Do you have it in you to take a human life? What if you were a police officer and you had to kill someone?

Question

to save your own life or someone else's? my teacher in my criminal justice class said that you had better think about if you have it in you or not, because if you don't, you are a danger to yourself and those around you and you better get another job. i can't believe that anyone wouldn't have it in them. it's an innocent person vs. a killer. easy choice, right?

Answer 1

I do indeed have it in me, that's 1 of the reasons that I'm capable of being a NYC Police Officer. In 12 years on the job, I have only come close 1 time, and that was 1 time too many. This happened the Christmas season right after the Amadou Diallo shooting up in the Bronx.

It was on 34th Street in Manhattan, I was in the back of an ambulance taking down information for a woman who had broken her ankle (tripped over a raised portion of NYC sidewalk). I became aware of a verbal argument that was becoming louder and louder on the sidewalk (outside of the ambulance). Apparently 2 vendors were arguing about the right to be where they were and who had been there 1st.

I then observed the taller of the 2 men, punch the shorter 1 in the face, causing blood to spurt from his mouth and nose. As I opened the ambulance door to prevent any further violence, the shorter man reached into his back pocket and all I saw was a "flash" of metal as he made a slicing motion towards the taller man's face. The taller man fell back, I thought he had been cut open by the "knife".

At this point, I kicked open the doors, drew my firearm and ordered the shorter man down to the ground. He was less than 10ft from me and I remembered my training involving bladed weapons and police officers. [You need to have a minimum of 21 ft between you and a person with a knife in order to be able to safely evade being stabbed/cut].

The man turned towards me, and I swear by all that I believe in, if he had taken 1 step towards me, I would've shot him. ......And I would have shot an unarmed man - that's right - AN UNARMED MAN. The glint that I saw was a perfume bottle shaped like a cigar-holder and silver in color.

Answer 2

Honestly, at that point in time, I'm sure the last thing you're thinking about is "oh my God, this is a human". You shoot at impulse at the sign of a danger to you, your partner, or a civilian, as your job has trained you to do. My dad always tells a story about a cop he used to play hockey with. The cop had to shoot a teenage boy because the boy pulled a gun on him and his partner. The cop shot the boy twice in the chest, and didn't think twice about it. It wasn't until the adrenaline left his system that it affected him. They put him on a leave and he got better once he accepted the event. The same goes for me, a firefighter/paramedic. When I get called to do my job, I don't think "Oh my God, this is horrible", I do what I am trained to do. Granted it's the opposite of killing, but it just shows that your training and instinct kick in first, and the consequences and results strike you later.

Besides, if you're shooting them, I'm sure there is a completely valid reason that warrants them as being "guilty" and not "innocent"...

Answer 3

I could do it if I wasn't a cop. I should have been born a few hundred years ago. I would have been a great warrior. In those days you were exhaulted for killing as many men in battle as you could. Today you are jailed. I know which time I would have rather lived in. Today's life is for soft people. Spoon fed babies. The bible was right about one thing, the meek have inherited the earth. You see the people today who kill in a job use a gun. Police Army etc they use a gun. They will tell you that you must train in order to kill someone. I believe that to be false. You see killers many of them who are in jail do not get any training. They kill without a moments thought, without hesistation and without remorse. They kill with guns, with knives, with their bare hands. Nobody on Earth needs to train to kill another person. It is only the fear of spending the rest of your life in jail or being put to death yourself that stops the majority of people from killing someone else in today's society. If it was in my job description I would do it with no qualms whatsoever and if it wasn't against the law many many people would have died under my hand already.

Answer 4

I have some great advice on that subject, because i've been there and done that. I've killed a quite a few people (no i'm not bragging, i'm a Marine and have been to the iraq 3 times). My answer though is NO, 99% of people wouldn't be able to do it. The only reason we (the armed forces and law enforcement) are able to is because of training. We train for countless hours on the simple basis of focusing on our mission, which is to destroy the enemy. With that training it because our nature to kill who we need to, when we need to, and no more than needed. Was I ready to kill the day i Joined the military? no. But now, 5 years later, i've killed countless times, all because if i hadn't i knew that myself or one of my brothers would have died. but its still not an easy choice to pull the trigger, it just becomes a natural thing.

Answer 5

I hope I never have to kill anyone. I have seen. I have seen that I can inflict injury (necessary or not) and I have stepped on plenty of ants, but I hope I never have to kill a human being. Of course, like anyone else, I probably COULD summon up the necessary rage, but I'd rather not have to.

By the way, police officers and soldiers aren't the only ones who sometimes kill people in the course of their jobs. Sometimes locomotive engineers do, too. What do you think happens to the idiots who try to cross at railroad crossings right when a train is coming? (Hint: you hear about these people on the news.)

Answer 6

This is a part of your training as an officer.
It would be normal to hesitate to take a life.
(Am I SURE??????)
That can, & has got good people killed.
The sad facts are:
That you may be called on to make a snap decision.
That is is possible you could make a mistake.

That's the one that you have to be ready to live with.

Answer 7

an easy choice??? Please... don't drop out of your education and don't get a gun. Your teacher knows better, really. Ask them more questions, not us. Far out, people from the USA sound so nutcase to everyone else in the world. You're so feared up. Disarm your society and chill out for goodness sake.

Edit:
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After giving me a thumbs down, please have a nice relaxing cup of tea.

Answer 8

You never want to kill anyone, you want to immediately stop their threatening and criminal behavior if that causes their death they made that choice.

Answer 9

Well, liberals would want to know about their childhood, if their dad abused them, did their mom drink, yadda adda yadda...could cause that momentary (or days-long) hesitation that could cost somebody their life.

Answer 10

I do. I do not start fights or instigate, but if my life is in danger, so is the person's who is putting me in that situation.