Los Angeles Cops Delay Medical Aid to Their Shooting Victims
Police officers are trained to view people they’ve just shot as ongoing threats, so they routinely delay medical attention, the Los Angeles Times found in a review of nearly 50 LAPD shootings and hours of associated video.
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Los Angeles police officers, and cops around the country, are trained to view people they’ve just shot as ongoing threats, so they routinely wait several minutes before approaching those suspects, then focus on handcuffing and searching them, often delaying medical attention or taking no steps to give any until paramedics arrive, reports the Los Angeles Times. In a review of nearly 50 LAPD shootings and hours of associated video, the Times also found that those officers who failed to administer potentially life-saving aid after some shootings were not punished, despite a department policy requiring them to assist those injured if they are able.
The LAPD’s use of force policy dictates that officers are expected to “render aid” to people they have shot “to the extent of the officer’s training and experience” and “to the level of equipment available,” but it does not specify what steps officers must take to comply with the order, allowing police officers to respond in vastly different ways after shootings and police officials to judge those actions differently from case to case. In the more than 40 police shootings reviewed by the newspaper, none involved a person regaining consciousness or suddenly reaching for a weapon after being shot.
