A Stitch in Haste

The 19-month girl used as a human shield by her father while he shot at police was, as feared, killed by a police weapon.

Which does not change the fact that the girl was killed by her father and not by the police.

The girl's mother and other family members deserve our condolences, no doubt. But so too do the police. As LAPD Chief William Bratton noted:

"Some officers are going through therapy right now and I don't know if some will even come back."

They are victims and survivors in just as real a sense as the child's mother.

And for the idiot remark of the day, as part of the continued attempt to foment public unrest and lay the groundwork for future litigation, we have this moron:

"It's been cruel what's happened to my brother," German Pena said. "They didn't have any patience, none at all, knowing that my niece was with him, that he was a father. They should have acted with more patience."

I wonder how "patient" Uncle Pena would be if he were being shot at, for three hours, by a deranged hostage-taker. I also wonder whether our troops in Iraq are ordered to be "more patient" when they encounter enemy fire.

Meanwhile, the investigation continues.

UPDATE #1: More idiot remarks here.

UPDATE #2: The toddler had cocaine in her system. That certainly puts a new perspective on the incident and the lethal parent.