Monday morning quarterbacking of police actions has become the rage over the last few years. A few weeks ago I got into a debate on Facebook over a shooting and a friend of a friend said "...he could have shot him in the leg or the arm, you didn't need to kill him....." I responded, maybe a bit strongly, "You have no idea what you are talking about." One, police are taught to shot center mass (below neck/chest/abdomen) for several reasons. One, it's the biggest area to hit and we want to make sure we hit him, otherwise the bullets are going to hit something. Two, center mass is the thickest part of the body so it will do the most to stop the bullet. Three, center mass is the area that moves, relatively, the least. Arms, legs and the head move all over the place. Finally, assume I hit someone in the thigh or arm, the bullet will fly through and hit something, or someone, else. Oh, I mentioned to the other person who though shooting in the leg would not be deadly that if I hit the femoral artery the man would bleed out in less than two minutes. Some people don't deal with reality well.
Now this is a recent encounter with a Texas cop. Now for all the people saying cameras will change everything, this will show that they won't, and that they can.
Now see how a cop must make a decision in a moment. To all the Youtube lawyers out there, let me explain some things to you. When the man moved his hands towards the pistol, the officer had "reasonable fear for this life or serious bodily injury." To improve your "legal" education, that means he can use deadly force, i.e. shoot. Also, in Texas, you can carry long guns openly in a vehicle. Pistols must be concealed.
Excellent work officer, watch your back out there!
No comments:
Post a Comment