Monday, May 12, 2014

"Texas Police Officer Defends Shooting a 93-Year-Old Woman" - Camille Farrar

            Last week, officer Stephen Stem shot 93-year-old Pearlie Golden in her home due to the fact that she was brandishing a weapon. Stem purportedly asked Golden to put the handgun down at least three times before he began firing. He shot three times and hit Golden twice. Golden was then taken to a hospital where she died shortly after. Stem had gone to the house due to the fact that the police department received a phone call from someone they believe to be a relation of Golden. After the shooting, Stem was dismissed from the police force after the shooting but is fighting this decision.
            It is very important that the police are allowed to go into a person’s home if there is reason to believe that that person has caused harm to others or is going to put others in danger. I believe Stem was in the right to go into Golden’s home to try to prevent anyone from becoming injured, but I think the shots were fired prematurely. As far as I have heard, Golden was not about to harm anyone, so I think Stem should have held off and refrained from firing at her. However, more details will have to become clear for a conclusive decision to be made in this situation.


1 comment:

  1. It's understandable that a policeman would draw their weapon if they felt threatened. If the officer asked the woman to put down her weapon multiple times and she didn't, he's technically allowed to fire his gun in defense. However, since the woman was so old there's clearly some controversy as to whether or not the officer's firing was justified or not.

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