"I have a couple of comments.
First, everyone who has taken a gun safety course knows that at fifteen feet or less, an assailant with a knife can usually approach and stab a victim before the victim can defend himself with a gun. Police are therefore taught to shoot under that circumstance.
Second, has anyone given thought to Laquan McDonald's intent when he pulled the knife from his pocket? Was he dropping it? Well, no. He still had it after he'd been shot. Was he eating an apple with it? Again, no. There was no apple. Whittling, perhaps? No. His intent was to stab a police officer with it.
I don't see grounds for a murder charge against the police officer. I'm not sure I see grounds for any allegation of wrongdoing. I only see a kid who clearly wanted to kill a copy and badly misjudged.
"
| 
