He claims his comments were taken out of context.

Understandably, people have been furious after the release of bodycam footage of a Seattle police officer talking flippantly about a dead pedestrian who was hit by a police car. The deceased woman’s family has condemned the officer and we understand why. But in an interesting wrinkle, the officer says his comments were taken out of context.

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As detailed out by Fox News and local NPR affiliate KNKX, the cop says he was speaking with his colleagues about his frustrations concerning how city attorneys handle such cases. We’ve been in court and heard lawyers discuss such things – they’re shockingly matter-of-face in their valuation of human life. The same thing goes on with boards that decide who gets donor organs. It’s sometimes shocking how the world runs.

So we can see this as a tremendous frustration for police after they’ve been first on the scene of a horrific death and maybe even helped scrape human flesh and bone off pavement. Cops carry a tremendous burden. Most we’ve known personally have quite a dark sense of humor and it’s no wonder why.

The officer said he was speaking like a city attorney, being dismissive about the value of the 23-year-old woman’s life. Reportedly, someone overheard him, voiced their concerns, and so the police department released the bodycam footage in the name of transparency.

But people in their outrage haven’t wanted to hear the context of the comments. The sad part is the very thing they’re accusing this officer of doing – being callous and uncaring – is exactly what the officer was frustrated with when it comes to the city attorneys. After all, he’s had to deal with the deaths firsthand, he’s had to carry that home with him. For the lawyers, it’s a philosophical exercise in court or over the negotiation table, not a life they saw snuffed out too soon.

But plenty of people are calling for this officer to be put on leave, if not fired. Rushing to judgment while flying into a rage usually leads to the wrong conclusions. And this stands to erode trust in and funding for Seattle Police Department yet again at a time when crime is quite frankly out of control.