Suspect on roof... why not tranquilize? (home, live, law)

[Podo944]

Originally Posted by Lovehound

I've enjoyed your sublime sense of humor over the years I've been reading your posts.


Because.... What happens when they hit the suspect and he goes under and rolls off the roof and the fall kills him?

What happens when his family sues City of LA for multi-million dollars? Do you want your tax money wasted like that?

Hey, dude is on a roof. No food. No water. Only one way out: down. All the officers have to do is wait him out, many of them loving the overtime they're collecting. Then out come the cuffs or the bean bags. Problem solved.

This is the way may blockade situations are handled. Isolate the suspect. Either talk him out or wait him out. End result: either suspect is taken into custody peacefully, or suspect threatens officers with lethal weapon (gun, knife) and gets shot and then gets to ride in either an ambulance or a coroner's wagon.

Thanks for the response. I know there was some sensible reason, just couldn't see it, cause I don't know how they work.

[Lovehound]

You're welcome!

Starvation, thirst and anxiety are great tools for prying out blockaded suspects, and generally nobody gets hurt.

[LuckyGem]

Well the jerk is still holed up in a house.

Anyone who lives in NoHo/Burbank/Tujunga (north l.a.) should be pretty cheezed off right now for their rush hour drive home.

Even if this is sewn up in an hour, the traffic is going to be so jakked up around the 170.

Happy trails everyone.

[SUPbud]

I think you've seen too many movies about the efficacy of a tranquilizer dart.
What do YOU think is the effective range of a tranquilzer dart?
Most anesthesiologists have to have an accurate weight of the subject in order to get the dosage right.

If your suspect is holding a rifle, the boys in blue are dis-inclined to pursue a peaceful surrender.

But you are right, society needs to devote a little effort to the use and creation of non-lethal capture technologies. Where is Spider Man with his sticky web shooters when you need him?

This is a pretty good candidate for LRAD: Long Range Acoustic Device - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[jw2]

I think lawsuits are the major reason. Even if there was less than 1% chance of harm by using a tranquilizer, law enforcement will not take the chance when there is zero chance they get sued by doing nothing and just waiting him out. Same procedure with car chases, law enforcement will not put themselves in a position where they could be sued if they can help it. If a fleeing suspect kills or injures someone due to lack of law enforcement action, they are not likely to get sued. These days, the primary course of action is to just wait them out. They will close streets if necessary. They will evacuate entire blocks if necessary. And then just wait.

Your convenience is not a factor, nor should it be. but, your safety is not really a factor either. Whether they get sued is THE factor. Law enforcement is crippled these days.

[Lovehound]

Lawsuits and practicality are the reason. I just turned on the radio and now more info is pouring in my way.

The most efficient way to get the guy out is to just wait him out. If I were the watch commander I'd have his utilities cut, and his phone line rewired to go directly to a field phone and a negotiator.

Then I'd just sit him out. Police can order all the coffee and pizza and fried chicken they want. The perp is stuck with what's in the fridge, and no water, no gas, no electricity (if they're following my advice), and no way to watch the fun and games on TV.

Don't know if the perp has a cellphone. If so, odds are that the cellphone is smarter than the perp.

[dexter14]

Originally Posted by Podo944

KTLA 5 - Los Angeles News and Video for Southern California

From what I understand, there was a high speed chase and he ditched his car in North Hollywood. He was on the roof of a house, (or garage) in plain view. He had a rifle in his hand. Swat is out and locking down the area. Now he's holed up in a structure. Not clear if he is alone.

So the question is... when he was on the roof in plain sight, why didn't was he shot with a tranquilizer gun right away? They do this with bears and cougars. I know he's a human and he might break some bones falling off a roof, but now he's off the roof and holed up.

How come the police allowed this to happen? How was he allowed to come down off the roof and possibly further endanger the public? The news report now is he's inside a house. Residents in the neighborhood are now stuck in their house.

They should have tranquilized him with a dart gun when they had a chance!

Lucky there were no people in the house he broke into, would have been a hostage situation. They should have taken him down while he was on the roof in plain sight. You can thank all the Democrats for making us a nation of pu**ies. If the police would have shot him up on the roof, you can bet all the liberals would have come out crying he was posing no threat at the time and did not fire his weapon at anyone, then his family would have sued and claimed it was racism since he is Hispanic etc....this country and especially this state has become a PC wasteland. You lead police on a high speed chase where you endanger innocent people all around you breaking numerous laws, you brandish an assault rifle in the middle of a city street, you trespass on private property with said assault rifle...you deserve to be shot.

[timtemtym]

Originally Posted by Ceece

Arm chair quarterbacking is fun and makes us feel smart.

Excellent!


Also, to the OP, if you watched it live, the police weren't caught up to him otherwise they would have nabbed him when he got out of his car, stood there for a minute, reloaded his gun, and got something out of his backseat. Then he was running aimlessly down the street. The scene was covered by helicopters and I'm not sure why he got on the roof at all. He should have gone tree to tree to escape the copters.

[DewDropInn]

Originally Posted by Lovehound

This topic is headed off into LaLa land. Animal Control Officers are called to deal with animals.

I was addressing the bears and cougars issue.

Next time I'll enunciate clearly so the people in the cheap seats don't get confused.

[Gurbie]

Code 4, one in custody.

Perp held out till the first gas charges flew, so he can hold his head up in the yard when he gets to prison.