MEMPHIS, Tenn. — “You can’t get by the fact that I have lost four officers in the last four years in the line of duty,” Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong said.
He is candid about the climate his officers face everyday.
“Young people have a tendency to react more violently than in years past,” he said.
His comments come on the heels of the Darrius Stewart shooting and questions about whether police officer Connor Schilling could have handled things differently before killing the 19-year-old who fought with him during an arrest.
“Aside from the Darrius Stewart case, this is a very difficult job. Our officers have to make split-second decisions that can result in life or death,” Armstrong said.
Often life-or-death situations become caught-on-camera moments, like in the Stewart case.
“Just like so many instances that we see, as opposed to getting involved and possibly stopping the incident from happening, they want to break out the video cameras. They are amassing on parking lots. They are sitting here watching this officer involved in an altercation with a young man, and they possibly could have prevented this from happening or someone from being killed,” Memphis Police Union President Mike Williams said.
“I wish the people who were videotaping, I wish somebody had gone and helped take him into custody. It happens in other places,” Pat Lovett, a retired Memphis police major, said.
So would you step in and offer assistance to help police?
“It depends ’cause guns don’t have eyes. If a gun is involved, I am getting out the way best way I can, weapons involved — anything can happen,” Roy Inmon of Memphis said.
“I would do my best to help in any situation that I could. I don’t know I would jump in the middle of it, but certainly try to get help, I wouldn’t pull out my camera to take a picture for certain,” Arlie Walters of Hernando said.
Many times citizens do get involved to help officers.
You will remember when Memphis Police Officer Sean Bolton was shot and killed earlier this year during a traffic stop, it was a citizen who picked up his radio and called for help, but police said so often the tendency for many is to first pick up the cellphone and hit record.
