Chatting Over Amok

 I sat last night...half asleep with the German news on.

So scene comes up....some German church under renovation....lot of fencing around to prevent entry, and there is some 'amok-guy'.

Typically by amok....you basically say that the guy is either blitzed on drugs, or plain-crazy, and cranking up some threat against people on the street.  Typically, they have a knife or hammer in their possession.

In this case, he'd grabbed a pole....you know....the type you'd have for parking posts.  He was waving this around....left and right.

Most folks had noticed the guy, and backed off.  Polizei had been called, and had arrived.

I'd say from the camera angle....probably six cops.

Here was the amok-guy waving the sign-post....it was definitely a pain for him to swing it in any serious fashion.  I'd be guessing the weight in the 30-lb pound range. (13.5 kg).  The guy wasn't that fit....at least that was my view.  

The cops?  Well....they seemed to be bunched up....staying within 8 meters of the guy (25 ft).

I just looked at it....you just needed one guy there....keeping the guy occupied and keeping him swinging the post, and in eight-to-ten minutes....he would have been tired out and dropped the stupid post.

Well....no, they didn't get that smart. 

The amok-guy felt like he needed to rush them, and pistols came out....one cop fired....killing the amok-guy.

There will be some investigation, and words written that the shooting was OK, and there's one less amok-guy for the locals to worry about. 

Back in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s.....I just don't remember 'amok' ever being uttered much.  There might have been crazy soccer fans in drunken fights, or some terror 'kids', or bar-fights with blood drawn.....but you never seemed to have guys in such a fit that the police needed to shoot them.  

Course, I'll get lectured on this....times evolve and people change.  Maybe there is some logic....the more you shoot....the less you have to deal with housing or guarding the amok-guys.