Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
A Vancouver British Columbia Policewoman had to shoot a man who was armed with a knife, at the scene of a car fire. He was rushing towards her and screaming at her .
The man who was carrying a large knife, had all ready wounded himself in the stomach, and then he tried to attack the female officer. She and other VPD officers had responded to a car fire in a parking lot. It is believed that he set his own car on fire.
A bystander captured this on a cell phone camera. At the point where the officer fired her hand gun, the attacker was less than 10 feet from her. She shot him in the leg, which resulted in him falling to the ground. He was placed under arrest, hand cuffed and treated by Vancouver EMS at the scene.
She made a split second choice to aim at his leg, not his chest.
The officer was not injured, but has been placed on leave for 5 days. The Provincial Special Investigation Unit ( a non Police investigation group ) will investigate this case, as they do in all cases where a person is wounded or killed by Police in British Columbia. The SIU will publish it's findings in 60 days to the media.
She was lucky. She made a wise decision, and it worked. For her, in that incident.
the next person faced with that choice may not be so lucky.
Personally, I would go for the "center of mass" shot. Right in the center of the chest. I would want to ensure that I was able to go home to my family that night! I would not care where the perp went.
She was lucky. She made a wise decision, and it worked. For her, in that incident.
the next person faced with that choice may not be so lucky.
Personally, I would go for the "center of mass" shot. Right in the center of the chest. I would want to ensure that I was able to go home to my family that night! I would not care where the perp went.
Not me, I would shoot the knife out of his hand, twirl my gun around my finger and put it back in the holster. Then ride away before anyone has a chance to thank me.
Any proper firearms training course teaches you to shoot center mass, when you get cute and try to clip someone, the odds of missing the target or hitting an innocent bystander go up considerably. You shoot not to kill and not to injure, you shoot to stop the threat and your greatest likelihood of success by far is shooting center mass as I'm sure this police officer was trained to do.
If youre an average person and admit that you were shooting to injure someone, that could very well have legal and civil court consequences as its hard to argue thst you were legitimately in fear for your life if you were capable of sitting back and trying to just wound someone. Stuff like that is best left in the movies.
Quote:
“When I encounter civilian response to officer-involved shootings, it’s very often ‘Why didn’t they just shoot him in the leg?’” Dr. Bill Lewinski, executive director of the Force Science Institute, told Force Science News in a 2006 interview centered on Paterson’s proposed legislation. “When civilians judge police shooting deaths–on juries, on review boards, in the media, in the community–this same argument is often brought forward. Shooting to wound is naively regarded as a reasonable means of stopping dangerous behavior.
“In reality, this thinking is a result of ‘training by Hollywood,’ in which movie and TV cops are able to do anything to control the outcomes of events that serve the director’s dramatic interests. It reflects a misconception of real-life dynamics and ends up imposing unrealistic expectations of skill on real-life officers.”
Vice President Joe Biden agrees. When Michael Paladino, president of New York’s Detectives Endowment Association, showed him the bill he reportedly scoffed and suggested that it be called the “John Wayne Bill” because of the unrealistic, movie-like sharpshooting skills it demands of officers.
I will point out that this event took place in Canada........not the USA.
Canada has quite different rules, regarding Police use of force, including deadly force.
In this case, go back and LOOK at the photos.......the distance from the officer to the attacker was ( in my estimation ) less than 10 feet and he is running at her. She did the right thing. She didn't run away, she didn't kill him, either. Good outcome, for both of the people involved in this situation.
Whatcott, who trained as a correctional officer, doesn’t believe the officer was aiming for his leg.
“You are always supposed to shoot in the stomach, or the trunk (area) … but you can see how stressed she is. I understand how you can shoot at what you think is his trunk and it winds up in the leg because she’s shaking and that’s a big gun,” he said. “It’s lucky for him.”
Perfect example of why you want to shoot center mass, being nervous and shaking adjusts the trajectory of your shot. Its hard enough to hit a large mass from any distance when you are nervous or overloaded with adrenaline, let alone a trick shot. She may have been aiming center mass but the round hit low, probably was breathing as she was firing, as well as jerking the trigger.
She got lucky that A. The shot incapacitated the individual and B. that she actually hit her target and didnt end up shooting someone else.
She gets a pat on the back for resolving the situation...and hopefully a recommendation to go spend some more time at the shooting range.
they ought to fire her, about four in the chest and we never have to worry about him again, if you have to pull your gun, shoot to kill
You don't shoot to kill, you shoot to stop the threat and don't stop shooting until the threat has been contained. Whether that leaves the target dead or injured is irrelevant as long as they are no longer an immediate threat to anyone.
It's either really bad training or she is a really bad shot.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
