STUDENT WORK: Kyle Murphy’s op-ed in the the Sunday New York Times
Kyle K. Murphy, a former lieutenant in the New York Police Department, is a current M.S. student at the Columbia Journalism School. He has a major op-ed in Sunday’s New York Times about the Sean Bell shooting case.
Here’s how it begins:
The New York Times
April 27, 2008
Op-Ed Contributor
The Fear Behind the Badge
By KYLE K. MURPHY
THE first time I almost shot someone, I wasn’t that scared.
It was 1986, and my partner and I had responded to a report of a man waving a knife inside the Port Authority Bus Terminal. When we arrived, I saw the knife in the man’s outstretched arm. I drew my weapon, and I yelled at him to drop the knife. My partner began inching his way toward the man, pleading with him to put the knife down. I made up my mind that I was going to shoot if the man lunged toward us. My partner got close enough to swing his nightstick down on the man’s arm. The knife fell to the ground and we quickly handcuffed him.
Why wasn’t I scared? Because I could see the threat clearly; I knew what I was facing. There were plenty of other times during my 20-year police career, however, when I was afraid. Usually it was when I couldn’t clearly see a potential suspect and didn’t know if he had a weapon. For a police officer, if a suspect is ignoring your commands and you can’t see his hands, you will feel that your life is in danger.
Read the rest of the piece: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/opinion/27murphy.html
