The Law of Unintended Consequences: LE Lethal Force Edition
Below is a comment I left on Eugyppius’ open thread on the (most recent) ICE shooting in Minneapolis.
Most of the commentary on this shooting, and the previous (good) Good shooting dilates on frame-by-frame “analysis” of the event. This is utterly pointless. Life-and-death decisions do not play out frame-by-frame. Humans react under stress in real time to circumstances. “Let’s go to the videotape” a la Warner Wolf is not an option for cops in real time.
The real issue is: Why did those circumstances come to pass? The point of my comment is that these circumstances came to pass in Minneapolis primarily as the result of a (presumably) well-intended change in policing that has led to more body contact between police and those they are trying to arrest or subdue.
Specifically, the severe constraint on the use of intermediate force–e.g., a whack upside the head with a nightstick–has led to conditions in which escalation to lethal force is more likely.
The law of unintended consequences is inescapable.
The comment:
This shooting occurred during a wrestling match to subdue a belligerent individual. That it came to that is due to a change in US policing that is not widely recognized.
If you look at many recent videos you will note that attempts to arrest or subdue individuals involve such scrums, often involving several officers. Frequently the arrestee is a woman, yet she still requires several male officers to subdue.
This would never have been the case back in the day. In the past, LE carried nightsticks/billy clubs and/or big flashlights. If an individual resisted arrest or aggressively approached an officer, there were no wrestling matches. Instead, the officer would lay the offender out with a whack upside the head or across the kneecap.
Concerns about police brutality, culminating with the Rodney King episode, led to eliminating such uses of force.
The unintended consequence of this has been to increase wrestling matches with suspects. These are more likely to result in the use of deadly force, as was seen in Minneapolis. A cop wrestling with someone who has a weapon, or fears the suspect will seize his/her own weapon is more likely to resort to deadly force.
Moreover, knowledge that confronting a cop will result in a cracked skull or broken leg led people to be more reluctant to do so. Now, too many will think: “What’s the worst that can happen? I lose a wrestling match.” So confrontations become more likely.
By largely eliminating the use of intermediate force, the US has increased the odds that deadly force will be employed.
Is this the right tradeoff? I seriously doubt it. But this is not even part of the debate.
So don’t watch the video where the agents disarmed the guy and then shot him in the back ten times and instead we should just go back to the days when cops beat people with flashlights?
That’s certainly one take…
Comment by John Hall — January 25, 2026 @ 6:11 pm
THEY SHOT HIM REPEATEDLY WHILE LYING MOTIONLESS ON THE GROUND!
This is not some arcane discussion of police tactics. This is not some frame-by-frame marginal judgement call. As I said last time, Prof, as an outspoken academic, if you don’t like the taste of boot in your mouth, then you are running out of time to oppose it. If you keep making excuses for it, keep cheering it on, you are going to find the Overton window coming for you with alarming speed…
Comment by HibernoFrog — January 26, 2026 @ 5:40 am
As Raylen Givens, “if you wanted shot in front, you come at me, not run”. Yes, TV bravado
Comment by The Pilot — January 26, 2026 @ 8:58 am
Fucking outrageous. The ICE thugs are out of control, pure and simple. Paint however you like, it was a gangland-style execution.
As for harking back to the good ol’ days, you do know striking someone on the head with a solid object can have lethal or life-changing consequences? You’re so far down the rabbit hole you’re beyond redemption.
Comment by David Mercer — January 26, 2026 @ 12:56 pm
The two Euroweanies, HibernoFrog and David Mercer, are just jealous that the USA has a government that is willing and able to round up and deport the criminals and illegal aliens who were allowed to enter the country by the same ‘elites’ who are responsible for Europe going down the toilet.
Comment by koshmap — January 26, 2026 @ 2:58 pm
Mercer the anti-ICE thugs chose violent confrontation and they got it.
Froggie stop making excuses for the anti-ICE thugs.
Comment by Michael van der Riet — January 27, 2026 @ 8:51 am
@koshmap: Yes, so jealous of the fact that my government isn’t using the excuse of deporting illegals to… checks notes… forcibly enter my home without a warrant in clear violation of the constitution because the president has issued an EO allowing it… So jealous… But hey, listen, if you’re happy with warrantless arrests in your home, and without due process once they have you, you go right on ahead and enjoy living in the United States of Iran.
@Michael: You must live in a very wonderful place when a nurse standing on the sidewalk protesting, or a friendly mother executing a 3-point turn at the direction of law enforcement, meets your definition of a thug.
@Prof: By the way, you describe “the severe constraint on the use of intermediate force”, as if you’ve never heard of a taser. Any chance you’re just trying to distract from the real issues here?
Comment by HibernoFrog — January 28, 2026 @ 3:53 am
Froggie: The legal requirement to obtain a warrant is meaningless if, as happened under the Biden Administration, the FBI can obtain a warrant to search in the underwear drawer of the wife of the former President because of some bogus claims about mishandling of documents of which Biden himself was also guilty (though not prosecuted for, as Biden was judged to be mentally incompetent by the investigator). I’m far more concerned about the government forcibly entering my home, with or without a warrant, under any leftist (i.e. Democratic) government than under the current government, because the Democratic Party treats illegals better than the citizens of this country like me. And I don’t give a crap about due process for, or the rights of, people who entered this country illegally, especially if they committed crimes after entering, as the majority of individuals who have been rounded up by ICE have done.
Comment by koshmap — January 28, 2026 @ 7:23 pm
Since learning about the concept of an ‘Idiot Plot’ recently, I’m starting to see them everywhere. And the ICE-illegals-AWFLs kerfuffles fit the bill for me.
‘In literary criticism, an idiot plot is one which is “kept in motion solely by virtue of the fact that everybody involved is an idiot”,and where the story would quickly end, or possibly not even happen, if this were not the case. It is a narrative where its conflict comes from characters not recognizing, or not being told, key information that would resolve the conflict, often because of plot contrivance. The only thing that prevents the conflict’s resolution is the character’s constant avoidance or obliviousness of it throughout the plot, even if it was already obvious to the viewer, so the characters are all “idiots” in that they are too obtuse to simply resolve the conflict immediately.’
The ‘key information’ that would resolve the problem is, for the lefties, making it legal for anyone to come into the country anytime, anywhere (essentially dissolving the border de jure, which they tried to de facto under the Autopen), and for MAGA, making it illegal, on pain of a 20-year stretch, to employ, house, or in any way provide aid and comfort to an illegal immigrant, supplemented by extensive housing and care for these illegals while they wait for the first plane home.
Whilever the Idiot Plot continues, people are going to get hurt and killed.
It’s up to you America.
My consulting firm won’t invoice for this one. You’re welcome.
Comment by Ex-Global Super-Regulator on Lunch Break — January 28, 2026 @ 11:57 pm
@koshmap: Obvious troll is obvious.
Biden wasn’t prosecuted for mishandling of documents because he reported himself for the crime, returned the documents promptly, and co-operated with the investigation. Trump did none of those things.
“I’m far more concerned about the government forcibly entering my home, with or without a warrant, under any leftist … government”
So it’s totally OK for the Republicans to ignore the constitution because you trust them? You don’t foresee any long-term issues arising from making that standard policy in the US? Say, when the Democrats are in power again and the precedent has been set that the 4th amendment doesn’t matter?
“And I don’t give a crap about due process for, or the rights of, people who entered this country illegally”
Again, you are bending over for a tyrannical government. Maybe you don’t believe it’s this one, and fair enough, there are worse governments in the world. But even this government has arrested and/or deported citizens – which is why due process exists for everybody! Otherwise any cop or bureaucrat could throw you out of the country and you’d get no chance to stop them. And what about a future government? You can’t possibly know what they’ll be like, but you’re relaxing the rules now because you find it expedient, but who’s to say whether a future government will use those new rules against you?
“especially if they committed crimes after entering, as the majority of individuals who have been rounded up by ICE have done”
Well now you’re just lying. ICE sometimes don’t even know WHERE they’ve put people, much less whether they have criminal records. And even if they do, they certainly haven’t told you.
But honestly, you are arguing so hard against your own interests that I no longer believe that you’re really American, or that you’re not just a bot/troll/agitator.
Comment by HibernoFrog — January 29, 2026 @ 5:51 am