Bad Guys With Guns And Cowards With Guns

The shooting at Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas has inspired another form of national controversy, this time revolving around the police officers who might have been able to stop the shooter and did nothing. It is currently believed that the police waited outside for over an hour as the shooter, Salvador Ramos, was inside the building killing children. The police also stopped parents from entering the building to save their kids, and they initially stopped the border patrol agent who killed Ramos from entering as well.

For the record, it is not as if their are not situations where police waiting outside as opposed to rushing in would be appropriate. If a hostage situation is occurring, for example, then obviously it would make sense to wait outside for negotiators to show up and think of a strategy as opposed to storming the building. However, if an active shooting is occurring — especially if we have no reason to believe the shooter could be stopped through any means other than arrest or death — the protocol is that police are supposed to enter the building the arrest the person.

It should also be noted what police in the United States are willing to storm a building over versus what they are not. Last year, Last Week Tonight did a segment on raids — with specific focus on no-knock raids and drug raids. In it, he discussed stories…