Drop That Chair!

Scene of the Crime - Coney Island

Today an Hispanic man was seen trying to break into a car outside a church in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York. When police responded to the call, the man picked up a wooden chair and started to swing it at them. They told him to drop it. He didn't. They shot him.

Did they overreact?

At first I thought that a chair is usually not used as a weapon, but then I thought about the electric chair that still sits on some states' death rows. So yes, you could be hurt by a chair.

In this case? Probably not. I mean, you're a police officer. You've got a gun. Your perp has a chair.

The assailant, who later died at a nearby hospital, had no identification on him, but he did have a cell phone. How is it that everyone has a cell phone, even the lowliest of car thieves?

Another day in the big city. More big questions.