...and kill them if the person with the gun is threatening another person/police with a weapon? or are they only allowed to take down the person by shooting at their legs?
2007-03-23 08:05:00 · 16 answers · asked by bulletprooflonliness 4 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
My dear....this is so simple you'll be amazed. When a police officer unholsters his or her weapon it is the very first stage in the application of deadly force.
No police department that I'm aware of tells you "shoot to wound". I've been to the target range twice a year for 23 years...every time it's "aim for the head or center mass if further away". This shooting in the arms or legs stuff is TV.
If you find it necessary to draw a weapon than you have every intention of killing someone because your life or the life of other people are in mortal danger.
2007-03-23 08:11:08 · answer #1 · answered by Quasimodo 7 · 6⤊ 1⤋
We are trained to shoot at center of mass, the largest portion of the target (and that is usually the chest), so CSI Miami has that part right. Shooting the legs is a much smaller target and when you are in a life threatening situation you can't take a chance that you will miss. You should see what happens to someone's shooting skills under stress and when the target is moving. The accuracy rate drops dramatically.
We shoot to stop the threat, not to "take people down" and we are not (at least in Canada) trained to shoot at the head (unless it is the only part of the target that is visible and therefore the center off mass for the threat).
2007-03-23 11:19:36 · answer #2 · answered by joeanonymous 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Actually, officers are trained to shoot at center mass. Which is the chest. Shooting in the leg doesnt necessarily save lives, if you want you can google search eric hernandez. He was an off-duty cop shot in the leg. He died a few weeks later.
And certain crime scene investigators are actually police officers that are specially trained....NYPD for example, but of course NOT a thing like CSI NY
2007-03-23 08:13:27 · answer #3 · answered by zebj25 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
First, never get your info on police procedure, technology, and the legal process from television.
Second, no law enforcement agency I am aware of anywhere in the nation teaches officers to shoot to wound (i.e. shoot the legs). The idea behind the use of deadly force is to shoot to stop the threat and gain compliance. Shooting at a moving torso is hard enough ... but adding movement, adrenaline, distance, etc., and you make the shot much, much harder. Being that it can be so difficult to land a round in the torso under pressure/stress, it is no surprise that law enforcement is trained not to aim for the legs or arms. Besides, a leg or arm shot does not necessarily stop the threat.
In CA we generally train to the "triple tap" ... two to the torso and one to the head. This came about as a result of a rise in the use of body armor by bad guys.
- Carl
2007-03-23 08:16:10 · answer #4 · answered by cdwjava 3 · 4⤊ 1⤋
Police officers are never to shoot at the legs, they are always to shoot at "center mass" that is center of the chess.
Legs are small, they are moving, not easy to hit them, next that does not stop them from shooting or stabbig someone anyway. So it is police policy in every dept in the US to always shoot in the center of the chest.
Some of the tactical teams do a two shoot to the chest and one to the head but as a norm it is always two shoots to the chest.
2007-03-23 09:04:30 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Police officers use deadly force to neutralize a threat that is off immediate danger to the life of themselves or others. There is no policy of "shoot to wound"; if you only need to wound a person then a lesser level of force is plausible and a firearm isn't needed. If an offender isn't a threat to someone's life but if using violent behavior, then lesser force levels such as hands, batons, chemical sprays, or tasers could be used without using deadly force needlessly.
2007-03-23 13:42:04 · answer #6 · answered by sewelrj 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If they think the other guy will hurt them, they will not shoot them in the leg. Almost all the time they are to use deadly force if someone pulls a gun on them. And it is in the head, not the chest. Head shots are almost always fatal, however chest shots are not fatal as quickly and not as likely to be fatal.
It is all for entertainment purposes on CSI and stuff to shoot in the legs and chest.
2007-03-23 08:25:12 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
Yes. deadly force can and should be used when the life of the officer or another party is threatened. Police don't aim to wound. They are trained to shoot center mass, which more times than not results in death.
2007-03-23 08:17:41 · answer #8 · answered by endlessknowledge 2 · 3⤊ 1⤋
don't confuse t.v. with real life. there is no police department/academy that instructs officers to shoot at peoples legs. a police officer is always permitted to use deadly force to prevent death or grievous bodily injury to himself or another person. there are no legs on targets at the police shooting range. by the way, some crime scene investigators/techs are not even sworn officers and carry no firearms, betcha didn't know that. hope this answers your question.
2007-03-23 08:28:23 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Half of the ones I have seen would shoot their own foot off before they could hit a suspect. One guy in a un-named police academy shot holes in the hood of his patrol car during practice....LMAO.
Would they like to shoot you? Yes.....most would. Could they? Yes.......SOME could. Aim at the legs? Not hardly..... Most would be lucky to hit you at all if you were running. If the person is threatening someone else with a gun....... do you think that person would just shoot that someone in the leg?
There are no warning shots (It's called liability) If deadly force is applied....... it is exactly that......DEADLY.
That TV stuff is just to make them not look like "Bad Boys".
2007-03-23 08:24:32 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋