If one thing was affirmed in a recent report on incidents where Fairfax County police officers drew their weapons, it is that the job calls for split-second decision-making – and in most cases, police get it right.
The report by the county government’s independent police auditor looked at seven incidents between 2017 and 2020 in which officers pointed firearms at the public.
The auditor, Richard Schott, informed county leaders in a memorandum that, in one case, police went beyond what he deemed reasonable behavior.
In another instance, a procedural error (not reporting that a weapon had been pointed in the direction of the public) was noted in the report.
But for the most part, the report sided with officers, saying that they acted reasonably given the circumstances involved in the various cases.
We doubt we’re always going to agree all the time with newish Fairfax Supervisor Jimmy Bierman (D-Dranesville), who previously chaired the county’s Police Civilian Review Panel, but he is right when he told us: “I recommend reading this report to better understand what constitutes objectively reasonable pointing of a firearm and what does not in Fairfax County.”
It indeed would be a beneficial read – beneficial to those who think police can do no wrong, for those who think they can do no right, and for the rest of us who recognize it’s a tough job and not every decision is going to be perfect under the circumstances.
