ANOTHER OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTING – AT 9:42 A.M. ET:  There's been another fatal shooting of a black man by a police officer.  The protests have begun.  From CNN:

El Cajon, California (CNN) A black man has died after police shot him in El Cajon, California, sparking protests in the suburb northeast of San Diego.

On Tuesday afternoon, El Cajon police responded to a 911 call regarding an African-American man in his 30s who reportedly was behaving "erratically" behind a restaurant at the Broadway Village Shopping Center, Lt. Rob Ransweiler said.

According to the call, the man was "not acting like himself" and had been walking in traffic in a manner that endangered himself and motorists, police Chief Jeff Davis said.

"When (officers) contacted him, he failed to comply with the directives that he was given," Ransweiler said.

Instead, Davis said the man kept his hands concealed in his pockets while pacing back and forth. As a second officer prepared a Taser, the man "rapidly drew an object," placed both hands on it "like you would be holding a firearm" and stood in a "shooting stance," according to police.

In response, one officer fired his gun at the man, while a second officer discharged his Taser, Davis said. It's not clear if the man was armed. According to Davis, investigators did not find a firearm at the scene of the shooting. Investigators did not say what object was found -- or if it was a weapon.

And...

In response to the shooting, CNN affiliate KUSI-TV said that about 200 people gathered Tuesday night near the scene in El Cajon, about 15 miles outside San Diego.

After El Cajon police held a news conference, protesters surrounded the entrance of the headquarters, carrying signs calling for an end to police brutality, KUSI reported. The crowd started to dwindle shortly after the news briefing.

COMMENT:  Once again, it is important to wait for the facts to come out, although I'm sure that will be too much of a requirement for CNN and like-minded "news" organizations. 

One thing I'd like to see discussed is the role of the Taser in these events.  Too many people think of the Taser as some kind of magic device that can prevent the need to use lethal force.  It is not.  It is a very uncertain device that only works part of the time.   It's useful in trying to stop an erratic subject who is no serious threat to the police.  It is not reliable as an ultimate self-defense weapon.

September 28,  2016