I know exactly how they feel. Same thing happened to me. Five years ago in Los Angeles. Their demeanor went from aggressive to apoplectic due to my careful methodical movements that seemed to anger them even more. I had multiple officers screaming conflicting orders as well. I was just trying to not be shot. Not one of them was listening to the other.
It was the most scared I've ever been because I just knew I was going to be shot, and shot so many times there would be no saving me.
By the time a fourth and fifth car arrived with new officers on the scene, things quieted down, and they went about actually checking things out. They had no plate numbers given in description, so it wasn't until the two suspects were actually apprehended about fifteen miles away that I was released. From beginning to end it took them 45 mins.
I was furious, but was careful not to share that. When I got back in my vehicle, they were all still acting as if I did something wrong, but I chalked that up to the amount of adrenaline they must have had.
A few things that need to be done.
There is NO single database that relates to officer shootings (or any other type of officer related events). Amazing, right? If someone wants to find out how many times an officer fires his weapon in duty, they would have to gather that information from every precinct they wished to include. Fingerprint database, sure, they have one. A database that would assist in seeing just how many times a shooting is justified versus unjustified, and to run a program that would highlight any unusual ratios, well, you have a lot of work ahead of you. A ton more transparency is needed. Anyone see the guy throwing rocks get shot by multiple officers? This has been out of hand for too long. (I'm not even going to start on why it is that small towns are getting armored attack vehicles)
The other thing is mentioned in the story. There is no standardized format from state to state for registrations. Sure, they have similar boxes, but an officer would have to memorize each and every nuance from each state (the "+" sign in the Bruins' case.) That too could be helped from an accessible database from within the patrol car.
I feel for them. I wish them the best. It's pretty tough to fight a city or state when there's been no serious injury or death.
