On Sunday, an unarmed 20-year-old Black man was shot and killed by a local police officer during a traffic stop outside Minneapolis.
The officer and police chief both called this an error: The officer meant to reach for her taser, but pulled out the gun and fired a single bullet instead. They called this "an accidental discharge."
After the fact, it's easy to say, we shouldn't have done something--that it was a mistake. The problem is some mistakes are minor, and some are life-changing, or in this case, life-extinguishing.
The officer involved resigned from the force and has been charged with manslaughter. The fact that she made a mistake doesn't change the outcome. Why was she even reaching for a taser anyway? Was that necessary?
Accidents have consequences. A drunk driver who hits a pedestrian likely did this by mistake (we hope!)--but the pedestrian is still dead and the driver will still face manslaughter charges.
The time to consider the consequences of our actions is before we take them--not after. Thinking through potential courses of action in stressful situations allows us to keep our wits about us and act in a way that is less likely to cause a negative result. The reason "Sully" Sullenberger could safely land a damaged plane on the Hudson is because his training included that unlikely scenario.
Shooting first and asking questions later is always a bad idea--whether we're talking about bullets or business decisions. And that's no accident.
Contact me to find out how you can get heard above the noise--even in a crisis situation.