After reading various accounts in the newspaper, I am obviously very concerned by the shooting death of an unarmed criminal by a passerby.
Guns aren’t given to citizens so they can enforce the law but for personal defense. This “passerby” misused his gun as a tool for enforcement. He had neither the training nor the authorization to do so and must be held accountable.
Failure to hold a gun owner accountable for his use of a gun as a law enforcement tool will do more to undermine the Second Amendment than all the crazy shooters combined. I am worried that the county’s lack of action on this event will set a horrible precedent for gun users going forward:
Gun carriers can act as law enforcement at any criminal scene they happen upon.
Gun carriers can assess a situation and make impulsive judgments based on adrenaline, fear and perception.
Gun carriers can use lethal force when feeling threatened, even if the threat doesn’t muster the requirements for lethal force as required by a law enforcement officer.
Gun carriers have no accountability for the discharge of their weapon on a crime scene.
Gun carriers don’t have to conform to de-escalation methods that law enforcement officers must obey.
Further dangers to our civilized society include:
No oversight: Police officers wear body cams so that after the use of lethal force, his or her actions can be reviewed and society can feel confident that the process is within the bounds expected from a civilized society. Passersby don’t wear body cams nor record their interaction, thus depriving us of the opportunity to verify their version of the events.
Fear in population: The use of lethal force will encourage more gun use in general as individuals won’t want to be the only one at the fight without a gun. The guy with the gun wins. His story is the one told. His perception is the one acted upon. His results are final.
If we don’t prosecute this as manslaughter, other “well-meaning” but gun-toting individuals may feel like lethal force is a viable option. Untrained and unauthorized, they might show up at a crime scene untrained in making good threat assessments, or how to deescalate the situation properly and, worst of all, they may allow prejudice or racial bias to cloud their judgment and perceptions.
Without accountability for their “training” and without any kind of recording of their actions, society cannot be assured that the actions of the “passerby” are merited or without bias. Thus creating in our civilized, law-and-order driven society, chaos and confusion, anger and hurt and misunderstanding and fear. Thus, encouraging me to want to protect myself from such “passersby” and their haphazard judgments.
This cannot be allowed to stand as acceptable, normal and, God forbid, heroic. Any individual given the privilege to own a gun must understand the limitations implied with a weapon capable of taking life. Anyone owning and carrying a gun must subject themselves to higher levels of conduct and restraint. They cannot be allowed to use their weapon to control the actions of another person.
Guns aren’t given to citizens so they can enforce the law but for personal defense. This “passerby” misused his gun as a tool for enforcement. He had neither the training nor the authorization to do so and must be held accountable. Failure to hold a gun owner accountable for his use of a gun as a law enforcement tool will do more to undermine the second amendment then all the crazy-shooters combined.
Jenifer McGill
Jenifer McGill is a loving member of Provo community who shares in the grief and heartbreak of the death of Jeremy Sorensen.