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Comment by user111233 | Hacker News Reader

> wonder how a normal person won't get shot because they make some weird movement.

They do all the time. I saw a video where American police were yelling confusing instructions at a drunk guy clearly trying to do what they ask but unable to work out what they want and when he fell over they opened fire at him because he made a quick movement.

But its almost justified. I have seen videos where someone moves their arm just a bit and the police start shooting instantly before I even know what has happened and a gun falls out of the dead targets pocket.

Thats just what happens when any random stranger could be carrying a gun. Its almost unheard of for someone to be wrongly shot by police in Australia (Probably has happened but its no where near like America)

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> Thats just what happens when any random stranger could be carrying a gun.

I'm not so sure about that. Admittedly I haven't spent the time to do reliable research, but I get the distinct impression that fewer people here are actively carrying weapons today than in, say, the 1950s. Yet over time the police seem to have an increasing amount of military gear, generally seem more on edge when I encounter them in public, and it feels much more like an "Us vs Them" thing is going on. It also concerns me that I can't seem to identify a clear root cause for why that would be happening.

Can confirm. I've never felt in danger around an Australian police officer, despite the fact they're packing.

I reckon even if I did something stupid around them I'd probably get pepper sprayed rather than shot.

You wouldn't want to be mentally ill though. Two cases spring to mind where (young, inexperienced) police shot people without cause. In one case, at a large park, shot a youth, with no one nearby, because he had a $2 steak knife. In another case, in the person's home, where the police had forcefully entered because of a report they might have been suicidal.

That's really sad, and I don't doubt at all that these things happen, but they are so uncommon, even for the mentally ill, it just isn't something I'm worried about. I've actually been pretty impressed at how restrained QPS officers are with how they deal with drunk and psychotic people. I was involved in a fair bit of this while working as a doctor in ED, as well as while working in a psychiatric unit.

If I was going to be mentally ill, I think Australia would be towards the top of my list somewhere of places I'd want to be.

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