The part that gets me is that even if you stipulate that this man’s life was in jeopardy and that the driver’s actions justify using lethal force (which I don’t agree with, but just go with me for a second), his actions clearly did not make himself or anyone else safer. Just look at what happened to the car after he shot her, it swerved off out of control and rammed another car. It should be obvious that a car without a driver is much more unpredictable and dangerous that a car with a driver, so how can you believe that killing the driver was the appropriate response.
Even if you think he was justified in his use of force, everyone should be able to see that how he used force was at best inappropriate. Not being able to admit that is a sign that you’re letting your bias overrule what you’re seeing.
This is the most critical recent "code" development. In May 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Barnes v. Felix that courts must look at the "totality of circumstances" leading up to a shooting.
The Rule: If an officer recklessly steps in front of a vehicle (creating the danger themselves), a court can now rule that their subsequent use of force was unreasonable because they "precipitated" the threat.
Impact: This case effectively ended the "moment of threat" defense, where officers used to argue, "It doesn't matter how I got in front of the car; I shot because it was about to hit me." Now, the law says: "If you put yourself there unnecessarily, you are liable."
The cruelty is the point. They want to appear like strong-men dealing with criminals and the base goes along with it. In reality, they're quite weak and know this is very unpopular so they've dedicated press conferences along with the VPs time and the President's time to calling the victim a domestic terrorist.
He wasn't trying to keep anyone safe. He was trying to get revenge for being bumped with the car (which was his fault because he walked in front of it). She bumped me, so I shot her. People with this quick of a temper make great gestapo agents as they make sure the population knows not to mess with the gestapo.
Even if you think he was justified in his use of force, everyone should be able to see that how he used force was at best inappropriate. Not being able to admit that is a sign that you’re letting your bias overrule what you’re seeing.