Wanna bet what the result of this will be??

St. Paul cops shoot armed man - TwinCities.com:

"St. Paul police said they shot a man armed with a sword and knife Thursday when he wouldn't stop coming at them.
Donald William Gehl dropped to the ground, but police said he got back up and was still armed and threatening them, so they fired again.
Tim Nordstrom, Gehl's uncle, said the 27-year-old was unarmed when he got up and
was shot the second time.
Gehl, of St. Paul, was in critical condition Thursday at Regions Hospital but was expected to recover. He is schizophrenic and had previous dealings with police, Nordstrom said.
'They had no reason to shoot him,' said Nordstrom, who heard details of the incident from relatives at the scene. 'They knew he was mentally ill. I'm very upset about this. It's not right what they did.'"

Okay first--if the cops tell you go stay down--you fuckin' STAY DOWN!
second, if they shot him again, then one can assume he was shot a first time--yet the story said the Gehl "dropped to the ground" indicating he did it willingly.
third, the cops have the right to protect themselves...and no we are not talking about shooting them in the leg or arm (that's hollywood not reality)
fourth, the uncle is NOT a witness...everything he is saying is what he 'heard' or 'assumed'. There are have been some resent cases where witnesses say one thing happened but video/audio records show that just the opposite occured.

It also needs to be said that Mpls....St. Paul's sister city....has been known to settle such cases out of court, behind secrety-clauses on details, for mega bucks without even hearing the cops side of things....just because they want to look good.

I have a feeling that instead of looking at this as a mentally ill man who took himself off meds or who's family didn't get him into adequate care....it will be seen as "we need to outlaw swords!!!"

People the problem isn't the sword. There is already a law which covers this.

You can not walk down the street with a bare blade over 3". Now last I checked, swords are over 3 inches! Also, here is more from the uncle:

Nordstrom said Gehl had gone to the home with a ladder and a weapon, which he described as a machete. Gehl broke the front window, Nordstrom said, but he doesn't believe his nephew was trying to break in.

What? what do you mean he didn't intend to break in? What was he going to do...trim their bushes???? No way. he was there to do HARM. My Gods---what would you be saying if he had harmed or killed someone with that 'machete' (there is a big difference between a machete and a sword...about 2 foot!)?

Let me guess....it would have been the cops fault for not taking him in one of the other several times you had talked about? BTW, the story goes on to say the shot man (Gehl) didn't have a criminal record--this would mean that no the police did NOT have previous contact with him.

I've got to love this ----

After the first volley of gunshots, Gehl's brother ran out of the home and shouted at police, "He's mentally ill, he's mentally ill,"Nordstrom said

. Okay--so you know you have a mentally ill person in the house so you have swords and machete's there??????? Here's an idea--how about you DON"T have them. Who lives over there---Jason Myers?? Who has a machete where its easily obtainable?

Hey an actual witness who was there, sort of, that was quoted properly:

DeAnita Sparks, who lives nearby, said she heard two to three gunshots. Then, she heard a loud conversation or arguing and another gunshot. She went outside, walked to the corner and saw a young man on the ground, she said.
"I try not to always come outside when I hear shooting," Sparks said, but she did Thursday because she said it was unusual to hear daytime gunshots when it's cold outside...

This means that the cops used reasonable force. Her statement also indicates that gunfire in the neighborhood is not unusual--so the cops had reason to believe they would have been in eminent danger. Also....

The last shooting involving an officer in St. Paul happened in September, less than a mile from the site of Thursday's shooting. Officers fatally shot Donald "Donny" Gartner, 34, after he reportedly lunged at them with a knife.
In 2002, police fatally shot an emotionally disturbed 19-year-old, William Charles Hayek, in St. Paul after he wounded an officer with a replica of a samurai sword

. Yeah...I think they were reasonable in their assumption that they were in trouble that required extreme force.
I'm sorry...but cops have to think of their own safety first--then be concerned about whether someone is mentally ill or not.