Police not guilty in groom's death

Police not guilty in groom's death - CNN.com

I always struggle with cases like this. Police have to have the ability to defend themselves without be second guessed by armchair quarterbacks like me.

On the other hand, the great power and authority we give police offices MUST be balanced by great responsibility. Therefore an officer must be held accountable for bad decisions EVEN if they have a dangerous job and EVEN if they feared for their life. If you can't take the heat... don't be a NYC police officer.

One of the officers fired 31 times without stooping to reassess the situation. He though the guy had a gun, but didn't seem to notice no one was shooting back. He thought they were trying to use the car to run him over, but didn't simply get out of the way. Instead he reloaded and kept shooting.

Added to all of this, the police officers were in PLAIN CLOTHES. If a normal looking guy pulls a gun on me in New York. My first though is not going to be "Oh, he's a police man who just wants to ask me a few questions". No!! If I'm already in or near my car, I'm going to jump in it and try to get away.

I honestly don't know how to balance all of this. But I do think the guy that fired 31 times should be held accountable for his foolish and unnecessary action that night. At a minimum, he should no longer be allowed to carry a gun in NYC because he simply can't be trusted with one.