ATHENS, GEORGIA — Police officers have a long list of criteria that they need to adhere to when approaching a suspect, suspicious person, or something similar.
If this were a citizen self-defense case, it’d be cut and dry for everyone, but some are thinking that the officer in the video below had pulled the trigger too quickly.
And I completely disagree.
The shooting took place on Oct. 14 around 10:15 a.m. along the 100 block of Chalfont Drive when an officer responded to a suspicious person call involving a woman who was said to be armed with a gun and a knife.
As the video begins, senior police officer Lamar Glenn with Athens-Clarke County Police Department notices Bonny Thomas flagging him down.
via 11alive.com
He exits his vehicle and sees that she has a large knife in one hand, while her other hand is concealed under her shirt. As she approaches, he retreats while giving her commands to drop the knife.
Thomas ignores these commands and continues to walk towards Glenn with the knife raised above her head saying, “I have a gun and a knife.”
When she got too close for the Officer’s comfort, he fired a single shot that sent Thomas to the ground immediately. After hitting the ground, no movement from her can be seen, and she was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
Officer Glenn showed restraint during this video, and had no choice but to defend himself from a threat that was moving towards him at a quick pace.
It would seem that Thomas was suffering from some sort of mental health crisis, and that makes it all the more sad. Could he have used a non-lethal method to try and gain control over the situation? Possibly. Was he posed with a deadly threat? Absolutely.
It’s a different discussion when it comes to the police verses an armed citizen, but it would seem that Officer Glenn did what he could under the circumstances.
What are your thoughts?
