In the space of eight months, Philadelphia Police Officer Larry Shields twice made the decision to shoot.
The first time, Shields shot and wounded a man who he said had pointed a Glock at him in a North Philadelphia house. The wounded man has since sued the city, but he was arrested after the encounter and police Internal Affairs and the District Attorney's Office have backed Shields.
The second time, Shields fired upon an unarmed man in the victim's Southwest Philadelphia house.
This spring, the city paid the wounded man $2.5 million to settle a lawsuit, the biggest such payout in connection with a police shooting in at least a decade.
But again, the District Attorney's Office ruled it a justified shooting.
Too bad this dangerous cop wasn't disarmed the first time he shot someone who didn't need shootin'. Maybe after the third or fourth such incident they will. Pro-gun crybabies will be happy to know that around here we believe in equal treatment for reckless gun owners, cops as well as civilians.
