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Bobby Daniels was shot and killed by a Douglas County (GA) Deputy Tuesday afternoon. There are still many unanswered questions but what is known now is that a man called the Deputies claiming to have been kidnapped and held hostage for 45 minutes. When the unnamed deputy arrived on location he found two men fighting over a gun.

Those men were Bobby Daniels and his son, Bias. At some point during the struggle the gun was pointed at the Deputy who fired one shot, striking Bobby and killing him. Bias then grabbed the gun and ran off. The officer fired a shot at him too but missed. Bias was caught later and is facing a number of charges.

According to AJC.com:

Bias Daniels was told to put the gun down and he did, prompting his father to get out of a white sedan and grab the gun, investigators said. “As Bobby and Bias continued to fight for the gun, deputies shouted verbal commands to them to put down the weapon,” the GBI said in an emailed statement. “One of the deputies fired his Taser striking Bias.” Due to the heavy coat Bias was wearing, the Taser didn’t attach to him, Miller said. “As the fight continued between Bias and Bobby, the handgun was pointed at the deputies, at which point one of the deputies fired, striking and killing Bobby,” the GBI said. Bobby Daniels died at the scene Monday night. His son was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, obstruction and marijuana possession, the sheriff’s office said Tuesday. The GBI was called in to assist with the investigation because it involved deputies shooting their service weapons. On Tuesday, the sheriff told Channel 2 Action News that Bobby Daniels may have been trying to help keep the gun away from his son when he was shot. “I think that he could have been trying to help the situation instead of hurting it, but when he pointed the gun at the officers, he was shot,” Miller told Channel 2.

This is a horrible tragedy that once again highlights the mentality of a police officer and their constant state of being in fear of their lives. Not only did the officers put themselves into a perceived danger but they failed to determine who the actual criminal was. Showing that they do not care about justice what-so-ever.

If the officers thought the struggle for the weapon would put them in danger than they should have taken cover, called for backup and continued to give orders from a safe distance. Simply being flashed by a gun is no reason to randomly fire your weapon.

This shooting will most likely be deemed justified but even though it’s not criminal in the eyes of the law it should be used as an example to better train officers. The circumstances officers these days consider to be ‘life threatening’ are often times not threatening at all. Many times officers find themselves in dangerous situations it’s because they put themselves into them.

This, IMO, is what happened here. Two deputies rushed onto a scene, left the cover of their cars and placed themselves into a scene that endangered their lives – questionably. The outcome was that they shot the wrong guy who was the only one actually trying to help. They killed a father who wanted to help his son.

While the police aren’t going to accept this fact but blame the victim – wait and see – it’s something officers need to consider. Are you willing to allow the job you hold to put you in such a situation? Are you ready to live with the fact that you killed someone for nothing more than “you thought you might get hurt?” I wouldn’t be looking to get into such situations.

Furthermore, it’s not just these tragedies that point out the need for less aggressive training by police officers. This story talks about police shooting the wrong guy. Yet, police are routinely charging, arresting and caging people whose crimes have no victims or only further the agenda of the state. Officers really need to stop and think, “Who am I protecting here? What good am I doing here?” Then act accordingly.

Hopefully LEO’s start to realize that the institution, the 40,000+ laws passed each year and the training that leads up to becoming a police officer, are the reasons innocent lives are lost, careers ruined and why people have less faith in police today. While the work here attempts to open people’s eyes to the harms of police, it’s on the police to start offering real change. Only you can make your profession an honorable one.

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