I don’t really have much to say on the subject except….
When our security people spend 3 days asking a gathering to disperse.
and
when they fire tear gas and use water cannon to disperse the throng
and
when they resort to rubber bullets in an attempt to get them to move
and
then one (or more) of them fires live rounds at the police
what is expected?
I have yet to hear the order to “open fire’ or “fire at will”, I’ve heard the “ceasefire” command (actually “stop firing”)
Did they panic? Was it the strategy? Was there a plan?
I’m just absolutely delighted that our law enforcement officers stood firm.
Boadicea's Chariot 
HI Soutie.
No problem either with their actions. What else could they have done in the circumstances?
I do worry about Malema. He seems to be a seriously loose cannon. I hope that he has no future in your wonderful country.
Howzit JM
It’s a massive event, not the first and certainly won’t be the last, I very rarely post or comment on happenings down here but the coverage on SKY and the BBC are driving me nuts 😦
Malema is quickly being marginalised, I’m not at all concerned.
Soutie, having been stood firm on the receiving end more than once, my sympathies lie entirely with your LEOs in this case.
Heard on Canadian radio that the miners fired first and that they had hacked to death a couple of police two days earlier.
Independent UK witness said they saw the miners fire the first shot on the latest incident.
Hello Bravo
Rocks and hard places, thanks for your comment
Hi Mrs O
Your Canadian report is I think pretty accurate.
The ‘protest’ had been simmering for over a week, it is of course tragic that people lost their lives but I’m sure that the decision made weren’t taken lightly.
The problem with many “news” outlets is that they allow their biases to get ahead of their respect for veracity. The police behaved with a great deal of constraint, all things considered.
So many people were killed. Was that inevitable, do you think?
The story here focussed on the wives not being told if their husbands were among the killed and that they were searching the hospitals to try and find out the truth.