On February 25, 2024 (Sunday), active duty U.S. Air Force member Aaron Bushnell set himself on fire outside of the Israeli embassy in D.C.

He did this as an immolation to protest the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, which Bushnell described as a “genocide.” (To provide further insight, on October 7, 2023, Hamas initiated a cross-border attack and killed 1,200 people in Israel as well as taking 253 folks hostage. In response, Israeli forces launched a military campaign in Gaza, which has resulted in nearly 30,000 deaths so far.)

After setting himself aflame, Bushnell repeatedly shouted “Free Palestine” several times before collapsing to the ground and eventually losing his life.

However, one thing that is quite apparent and easy to notice in the video recorded from the incident is what appears to be a law enforcement officer unwaveringly pointing his gun at Bushnell despite him being burned to death and appearing to be unconscious.

(What I believe to be) An EMS individual can even be heard saying “I don’t need guns. I need fire extinguishers!”, in response to the officer continuing to point their gun at Bushnell. My question is why did the police officer do that, and what was the reasoning/rationale behind that (if there is one)?

Could it be that the police officer was concerned that Bushnell could possibly hurt others if he happened to still be conscious? Hence the officer needing to keep his gun pointed at him in case he tried to hurt others? I am a graduate student studying education leadership and have never worked in law enforcement. I am genuinely curious and was wondering if there happened to be a reason for why the officer did what he did that most folks would not understand. Any insight to this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks-