from the Cedar Rapids Police Department.

After being denied re-entry to a flooded neighborhood, Rick Blazek, 53, returned to his vehicle as a state trooper used his police vehicle to block the checkpoint, according to the news release.

"Blazek drove his vehicle toward the state trooper and struck the state trooper three times with his vehicle," the release said.

Police told Blazek to get out of his vehicle, and when he refused, "the driver's window was broken out because the doors were locked and Blazek was removed from his vehicle," according to the release.

The trooper was not injured. Blazek, who was arrested and charged with assault on a peace officer with a deadly weapon, could not be immediately reached for comment.

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Not a good attitude, stupid should be painful.

"Blazek drove his vehicle toward the state trooper and struck the state trooper three times with his vehicle," the release said.

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Yea - right. Struck him 3 times with his vehicle. Why would any responsible newspaper even print such nonsense? I wonder what the real story is.

Long term the answer is to remove the authority to exercise these kind of emergency powers. They serve no real purpose anyway. If people want to stay in their water logged homes, let them.

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Right until the entire area is under water, not just any water but water contaiminated with God knows what, then they decide they need to leave so we have to endanger people to go get them.

You gotta love THR. Even when the OP has to admit that he knows absolutely nothing about the circumstances, theories of JBTs are still abound from just one picture of an officer with a drawn weapon.

Long term the answer is to remove the authority to exercise these kind of emergency powers. They serve no real purpose anyway. If people want to stay in their water logged homes, let them.

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Right until the entire area is under water, not just any water but water contaiminated with God knows what, then they decide they need to leave so we have to endanger people to go get them.

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Most people will evacuate when they actually need to. The problem is that the authorities want everyone out for their own purposes, even when there is no need for everyone to leave.

I say if you decide to stick it out, that is your decision and you face the consequences of that decision.

It is not government's job to protect you from yourself.

Standing in front of a motor vehicle trying to stop it is as stupid as trying to stop a power saw with your fingers.This is knows as Tombstone courage in Law Enforcement circles.You can bet he was never taught this tactic in the Police Academy.

Standing in front of a motor vehicle trying to stop it is as stupid as trying to stop a power saw with your fingers.This is knows as Tombstone courage in Law Enforcement circles.You can bet he was never taught this tactic in the Police Academy.

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Its also pretty obvious the driver was not intending to harm anyone or in one of the alleged three times he hit the cop he might have done some damage. He just wanted to go to his home. Now he may end up with a felony.

Hopefully the jury looks very closely at the circumstances and comes to a fair decision.

Hopefully the good people of Iowa take a very close look at emergency powers that are granted to authorities that are routinely misused.

Its also pretty obvious the driver was not intending to harm anyone or in one of the alleged three times he hit the cop he might have done some damage.

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Okay, so a cop gives you a lawful order that you're not allowed in this particular area at this time. You continue to walk toward him and poke him with your finger three times while he's still standing in your way. What do you expect the reaction will be? For bonus points, say you were using the muzzle of your gun instead of your finger?

Gun = deadly weapon, SUV = deadly weapon.

The problem is that the authorities want everyone out for their own purposes, even when there is no need for everyone to leave.

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And you continue to imply that "their own purposes" are necessarily nefarious ones. Could it be that public safety resources are already strained to the breaking point and they're trying to make the most effective use of them? They're trying to keep folks from getting in "over their heads" (literally) and having to perform multiple rescues because emotionally distraught people can do some pretty silly things? What would be evil about that?

How do you know that there's "no need for everyone to leave"? Do you have first hand information that the rest of us aren't privy to?

ETA:

I'm betting there are natural gas lines all over the place, along with who knows what other hazards. A lot of the wonderful modern conveniences that we surround ourselves with come with hidden dangers. Consider sewage washed back from flooded lines. The local health department may say the area is unfit for human habitation. Do you just turn everybody loose no matter what the dangers might be?

I recall that in the flooding in Grand Forks, ND a few years ago, several buildings were destroyed by gas fires. The fire department didn't risk their lives trying to get to them because they knew everyone was evacuated. Property can be replaced. Lives can't.