Virginia Tech The media makes me sick

[marano35]

They are asking a lot of tough questions of the Virginia Tech police and everyone else on campus, looking for someone who wants to blame someone else for the actions of one crazy individual when they won't ask the tough questions of our politicians who get us into wars that kill many more of our people than this one nut did. As a cop I can say that there is no blame on anyone, police or otherwise for the outcome of this tradgedy. It simply could not be predicted, to say otherwise or blame anyone for the severity except the gunman is insane, INSANE. If you think otherwise you are INSANE. CNN is a fucking joke. I can't watch anymore. It is sad and will remain sad. I just as a cop, want to know why, as a cop, want what all cops want, to get to the truth no matter what it is, about why this guy did what he did.

[The Count]

1. There was a great movie called Sweet Hereafter"

http://imdb.com/title/tt0120255/
If you saw it, you know how people's lives can be destroyed even further by vultures like this.

[zulchzulu]

2. A belated Welcome to DU

I used to work for a TV station a while back in New Orleans. There was a LOT of crime (as now) and some of the reporters were just plain, complete dirtbags. One time, this reporter had the audacity to ask the completely inappropriate question "so how do you feel..." to a mother who lost her son in a shooting. She grabbed a piece of pipe near her and proceeded to try to beat the piss out of the reporter. The police decided not to charge her with assault after she told them what happened.

Reporters are looking at this story for a lead that can up their career path. The investigation should play out before anything gets released, but that won't happen with the way the media is today. They are probably already hiring actors to do the reenactment for ratings.

[Smarmie Doofus]

3. I hadn't thought of it exactly that way.

>>>the actions of one crazy individual when they won't ask the tough questions of our politicians who get us into wars that kill many more of our people than this one nut did.>>>

You're quite right. It's an amazing contradiction.

[Tin Man]

4. Cops will respond as they have been trained.

Unfortunately, there isn't any substantial training for these type events, because the events themselves are just too random, too unpredictable, too unusual - to justify practical, effective training (which means practicing your response in the most *realistic conditions*, and on *regular basis*).

Like most problems, the best solution - is prevention.

[marano35]

8. We do train for this situation

I just spent five hours at the range last Wednesday preparing for exactly this situation. My whole department is doing the same. We spent an hour and a half in the class room and the rest of the time on the range with live ammo practicing making a high risk entry to immediately immobilize an active shooter. We shot about 200 rounds of pistol ammo and shotgun rounds each during this training and put ourselves at risk by practicing moving and shooting in teams with live ammo. WE can train for the situation when it occurs, however we can not predict when and where it will occur. It was good training and I feel better prepared for having went through it. I can not say that all departments train this way, but my agency has at least given our trainers the option of training for unique situations such as what occurred at Virginia Tech today and also given us the lattitude to train in ways that while they are more risky for training represent a more realistic approach to the hazards of responding to this situation when and if it actually arrives.

[Tin Man]

10. But are you Virginia Tech Campus Police?

...I'll admit I'm only guessing here, although speaking as a Tech alum, I doubt that the Campus Police have trained for this type situation, because violent crime is almost non-existent on campus. But I imagine now, sadly, CP will be training regularly on response to hostage/terrorist situations.

I really believe the only failure by VT authorities was that they just couldn't envision, couldn't conceive that such an event was even remotely possible. And if you had asked me the odds yesterday, I would have said "one in a billion". But I suppose this is just another illustration of how fucked-up the world has become...

[marano35]

16. From the cell phone video

recorded by the student it appeared that the police who were responding had the same training. First they arrived while the shooting was taking place(active shooter) they assembled in a small four to five man team. They left an officer behind to direct additional help as it arrived, and they were making entry to the building as the video ended. These things don't last long start to finish and they may have saved additional lives by their response. By acting as quickly as they did they may have forced the end for the gunman sooner than he would have ended it had they not been approaching.

[bdamomma]

5. the media is like a shark fest, it just never stops huh?

too much death and destruction on all fronts, I don't know what to say anymore. It has just got to stop.

[live love laugh]

15. The media lives for sensationalism now. Even serious tragedies like this are

exploited because they would rather focus on this than the truth about UhMerika. It's very sad. I told somebody the other day, that they or I could easily become tomorrow's national news story. That's how vulturous today's media is--they prey on the innocent and expose the personal lives of every day people while ignoring the heinous crimes of the rich and powerful. Andy Warhol's 15 minutes of fame have taken on a whole new meaning.

[0rganism]

6. Hey marano35 -- i have a couple questions for ya

For some reason, we don't get a lot of police (or at least people who say they're police) on this forum, so I like to ask questions when I can.

how would your department handle a situation like this, where one or maybe a couple murderers are on a rampage in a densely-populated public space with multiple buildings, such as a university district or a mall or a hospital?

in your professional opinion, do you think 2nd-amendment issues are raised by such situations, in any way?

if a legal gun user with concealed-carry had been shooting it out with the murderer at VT, in your opinion, would that have made law enforcement's job easier or harder?

If you don't want to get sucked into the gun debates that flare up around here periodically, I understand, but I am curious what a law enforcer's perspective on such matters would be.

[marano35]

9. I will try.

If you see my reply below, you will see how we train for this. We deploy small teams to go directly to the gun fire and neutralize the shooter.

The second amendment does not say what most people think it says, however I believe that law abiding citizens should be able to own and carry a weapon if they choose. The situation today does not raise much of a 2nd amendment issue with me. College students and professors don't have much reason to carry a gun as most other people don't. Contrary to popular belief, if you are behaving and not exposing yourself to bad people on a regular basis you have little need for a gun at hand at all times. Can it happen, yeah, can you get struck by lightning, yeah, the odds of you needing a gun are about the same in my opinion. Does it hurt to have one, no.

If a legal gun owner or illegal for that matter, was there that could keep his cool and use a gun to stop the guy....YEAHHHHHHH, save some lives, YEAHHHHHHHHH. As a cop and a human being YEAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

[0rganism]

11. thanks for the answers

and welcome to DU, btw -- it's nice to see your professional POV represented here.

[Cha]

13. Your last sentence was

my thought, too. And this is from a person who has never had a gun nor knows how to use one. I just hate people having to be so helpless in the onslaught of a madman.

Thanks for your comments on this tragedy.

[nealmhughes]

7. A former class mate is a faculty member there. Our alumni list server was all abuzz

until we found out that she didn't go into work today as a scheduled day off!
Anyone in academia knows that there but for the grace of God go our own X, Y or Z Halls.
I had a grad student who lived in my apt. building in 2000 go crazy over a bad seminar paper grade and set the building on fire. A year later another grad student set the building across the street on fire, then later that year, an undergrad attacked a professor in my building and had to be restrained by 5 men. I was nearly slapped by a freshman when I caught her plagiarizing and then the next year an undergrad held his ex-girlfriend and her new honey at gunpoint for an entire night and then stripped naked and jogged down my street and held the city at bay until he finally came out, after shooting up all his ammo out of the windows and then grabbed a pistol and shot a cop in the shoulder until they used the beanbag gun on him and subdued him. It took an entire SWAT team on my street, blocking traffic and sirens and lights and sirens until I realized that I was not hearing fire crackers down the street.
It is a crazy world, and the pressure of academic success, drug use, lost love, etc. in some young minds cannot handle the stress. Sucicide, fleeing in paranoia, who knows what happens unless an atrocity occurs?
I feel sorry for the kids who need help, especially when it is there and free at every campus in the country, but I lament the potential loss of being able to easily walk into any office or library I wish at will, sit in on a lecture or eat lunch at the student union at will.
This is just amazing, but not too surprising to academics. Hate to say it, but after a couple of semesters you always have an eye out for that one guy who looks a little wild eyed and takes exception to a grade or a lecture point a bit too pointedly.

[wtmusic]

12. People are incapable of accepting the randomness of situations like this

so they start casting blame -- immediately and irresponsibly. There may be some degree of blame, but it's gonna be awhile before anyone knows exactly what happened.

[seabeyond]

14. right here today,.. i am so anti cop(sorry, not to hurt feeling, to make a point)

for my own reasons and how i see things today (today as in this period of time), i have been so angry at police.... BUT i see the responses on here about the event and gotta gotta find someone to blame. and i am right there with you. the blame is the murdering ashole. that is the blame. to say the cops should have in anyway predicted mass murder by two deaths in a room is outrageously shorted sighted of people. and it really bothers me. bothers me right there, with what i am bothered with the police about.

the blame is the killer

people are looking for blame so they can say,.... with proper care this can be avoided, prevented. doesnt have to happen. we can be safe. harm not come our way.

but shit happens. it is what we do with the shit after it happens that matters.

it is an illusion to believe we can be safe, avoiding these events. there was no reason for cops to say two murdered in a room = mass murder.

i am right there on law enforcement side, and i havent been in a long while.

[6000eliot]

17. They have their angle, and that's all that matters to them.

This is all you'll hear on the news for weeks now. If only they had asked idiot boy and his administration these kinds of questions before the start of the Iraq war. Some moron wanted them to call in the Homeland Security people after the first shooting! I think I may be too cynical. I keep wondering who will show up first, the attorneys or the "grief counselors." The media is going to victimize these poor people all over again.