'deputy Is A Coward'

[Islay]

To quote Trump the deputy that did not wade into the recent high school shoot 'is at the least a disgrace at the worst a coward'
Now I have recently been watching a series of programs investigating the mass shootings in America and all the trained professionals on there stat that you should not enter as an individual but wait until there are at least 3 armed trained professionals.
So is Trump right is the deputy a coward or a disgrace or did he do the right thing?
The man has now resigned and is being slated by the President - I cannot think what that poor man is going through at them moment.
What are your thoughts please?

[Jackdaw33]

Both a coward and a disgrace. He didn't do the job he was paid to do.

[Tilly2]

So waiting for back-up was what he was doing, as he had been trained to do?

[tamborine]

If it was one on one, dep shouldda waded in to save other lives.

[wolf63]

It was all over in a matter of minutes - I am not sure what Trump thought the deputy could have done.

Trump is a bully and this is the worse case of bullying that I can imagine. Maybe T should have waited for the facts before condemning the deputy to a life of being hated.

[Islay]

OK but how was he supposed to go up against a heavily armed gunman armed with only a handgun?
He had over 30 years experience - can we not put it down to the fact that he knew what he was doing - wait for the swat team?

[BAKERS DOZEN]

Trump is the coward trying to deflect the news away from himself and his government. Despicable man.

[Tilly2]

I can't see the point of having only one armed guard if that one armed guard can't do anything until others arrive.

[Islay]

The deputy apparently took cover and waited for 4 full minutes until the armed unit turned up.

[Deskdiary]

It's not just Trump, the Sheriff called him a coward as well.

If you're required to wait until there's back-up then it begs the question of what's the point of having a single deputy.

[Islay]

Tilly there has been a very good program call Shooting America on for the last 6 weeks, and in every occasion the Swat team has said that if there is an armed single policeman that they should wait until there is properly trained back up.
By properly trained I mean those trained in dealing with mad shooters.

[Islay]

Yes the Sheriff did, but this is more about Trump going on national TV and slating him.
I don't believe that it is proper for a President to make comments like this.

[Jackdaw33]

It was all over in a matter of minutes - I am not sure what Trump thought the deputy could have done.

He could have shot the guy.

[chrissa1]

I take the point that he was waiting for back up, but surely he had the advantage of being able to pick the point when to open fire on the bad guy.

[Jackdaw33]

Precisely, Chrissa.

[Islay]

From my point he had no idea how many shooters were actually in the school so given that there could have been more should he still have gone in?

[Tilly2]

If his training told him to wait, he did the correct thing in the circumstances.

[Jackdaw33]

"If his training told him to wait..."

Meanwhile people die. Is this yet another example of 'elf'n saftey?

[ToraToraTora]

probably did the right thing by the book but really he should have gone in a saved lives, sounds like he bottled it.

[Tilly2]

We have no idea whether he knew how many gunmen there were or whether he could see what was going on.

It's easy for us to sit behind a computer saying, 'He should have'....whatever. We weren't there.

[ducksie]

I think Trump calling the deputy a coward makes the deputy a scapegoat and takes the heat off the rights and wrongs of too many guns in America, if he was waiting for back up as trained and in 90 seconds not knowing what exactly was going on, like one or more shooters, I don't think he was a coward no more than I think teachers being trained to shoot students wielding guns is a good idea, the world for Trump is very black and white, there's no grey area. The Deputy had a gov't issue pistol, the shooter I believe had a machine gun or more, I don't think the deputy could have done much to save anyone in the circumstances. If anything he probably would be one of the ones we be saying 'so many students, teachers and a police officer were killed'.