Who decides the training criteria for individuals allowed to employ deadly force?

Question

Think about it. Our police are typically in the police academy for a period less than 6 months. In that time, every topic concerning police procedure is covered..Including the use of deadly force. How much time could an academy spend teaching these people how to employ deadly force. What do they do? Say, Ok Mr. Cop Wannabe..If someone threatens your life, and there is no alternative, shoot to kill? Even if the ENTIRE 6 months were devoted to the use of deadly force, would that be enough for John Q Lawguy to walk the streets with a gun? Doesn't it seem just WRONG that these people have deadly weapons put into their hands, with a minimal amount of training?

Jim--Hunters, shooters, and those with a concealed carry permit are not interacting with the public the way police are. And they are definatley not out with arrest powers looking for criminals the way police are. The issuse is not one of marksmanship or being as you say a proficient shooter.

Answer 1

They spend quite a lot of the time in the academy on things like that, but how long would you like them to study that one particular subject? How many times can you discuss one thing? Once the basics are laid out, you study the case law as to various situations that have occurred in other places and what effect those situations had on the application of the use of deadly force.

According to the United States Supreme Court, there are three things you need to establish before you are justified in using deadly force:

1. Ability - At this moment, does this person have the ability to kill me or someone else? I.E. - Does he have a gun/knife/other deadly weapon?

2. Opportunity - At this moment, does this person have the oppurtunity to kill me or someone else? I.E. - Is this person that has the gun/knife/other deadly weapon in a position that he could use it right now?

3. Jeopardy - Do I feel, based on the current totality of circumstances at this place and time, that this person is an imminent threat to my life or the life of someone else? I.E. - Do I think this person with the gun/knife/other deadly weapon is going to try to kill me or someone else?

If, and only if, the answer to all three of these questions is yes, then you are justified in using deadly force. If the answer to any of them is no, then you are not justified. And the rules are no different for police than they are for anyone else in the general public. If you do use deadly force, whether you are a cop or not, you better be able to explain your reasons for doing it.

Besides, according the the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, we all have the right to "walk the streets with a gun." How long do you think they train people before they give Joe Blow on the street a pistol permit? But you don't hear the police officers on here complaining that you didn't get enought training before we let you excercise your Second Amendment rights.

Answer 2

So a better question is,

How long do you think is adequate?

Ultimately, the use of deadly forces falls upon the rules of common sense. You don't need to be trained to know that if some guy confronts you on the street, you should defend yourself. Citizens do this on a daily basis. And many have had to use deadly force to preserve their own life, without being trained when to.

Now the topic of training is to develop accuracy and proficiency.

One cannot be trained on when to use a deadly force option. Because, the point at which you feel you need to escalate to such and the point at which I would could be totally different, based on our situations, physical capabilities and fitness and untold other factors.

Take for a moment, the events of 9/11. The passengers on flight 93 decided that they had to do something, and that was to use force against the terrorists and disable them, killing them if it came to this. They knew this was the only option. This was common sense for them. Not a result of training. Training would only have made them more proficient with weapons or skills, and not in decision making. Any reasonable person would have come to the same conclusion. So if you were on that plane and knew they were gonna crash it, you too, without any training would have known that the only recourse would have been to employ deadly force.

Police receive initial training, and then receive further training throughout their career, at least here in Canada, as it is mandated by our laws that govern policing and details the exact hours and forms of training to take place. No police officer is allowed to carry a firearm unless they prove themselves to have a level of proficiency with same.

In regards to minimal training, what about hunters, or simply gun enthusiasts who simply enjoy firearms and have no formal training? Isn't that scarier? In the US, people have the right to possess, and carry a wide variety of deadly firearms. Yet, these people have far less training than a cop fresh out of the academy, if any at all.

So, to simply answer your question, would 6 months of training be enough to make someone a proficient shooter? YES.

And, does someone require training to know when to employ deadly force? NO. Again, this would be common sense to most based on their situation.

Answer 3

Yes it would be alot better if police could have 2 or 3 years of training, but having gone though it, it is very good. They will use video training in full size for shoot and not shoot training, you will have good weapons handling training.
And in the end of those 6 months they do know when they are suppose to use it. and how to.

for the Police, there is state POST training commissions that regulate the training, and the annual training and annual firearm training that all police officers recieve.

And the guide lines are pretty clear, to save the life of another person or yourself. To stop a felon if there is a good reason to beleive that their escape can endanger others latter.

Answer 4

No one is allowed to use deadly force unless their is an eminent threat of death or serious injury. Everyone is allowed in those cases. Being a police officer actually reduces the situations in which deadly force can be used. They are expected to be better equipped to defend themselves without deadly force.

Answer 5

How much training do we need?
It is writtin plain and simple in the laws.
It is black and white on paper.

I mean if you are being threatened with immediate bodily injury or death, you use the same amount of force as the actor. How much more is there?

Answer 6

I do not know.. I suppose some idiot in the police decides that