hjmick
02-12-2015, 07:02 PM
You may not like him (he's not one of my favorites), you may not agree with him (I find him annoying, but hey, I'm white), but what Quanell X and Rev. Jarrett Maupin did here strikes me as positive, smart, and worthy of some respect. I think it should be mandatory for all "community leaders" be they Black, White, Brown, whatever...
It was a split-second decision.
A distressed man with a baby in tow was pacing back and forth in a manic state and shouting incoherently. The responding police officer calmly addressed the man in an attempt to calm him down and defuse the situation, but the man suddenly pulled an object from his side and lunged toward the officer. Instinctively, the officer raised his Taser and squeezed the trigger. It turned out the man was armed with a knife, but the "officer," who was actually the firebrand African-American activist known as Quanell X, acknowledged he would have fired whether the assailant had a knife, a spoon or an empty hand.
“I didn’t even see it,” said the leader of the Houston area Black Panther Party, who was taking part in a training scenario in an attempt to understand what police officers go through during high-pressure situations. “It could have been anything in his hand, and I still would have used force to stop him.
“It all happened so fast," he added. "You don’t know what they could have in their hand.”
Quanell, a former Nation of Islam member, is one of at least two black activists to take the police training tests. Both he and Arizona activist the Rev. Jarrett Maupin came away from the experience with a newfound understanding of the pressure on police officers, not to mention a new message for black youth who come in contact with law enforcement officers.
“I walked away with a few things,” Quanell said “Many of these officers do not have adequate training and they should not be patrolling by themselves. Having backup would stop them from being skittish and firing their weapon.
“Also, we have to teach our community that, even if you disagree with the officer, do not try to litigate with them on the spot," he added. "Live to see another day. Don’t let our pride get in the way. Otherwise, you are setting yourself up...”
In another scenario, Quannel fired at a man during a routine traffic stop in which the suspect moved toward him, ignored an order to halt and reached behind his back
“I actually fired six times,” Quanell recalled. “I always questioned why officers fired so many shots in these situations. After going through the training, I think it’s very hard for an officer to know how many shots they fired when they are in the moment.”
Quannel said he submitted to the test because he “felt it was the right thing to do.”
The same sense of obligation prompted Maupin to go through a series of real-world scenarios in January with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, as reported on by Fox 10 Phoenix. Maupin led protests in Phoenix after an incident there in which officers shot an unarmed man who allegedly fought with them...
“It was tense,” Maupin told FoxNews.com. “They had eliminated backup as an option. I tried to navigate it as best I could.”
In one scenario, Maupin responded to a call of two men fighting.
“What’s going on today, gentlemen?" Maupin said to the suspects in the live-action scenario. "What are you doing?"
Despite his respectful greeting, one of the suspects rushed him, prompting the preacher to draw his weapon and open fire.
“I had no intention of shooting them,” Maupin said later. “I can see how these situations occur. There is a level of fear that exists and the people who are often afraid are often the ones who are armed...”
“I walked away with a renewed sense of compliance in any situation,” he said. “There’s no shame in it.
“I encourage all civil right leaders to take this training,” he added. “I know there’s truth to the other side..."
Law enforcement officials credited both men for taking the simulations and putting themselves in the shoes of police officers....
Shoot or don't shoot: Police scenarios prove eye-opening for civil rights leaders (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/02/12/shoot-or-dont-shoot-police-scenarios-prove-eye-opening-for-civil-rights-leaders/?intcmp=latestnews)
It was a split-second decision.
A distressed man with a baby in tow was pacing back and forth in a manic state and shouting incoherently. The responding police officer calmly addressed the man in an attempt to calm him down and defuse the situation, but the man suddenly pulled an object from his side and lunged toward the officer. Instinctively, the officer raised his Taser and squeezed the trigger. It turned out the man was armed with a knife, but the "officer," who was actually the firebrand African-American activist known as Quanell X, acknowledged he would have fired whether the assailant had a knife, a spoon or an empty hand.
“I didn’t even see it,” said the leader of the Houston area Black Panther Party, who was taking part in a training scenario in an attempt to understand what police officers go through during high-pressure situations. “It could have been anything in his hand, and I still would have used force to stop him.
“It all happened so fast," he added. "You don’t know what they could have in their hand.”
Quanell, a former Nation of Islam member, is one of at least two black activists to take the police training tests. Both he and Arizona activist the Rev. Jarrett Maupin came away from the experience with a newfound understanding of the pressure on police officers, not to mention a new message for black youth who come in contact with law enforcement officers.
“I walked away with a few things,” Quanell said “Many of these officers do not have adequate training and they should not be patrolling by themselves. Having backup would stop them from being skittish and firing their weapon.
“Also, we have to teach our community that, even if you disagree with the officer, do not try to litigate with them on the spot," he added. "Live to see another day. Don’t let our pride get in the way. Otherwise, you are setting yourself up...”
In another scenario, Quannel fired at a man during a routine traffic stop in which the suspect moved toward him, ignored an order to halt and reached behind his back
“I actually fired six times,” Quanell recalled. “I always questioned why officers fired so many shots in these situations. After going through the training, I think it’s very hard for an officer to know how many shots they fired when they are in the moment.”
Quannel said he submitted to the test because he “felt it was the right thing to do.”
The same sense of obligation prompted Maupin to go through a series of real-world scenarios in January with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, as reported on by Fox 10 Phoenix. Maupin led protests in Phoenix after an incident there in which officers shot an unarmed man who allegedly fought with them...
“It was tense,” Maupin told FoxNews.com. “They had eliminated backup as an option. I tried to navigate it as best I could.”
In one scenario, Maupin responded to a call of two men fighting.
“What’s going on today, gentlemen?" Maupin said to the suspects in the live-action scenario. "What are you doing?"
Despite his respectful greeting, one of the suspects rushed him, prompting the preacher to draw his weapon and open fire.
“I had no intention of shooting them,” Maupin said later. “I can see how these situations occur. There is a level of fear that exists and the people who are often afraid are often the ones who are armed...”
“I walked away with a renewed sense of compliance in any situation,” he said. “There’s no shame in it.
“I encourage all civil right leaders to take this training,” he added. “I know there’s truth to the other side..."
Law enforcement officials credited both men for taking the simulations and putting themselves in the shoes of police officers....
Shoot or don't shoot: Police scenarios prove eye-opening for civil rights leaders (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/02/12/shoot-or-dont-shoot-police-scenarios-prove-eye-opening-for-civil-rights-leaders/?intcmp=latestnews)