STOP OR I'LL SHOOT

Today's K-W Record has the following story "Boy,16. shot by police in Alberta". When I looked at the headline my first thought was well the average 16 year old, especially in winter clothes, probably looks as big as an adult and if he's holding a weapon, he's at great risk. After reading the article, the boy was driving a car and absolutely no mention of a weapon is made. Several years ago a police officer in Quebec shot a fleeing unarmed fourteen year old in the back. This article also states that the police officers involved were plain-clothes officers. Are you kidding me? If they were also in an unmarked car which seems both logical and possible as they weren't in uniform, then this gets weirder by the second. I've always understood that the only time a police officer can use deadly force is if their life or another citizen's life is in imminent peril. The article goes on to state that there will be an investigation by the Alberta Serious Injury Response Team, a body which investigates police incidents. This body sounds as if it is the Alberta counterpart to Ontario's S.I.U. (Special Investigations Unit). The S.I.U. here in Ontario has a well deserved reputation for its' inability to find police officers at fault in incidents involving serious citizen injury.