Joe Biden has recently come out to say that police under attack in the line of duty should shoot their assailants “in the leg instead of the heart” as a way to avert the killing of civilians.
“Instead of standing there and teaching a cop, when there’s an unarmed person coming at them with a knife or something, you shot them in the leg instead of in the heart is a very different thing. There’s a lot of different things that could change.” Biden said in a meeting with Bethel AME Church Community leaders.
These remarks were made as cities across the nation continue to be engulfed in violent protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd. Former Officer Derek Chauvin was charged Friday with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
These suggestions made by former vice president Biden were intended to reduce the number of fatal shootings by police but it raised a lot of questions. First of all, it’s completely irrelevant to the mob violence occurring in many cities at hand. The death of Floyd, who was arrested under suspicion of trying to pass a counterfeit bill, did not attack police officers with a weapon nor killed by gunshot. Second of all, the person “coming at” police officers was carrying a knife or something, meaning they were unarmed. Third, the femoral artery runs down the thigh, making a gunshot to the leg potentially fatal.
Biden’s hypothetical is all over the place. Police officers are taught to shoot only as a last resort, as any shot could be lethal. They are, if in dire circumstance, instructed to aim at the upper torso.
The presumptive Democratic nominee’s advice on shooting to wound rather than kill came as he announced he would form a “police oversight board” in his first 100 days as president. He said he’d want to re-establish the policies of police departments.
Biden was slammed on his efforts to write and pass the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which was majorly criticized for unfairly impacting minorities in its “three strikes rule.” This rule expands the death penalty and increases incarcerations by encouraging tougher parole rules. He later apologized for his stance on criminal justice and said he would plan to reverse some of the elements of the 1994 law by eliminating racial disparities and providing second chances for those incarcerated.
How much longer are Democrats going to pretend that Joe Biden is cut out for this race? If this doesn’t illustrate the Democrat party policies as a whole, then I don’t know what does.
