Assumptions will get you killed.

http://lapdblog.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/nr06242_ripatti.jpg

June 05, 2006
An LAPD officer was critically wounded Saturday night during a shooting with an armed robbery suspect in Southwest Los Angeles.
Based on the preliminary investigation, on June 3, 2006, around 10:30 p.m., Southwest Area Officer Kristina Ripatti and her partner, Officer Joe Meyer, were patrolling the area of La Salle and Leighton Avenues, in the Exposition Park area. A man ran directly in front of their marked patrol car, mid-block on Leighton Avenue. The officers slowed their vehicle to avoid hitting him, exited their vehicle and followed the suspect, 52-year-old James Fenton McNeal.
McNeal reached the front porch of a nearby residence, turned, pointed a gun at the officers and fired. An officer involved shooting occurred. McNeal was struck in the torso and died at the scene. Officer Ripatti was struck twice by the suspect's gunfire, and was taken by paramedics to California Hospital Medical Center, where she remains in critical but stable condition, with serious wounds.
It was later learned that the suspect had just committed a robbery at a local gas station. McNeal, a career criminal, had served multiple prison terms for a long list of violent crimes, including armed robbery and murder. He was most recently released from the Central Men's Colony, San Luis Obispo, on August 18, 2002, after serving 9 years for attempted robbery, and subsequently spent 3 years on parole, ending November 18, 2005.

Ripatti is paralyzed from the waist down.


Now-let us ponder this:
http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,1198892,00.html
Sparked by a TIME report published in March, a U.S. military investigation is probing the killing of as many as 24 Iraqi civilians by a group of Marines in the town of Haditha last November. Several Marines may face criminal charges, including murder. And new revelations suggest that their superiors may have helped in a cover-up.



In the first case, the Detective recognized the shooter as local. She ASSUMED that he was just walking home, and wanted to ask him about local gang activity. She did not know he had just robbed a convenience store with a gun.

The Marines in Haditha were in a different set of circumstannces. They KNEW that the locals were out to kill them. They KNEW there had been umpteen IED attacks, and if the locals could get you stopped, small arms fire would BE COMING!

From my experience, in both cases, the GOOD GUYS did what was correct procedure at the time. Ripatti had to assume that the shooter was just a citizen. The Marines had to assume that the BAD GUYS were trying to kill them.

In Ripatti's case, she will live impaired, but not face an investigation, as her partner was also there. If she had been alone, she would have been a crazed racist,out-of-control Police Officer, who wanted to shoot Mr. McNeal. McNael, or race-pimps would have said Mr. McNeal was just defending himself. His several trips to prison would have been ignored or concealed.

As to the Marines, they have been placed into an Inquisition. Haditha locals , who had attacked the Marines REPEATEDLY, are " The Witnesses". The story was brought out by a Time reporter, who has an agenda. Right now, that case is coming apart like a cheap suit.