Exactly where did you hear that? All the LEOs were responding to was a burglar alarm. No "shots fired" call.

The shots that were fired were their own, when they arrived on the scene and saw an elderly man in his driveway holding a gun.

And I, for one, disagree with the thread title, but for another reason entirely.

Pigs are those cops who abuse their authority and carry an air of "I'm better than you" in discharging their duties.

The panicky little cowards who answered this call were just reacting like ... panicky little cowards. They didn't assess the scene, they didn't take cover, they didn't do anything other than start shooting -- across the street from where the alarm call was. They represent the other end of the spectrum of "those who shouldn't be cops," which spectrum naturally includes the pigs.

So it appears we must weather the "Rookie cop" period of time until they graduate to "experienced cop", whenever that is. Kinda like Microsoft using Microsoft customers as "software testers" to ferret out the bugs in their software.

Doesn't sound inviting I'll admit. And the solution is? Do we quintuple spending on cop training? Double officer pay? Should we require near proficiency in various martial arts so that they may achieve a much more pronounced sense of balance and calmness?

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Te futueo et caballum tuum

1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

think about this logically for a moment. When they answer a tripped home alarm call, do they take the time to study the blue print architectural drawings of the house so that they know entrances, exits, windows, etc. etc. before embarking? Do they know the psychological and sociological make up of the neighbors and the home owner(s)?? Do they know if the home owner has dogs or not? Do they know the home owner's criminal history? Perhaps the home owner is in the middle of a drug deal gone bad.....do the cops know about that? Let's suppose that the cops are in possession of the aforementioned information....are they well trained in how to handle such varied situations?

No wonder we see situations like the OP.

I never was comfortable calling cops Pigs or Soldiers Baby Killers.

Just because a few were does not make it fair to call them all that.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Did anyone apply that epithet to all cops, or just those who are as trigger-happy as a 15-year-old on a first date?

Do they shoot anybody who has a gun?

They will shoot anyone or any animal they deem to be a "threat" (notice the quotes). Normal standard operating procedure is post killing they are placed on paid administrative leave for a period of time pending an investigation into the shooting. In almost every case I've read about, the investigation returns a finding that "the shooting was justified". They really do have a LICENSE TO KILL.

It could be a good idea to avoid dieing for them.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

A different issue is who wants to be a Cop? The list must be extremely small.
A lot of X Military Combat Vets end up being Cops.
The Police Training may not be able to overcome the Military Training and the responses they developed to survive in Combat.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

There is another end of this no one has mentioned.

If someone woke up at Night with your Burglar Alarm Blaring. The grabbed their Gun and went out side to investigate and they see a Man with a Gun and shoot that Man.
It turns out that is was the Neighbor who was shot; the Neighbor went to investigate the Alarm.

Now a Person is more likely to recognize His Neighbor as not being a threat than the Police.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

On Grandpas side He likely grew up during at time when People did this sort of thing for their Neighbors.

At least He died doing something He thought was the right thing to do.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Instead of tazing Grandpa or allowing him to live by shooting him in the leg, the Cops showed supreme mercy by firing six bullets into his CHEST. That way, Grandpa didn't have to suffer. We can all feel good about that.

One would hope the cops could order him to drop his weapon while ready to shoot him if he instead made a move to raise it towards them. Experienced cops will probably do that. Word I read is that the cops in question were devastated by this. Their journey towards being experienced cops is underway.

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Te futueo et caballum tuum

1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

Isn't it nice that the rookies are able to gain valuable on the job experience by screwing up? And like my daddy always told me, there are mistakes and then there are mistakes. We aren't talking about failure to put enough gas into the cop car, no, what we are talking about is THE TAKING OF A MAN'S LIFE. The cop's lives go on, and as you say, their journey continues, OTH, GRANDPA IS DEAD.

Remember the Clint Eastwood movie, "Unforgiven"? At one point in the film, Clint's character comments about what it means to take a man's life.

The Schofield Kid:: [after killing a man for the first time] It don't seem real... how he ain't gonna never breathe again, ever... how he's dead. And the other one too. All on account of pulling a trigger.

Will Munny: It's a hell of a thing, killing a man. Take away all he's got and all he's ever gonna have.