How does a police officer mistake a taser for a pistol?

Please stop with the resisting arrest.  That is irrelevant to my question.

EDIT:  Reported on the 6 PM news:  She had her pistol on one side and her gun on the other.  The pistol weighs twice as much as the taser. This post was edited by SpunkySenior at April 14, 2021 8:39 PM MDT

No, I will not stop. 
The root cause of all these shootings is resisting arrest. 

People make mistakes. Sadly, these mistakes resulted in a death. 
This officer will likely get some form of manslaughter. 

The root cause of most of these shootings is over-jealous zealous police officers who are poorly trained. This post was edited by SpunkySenior at April 13, 2021 4:58 PM MDT

No....every case is a suspect resisting arrest. And if they would just listen and comply...they would be alive now. 

Zealous...sorry, I don't usually do that.

Not a problem.  Randy PM'd me about it  Thanks. :)

I think if I was a black man in America I would resist arrest out of fear because I would know that there is a  good chance that I wouldn't be treated fairly and even if I do ever thing I am told I could be shot. Cheers!

That would be the wrong decision.  

Do you think people deserve to die for resisting arrest?

No, I do not.  But I do not think the officer should either.  And the officer has every right to defend him/herself and the other people around them. 

We have to decide if someone decides to resist arrest, what is the officer supposed to do.  
1. Just walk away and let the suspect go
2. Try to capture the suspect
3. What mistreatment is the officer supposed to put up with if the suspect is resisting. 

Too many officers die and are injured on the job. 

IF we want this to stop...people need to be taught from a young age that you do not ever fight the police.  It never goes well for you, because the officer has every right to defend him/herself  and others from you. Even if the officer is wrong...fight it in court. And make a report against the officer is they behaved improperly. 

If the person is not armed and not a danger to others or the police, then why do they need to be fatally shot? 

Resisting arrest is rarely a well-thought plan, it's a base reaction. Police need to be taught how to handle people who are resisting better. They also need to let certain things go and not escalate them just because they're frustrated or the person is being belligerent. 

Yes, if the person is armed and a danger to the cop or is trying to grab their gun, the cop has a right to defend themselves and use force. The cop also has a right to use non-deadly force to capture someone who is resisting. But there's no reason these deaths of unarmed men should be occurring. 

This last was fighting and trying to get into his car to drive off. (Which he did).  He easily could have drove over an officer or a bystander or crashed into another car (which he also did).  That is a life and death situation.

Your right they should not be happening...people need to stop resisting arrest. That is the 1 common thread in all of these incidents. 

Should they have let this criminal with an arrest warrant go? This post was edited by my2cents at April 13, 2021 5:00 PM MDT

The number one common thread in these incidents is that the police come upon Black drivers, guns at the ready, screaming commands at them and going ballistic when the person doesn't react to them immediately.  When was the last time you heard about a white driver being set upon by the police who then shot and killed him?  

Have you seen the average officer shoot?  There is a reason there are always multiple shots fired. 

Then you will agree that the problem is that the officers are poorly trained.  

Officers who are a good shot are put on SWAT.

This officer was also in a state of adrenalin taking over as they were actively fighting with this criminal. 
Nope. The problem is people resisting arrest. 
I cannot even think of a case where that was not the problem.  Can you? 

I couldn't agree more and this was not a rookie.  

The news reported that the pistol (I don't know if it was a Glock or some other make) was twice as heavy as the taser. This post was edited by SpunkySenior at April 14, 2021 7:33 AM MDT

Hard to shoot someone with a screwdriver.  Tasers and guns are worn on holsters on the waist.  I would imagine an officer always wears their gun on the same side so it would stand to reason that the taser is on the other side.  Your flat head and Phillips head screwdrivers may weigh the same.  The pistol weighs more than the taser.   This post was edited by SpunkySenior at April 13, 2021 5:02 PM MDT

It's hard to tighten a phillips screw with a taser also.
Let's keep the apples on one side and the oranges on the other.
I wear tools on a belt daily. I know where the screwdrivers, measuring tape, long nose pliers, knife, wire stripper, pencil, are; most of the time. Sometimes I have to look twice to grab the right tool. The difference between my job and a cop's is, I don't work under spilt second, under pressure, life changing dicisions.

Show your hands, show ID, obey directions, and you'll be OK.