Police lives are put at risk by a country awash in guns

[sharedvalues]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-off-duty-officer-shot-downtown-20180213-story.html

Chicago police commander gunned down pursuing a suspect

Cmdr. Paul Bauer, 53, was shot to death at the Thompson Center after chasing a man fleeing from tactical officers who tried to stop him, police officials said. Bauer confronted the man, who opened fire as the two struggled, killing the 31-year department veteran, according to police officials and other sources. Bauer had been in the area after attending “active shooter” training, which prepares officers for mass shootings. He also had a meeting with aldermen scheduled for later in the day.

Officers recovered a gun from the man, who was wearing a protective vest, according to a source.

Bauer, a married father of a 13-year-old daughter, is the first Chicago cop shot and killed since 2011, and he is the highest-ranking officer killed in decades.

The incident briefly pitched the heart of Chicago’s business and governmental district into turmoil

Some may wish to talk about the perpetrator's criminal history. Perhaps that is an issue that needs to be examined.

But an equal or bigger issue is that the perpetrator had a gun. Why did he have a gun? Because our country is awash in guns. For three main reasons:
- Gun manufacturers make money from guns and have bought the GOP.
- GOP politicians and propagandists have exploited guns to divide America to get votes for their pro-billionaire polities.
- Individual gun owners put their own hobby above people in America's cities getting killed by guns.




Here is the man killed.



RIP.