| Q&A for LAW ENFORCEMENT |
| Why Officers always shoot to kill but not just shoot in the leg of the suspect? |
| We aren't trained to shoot and kill, we are trained to stop the threat using whatever force is necessary under the use of force continuum. This means if I ask the suspect to drop the knife, and he complies with my order, the threat has been stopped. If he does not comply to my use of words, I escalate my level of force to his level. IF you have ever dealt with someone drunk, on drugs or both you would realize that these people often have a very high tolerance for pain because of what they have taken. OC pepper spray,and baton may not work. A shot to the leg may not work either. Shooting someone in the leg is not a reliable method of stopping them from agressive action. For that matter, neither is shooting them in the chest, but it is more reliable. The leg is a moving target that is easy to miss. That bullet that misses has to go somewhere. And also warning shots can go very wrong and hit an innocent bystander, or another cop. They are prohibited at most Departments that I am familiar with. Even the best trained officers are lousy shots in high stress situations. If you ask and officer to shoot somebody's leg in that situation, you're asking them to put the threat's life over the life of the officers as well as any bystanders that might get hit when the officers miss. Cops always have to make split second decision... put yourself in that situation and see how u handle it... If someone tries to make a move foward you with a knife or gun in their's hand,, hehe he or she doesn't want to give u a HELLO or smile,, they want to kill you badly....... |
| If someone breaks in my house, do i have the right to shoot them? |
| As a US citizen in your own home, you have the right to protect yourself, your family, and your property - whether or not you have any Law Enforcement training.... PERIOD! If someone breaks into your home, you have the right to do whatever you need to do to remove any danger to you/family/property. So, if you come downstairs, and see some piece of shit standing in your living room.... you must decide for yourself "does this person pose a threat to me/family"? If the answer is yes..... air them out! I don't care what anyone thinks... If I find someoneone in my house, I'm going to "eliminate the threat" first... and ask questions later. Remember, you have absolutely no idea what their intentions are. As far as you know, they are planning on killing you, raping your wife and daughters, and setting your home on fire. Now, in a "perfect world", a person would say "stop... let me see your hands... Freeze..... I'm calling the police". But, truth be told - that just invites the criminal to do whatever it means to get away. Now.... I'm not saying you should just start shooting.... but in the same sense... this person is in your home. This whole subject is touchy legally. In theory, you should be able to do whatever it takes "within reason" to protect yourself. Now, for the most part - if you're in your own home - shooting an intruder would not get you in trouble legally (I'm NOT A LAWYER - so don't take any of this as solid legal advice - I'm just going on personal knowledge from other incidents I've read/heard about). Of course you may be charged - especially if the criminal lives - and says that you shot them for no reason. Even you get no charge from the DA, but you have to be prepared to handle from Civil Court. Most of the time,, family of the suspect will try to get a lawyer and bring you into Civil Court to sue your ass for $10 mil or more... |
| MORE TO COME |