I never imagined the first blog I posted would be to disagree with
John Piper. There is perhaps no one living that I have greater respect
for than Piper. His books occupy more space on my bookshelves than any
one single author. For years he has encouraged, strengthened,
convicted, enlightened, and fed me with biblical truth through his
sermons, articles, and books. As a matter of fact, I am currently on my
second read through of Future Grace. Therefore, what I have to say is in no way intended to disrespect Pastor John.
However,
as a Christian, former Marine, and current police officer, I felt
compelled to say something after reading Piper's article "Power, Police,
and Another Shooting"
(http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/power-police-and-another-shooting).
After viewing the video footage that came out of the recent St. Louis
shooting, where two police officers shot and killed a man armed with a
knife, Piper wrote an article asking two questions- "Are we putting
appropriate restraints on the possible misuses of power? And are we
pursuing every means available for subduing threatening people without
killing them?"
First, let me say
that I think Piper handled the situation very well (especially in light
of how poorly I think many Christian leaders seem to be handling the
Furguson, MO incident). He went out of his way to show that he does not
have any suspicion of police officers and even went as far as to praise
his local law enforcement. I also think his questions are perfectly
right for anyone, law enforcement or not, to ask. I agree with him that
the human heart is depraved and those in power face an inevitable
temptation to abuse that power. This thinking is not only biblical,
it's American. It's why our government is structured the way it is (our
first independent government, the Articles of Confederation, did not
even have an executive branch); we are suspicious of any one person
getting too much power.
I
also agree with asking the question of whether or not we are pursuing
every means available for subduing threatening people without killing
them. No one wants unnecessary bloodshed. My issue is that, by the way
he wrote the article, it seems that Piper would answer no to both of
these questions. He seemed to think that the police officers who shot
the man armed with a knife should have done more to stop the threat
without killing the aggressor, and he implied that these officers abused
their power when they killed the man armed with a knife.
Now,
when it comes to spiritual combat, Piper is indeed an expert. He
wields the sword of the Spirit better than any in our day, and he has
been my trusted spiritual combat guide for years. However, as we all
know, expertise in one area does not guarantee expertise in another, and
Piper is not an expert in physical combat. Piper calls for a
re-examination of how police officers are trained, but what experience
with or knowledge of police training does he have? What does Piper know
of dealing with human aggression, as compared to those who deal with it
on a day-in, day-out basis? As a newcomer to spiritual combat might
not see the harm in a married man doing a little "harmless" flirting
with a co-worker, so a newcomer to physical combat might not recognize
the danger of a mentally unstable man with a knife feet away from police
officers.
Do Piper and those who
agree with him understand how quickly a man with a knife can bridge a
gap of twenty feet? Fifteen feet? Ten? Do they understand that the
most efficient and effective way to stop a threat is by placing your
bullets in the center mass of the person who is the threat, and if you
attempt any other route you greatly diminish the likelihood of stopping
the threat? Do they understand that even if several bullets make
contact with the threat, he may still be able to get close enough to use
his last remaining strength to plunge that knife into your neck? Do
they understand why you don't bring a less than lethal weapon to a knife
fight? Do they understand what happens physiologically to the human
body during a deadly force encounter? They might, but I doubt it.
Piper,
more than anyone, has taught me to think deeply about the world God has
made. There is more going on in the video than meets the eye. To
those unfamiliar with physical combat, it looks like a hasty kill. But
to those with eyes to see, who have had their powers of discernment
trained by constant practice distinguishing between good and evil when
it comes to deadly force encounters, these men were justified in killing
that man.
I get it. It is
extremely unfortunate that this man died. Doing police work in a fallen
world, as a fallen human being, is difficult. We don't know
everything. Maybe that man was bluffing and had no intention of killing
those police officers, but we don't know that, and neither did the two
cops who pulled the trigger. How close does a man with a knife have to
get to a police officer before the officer is justified in killing him
in the eyes of the public? I believe they were justified, and do not
believe it was an abuse of power.
While
I do not think that only those in law enforcement can criticize
situations like the shooting in St. Louis, I will say this: those who
have ideas about how deadly force encounters should be handled but who
do not work in law enforcement have the luxury of never staking their
lives on their ideas. They will never have to, as they say, put their
money where their mouth is. For police officers, this is not an
intellectual game. This is life and death. At some point our theory
becomes practice, and I want, and I know my family wants, the practice
that is most likely to bring me home at the end of the night.
