This is not a fairy tale with a clear villain and a moral at the bottom. It’s a messy human situation where several people made bad decisions in quick succession, and pretending otherwise doesn’t help anyone sleep better at night.
Driving a vehicle toward a law enforcement officer is not a symbolic gesture. A car is not a protest sign. It is a large metal object designed to move fast. Once you point it at someone on foot, intent becomes irrelevant very quickly.
That does not mean the officer’s actions are beyond criticism. Drawing a firearm early was almost certainly an escalation, and in a calmer, better world, different tools might have been used.
Unfortunately, the real world runs on adrenaline. In that moment, the officer had no way of knowing whether the driver was about to stop, reverse, flee, or try again.
Law enforcement officers are paid to deal with disorder, but that does not mean they are immune to danger or magically able to read minds.
When someone refuses to comply and turns a tense interaction into a mobile hazard, they introduce what might politely be called an “occupational risk,” and what less politely could be called a very predictable outcome.
Her “wife” did not help. Interference, confusion, and emotional escalation poured petrol on a situation that was already on fire.
It is possible, and necessary, to hold two thoughts at once - that officers should be held to high standards and scrutinised when force is used, and that civilians do not become blameless simply because they dislike authority. Protest does not come with diplomatic immunity.
If accountability is the goal, honesty is required. You cannot light the matches, complain about the smoke, and then act shocked when the fire alarm goes off.
responsibility’s can be shared, that bad outcomes often come from a series of poor choices, and that shouting “only one side is at fault” is easier than thinking.
I speak to someone whose dad was in the police for 35 years and died on this day five years ago. He was the calmest person I know. He had been shaking his head at the hand ringing on both sides.