Don’t Bring a Gun to a Snowball Fight

A plainclothes D.C. police officer driving his personal Hummer during the big snowstorm this weekend came under attack from a large group in the midst of a community snowball fight.  After the officer’s Hummer was struck by snowballs, he exited his vehicle, drew a handgun, and began an “dialog” with the young people throwing the snowballs.  The crowd was not impressed by the gun and responded by throwing more snowballs and chanting “Don’t bring a gun to a snowball fight.”

I can’t imagine any way that this guy could be justified in deploying his gun in this circumstance.

What would happen if you or I drew our legally carried handgun in such a circumstance?

While the police do have broader leeway in deploying deadly force – not that much leeway.

The full story hasn’t been told yet and we must reserve judgment until all of the facts are known, but so far there is little to support the officer’s actions.  The fact that this turned into a direct assault on a police officer, albeit a snowball assault, does not justify it because it only reached that point after the officer escalated and exacerbated the situation by exiting his vehicle and waving his gun around.

I’m a big supporter of the police.  I’ve even considered a law enforcement career myself, but I do not believe the police should receive a pass when they do something stupid – particularly if the stupidity involves firearms.  So far this looks like pure stupidity to me.