Guardsman kills man who pointed BB gun

[High Planes Drifter]

I saw it on my local news last night. It wasnt that the guy was dumb; he was mentally disturbed. It was, however, still a good shoot. The gaurdsmen approached the man after getting a report of a man riding a bike carrying a hacksaw. They followed him into his home after he assaulted one of them with a glass bottle. Upon entering the home, the man aimed a (bb) gun at one of them. Really nothing else they could have done, Im certainly not criticizing the gaurd. But apparently the guy was disturbed, or mentally hadicap.

 

[IfYouOnlyKnew]

One of my clearest memories in the immediate aftermath of Katrina was NOT seeing any NG or LE presence in my rural neck of the woods. I resented it. No power, no phones, difficult to drive anywhere, no stores open for weeks, and looting rumours and reports everywhere. I finally saw a few NG providing security at food stamp offices, gas stations, and some shelters after about two weeks. I would have loved to have seen ANY presence of lawful armed authority to ease the fears I had of the other less pleasant possibilities. Debates over the appropriate use of the military during periods of civil disorder are interesting but tend to take place between parties who have not experienced the quiet and the dark in the middle of nowhere after the winds die down.

 

[gezzer]

Chlorine into the gene pool. I see as a good shoot. Darwin at work.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

Wow, it's pretty scary that nobody here sees MAJOR issues with imposing martial law on NOLA like that.

The military SHOULD NOT be used as a police force against civilians unless MAYBE under conditions of open insurrection.

Unless federalized, the National Guard belongs to the states, and the governor can use them as he/she wishes. Many states use the Guard to supplement police forces on an interim basis when the police are short-handed. I don't think in such situations they are really considered to be "military," and they are enforcing civil law, not martial law.

 

[PercyShelley]

Unless federalized, the National Guard belongs to the states, and the governor can use them as he/she wishes. Many states use the Guard to supplement police forces on an interim basis when the police are short-handed. I don't think in such situations they are really considered to be "military," and they are enforcing civil law, not martial law.

That's all well and good, but why are the police still short-handed?

I, for one, am actually supprised that the guard is still holding that place together.

How long was the guard in LA after the riots there, for example?

This seems ridiculous.