Policeman fires at fleeing suspect in car

Throughout the entire article I was thinking the police were irresponsibly discharging a gun...then I read the last sentence. Start with THAT! holy cow, and I used to live near Okubo....

The last part of this article needs to be re-inserted to near the top. It is a big piece of information to why the officer fired.

A way too heavy handed approach.

@ Stewart I don't see it that way. The driver was obviously wielding a deadly weapon and had already attempted to murder an officer. The very definition of justifiable force.

So the policeman gets pinned by the legs and some people feel a couple of shots are an overreaction? Meanwhile on planet earth.

The folks arrested in this little caper are lucky that the rule of law hold sway in Japan in relative terms. Indeed, I can think of a couple of countries where attempting to murder a cop while escaping would lead to the apprehended assailant being taken to a nice quiet spot and......

I suppose it is all a case of perspective. The woman carrying some drugs might have ended up with a minor conviction and a fine. Now Bozo the clown has put her in the frame as a accessory to attempted murder, the intended victim being a rozzer to boot. Isn't it great to have such good friends :(

Steward Gale:

" A way too heavy handed approach. "

Did you read the whole article, or just the headline? The driver did not just drive away, he tried to kill one or both of the cops too. Absolutely not too heavy handed.

In that split second when they have to decide whether or not to shoot, the police officers are taught that a moral criteria is more important than a legal one.

Amazing skill to hit the crim as he tried to escape. Luckily neither cop was killed!

'Badge213' The last part of this article needs to be re-inserted to near the top. It is a big piece of information to why the officer fired.

Agreed and the sensationalism that the writer was going for would stay intact if not sound better that the cops had to shoot a driver after that driver attempted to kill one of them and flee.

JP "Policeman fires at fleeing suspect in car"

"Fuji reported that the second policeman involved in the incident sustained injuries as the suspect backed his car into him, pinning him between the vehicle and a telephone pole."

GOOD JOB!

LAPD would have blasted them soon as they made an erratic move-they would not have been able to drive off...and thats the big diffeence between JP cops and LAPD...

I read the whole article, and I am totally confused as to what happened. It reads like a bunch of snippets from different, but similar incidents. Did the cops just walk up to the car and it suddenly pulled away, or did it pin an officer first? Did it pull away, hit a car, get stuck, then back up to get unstuck, then pin the officer? At what point exactly did the officer start shooting? Because shooting at people can make them to things like back into you!

And did they run because of "narcotics"? Is that an accurate translation? Because I think according to the law here marijuana is called a narcotic. Imagine if people were free to do with their own bodies and minds as they pleased. This would have never happened!

The driver will be charged with attempted murder and resisting arrest after he recovers from his wounds, police said.

Classic, they drove away then jumped into a taxi and then the officer began to shot blindly.

Japan is a nation full of cameras and these criminal masterminds jumped into a taxi. Hello, super sleuths, even taxi's have camera's. So why the heck did this officer discharge his weapon?

Did he think the fleeing culprits were a danger to his life or did he lose his cool and go Rambo?

Take the weapon away from this gung ho Rambo wannabe and have him ride a desk for a long time.

@JoeBigs

If it were you being pinned between the car and pole would you then say thank you to the officer who used his weapon or thrash him for doing his job in saving you?

I believe this is the third article I read this year involving a police shooting at a fleeing vehicle, and each case there was an injured fellow police officer. Once again, if you use a vehicle as the weapon against the police in Japan, they will shoot you.

@JoeBigs Maybe you need to read the full article. The officer did not being to shoot blindly. The officers were approaching the suspect's car, the suspect saw the police and tried to escape, during the escape attemped he ramed his car into one police officer who was pinned between the car and a telephone poll, the car began hitting other cars in the area putting other people in danger. It is all written in the article. The car was a deadly weapon and this is definitely a justified shooting. Don't know how you concluded it was shooting blindly.

Better than being fired at by an oncoming car!

The headline confused me as the policemen is the culprit..shoot out is very rare in tokyo though!

I wish the police a speedy recovery and feel it is a great shame that society produces such vile individuals as the getaway driver. I wonder if that scum and accompanying woman are connected to the yakuza? If the driver was seriously injured, he would experience an almost certain risk of serious infection as is usually the case with gun shot wounds left untreated. Unless he has the gang connection or a ton of cash, his avoiding hospital to save getting caught will hopefully ensure he does not repeat his crime and even more ideally, cease to be.

say what you will, at least hes a good marksman

Fuji reported that the second policeman involved in the incident sustained injuries as the suspect backed his car into him, pinning him between the vehicle and a telephone pole.

Good reason to discharge a weapon.....

I cannot stress enough how we simply don't know when or why the cop fired his weapon. Yet so many assume in favor of the cop. Why?

Sounds like some fancy shooting. The dude's a good shot.

lol exactly what HonestBloke says. By definition marijuana is a narcotic. Can't imagine being shot at for smoking a joint...

Wow - the officer managed to wound the driver, miss the passenger, all while armed with that little pop gun the J-Police carry, while under duress - outstanding marksmanship - exemplary control!