Much noise has been made about sky marshalls shooting an airline passenger who said he had a bomb and reached toward his backpack, which led marshalls to open fire.
Much of the criticism is unfounded.
The federal agents involved in this incident appear to have followed their training to the letter when they attempted to resolve the problem.
In the end, it didn't matter if there was a bomb or not. The man created a disturbance on an aircraft filled with people, ignored lawful orders and instrutions, pushed his way off the aircraft and made a grab toward his backpack after disobeying instructions which would have saved his life. That backpack could have contained any number of weapons, including small bombs.
The only way to stop a suicide bomber from blowing himself up is, unfortunately, to kill him with a head shot. And law enforcement rules of engagement are clear. But the man just didn't listen and forced authorities to react to his aggression.
A TASER may not have worked and could have detonated an explosive device.
It's unfortunate that this passenger lost his life, but his wife should never have allowed him to come to the airport while he was off his medications. She should have told airline officials that he was off his meds IN ADVANCE. But she didn't. She'll probably sue for wrongful death, though she could have stopped this situation from happening as it did.
Some questions: was the backpack searched before he carried it on board? Did the sky marshalls talk to the person who (presumably) searched the pack? And can something like this be prevented in the future?
If one lesson is to be drawn from this unfortunate event, it's that airliners are no place for a person off their self-control medications to be.
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