27 000 cops 'can't shoot'

Yes and this recent finding just proves the minister ignorant with that statement once again. The minister telling the police to 'Shoot to kill' in the sense of defending your right to life,(only after a spree of cop killings and a police force outraged) is understandable when your life is being threatened and its a kill or be killed situation, in the interest of safety or justice.
However my point is, how does one give that right to 27000 people who are clearly not fit to shoot anything!?! Giving them that order will just increase the risk of innocent civilians being injured and abuse of authority (recently in the media many child victims) is that a risk worth taking when they are to serve and Protect us. I do shoot and am very proficient fyi, and in terms of my testing am able to fire a warning shoot into the air (not mistakenly someones head) and am able to aim for below the waist, practice and training...that's what they need.
And if they cant pass a proficiency test or take 1hr a month to use the all inclusive tax paid bullets and guns to go to the firing range and practice then they should not be given such orders or weapons and only deserve batons, tazer guns and pepper spray, which they should also be properly trained to use.

A policeman's intended target/intent holds no weight (if they have failed a proficient test) The mere fact that they intended to shoot a fleeing suspect in the leg and accidentally fatally hit him in the heart or head is not justifiable when it was known that they were not fully capable of using such a dangerous weapon and allowed to irrespective, in public.(why are they given firearms after having failed!?) :confused:
 
Any police officer who is not fit to use a firearm should not be issued one and if this does happen then the commander is at fault and should be equally liable for the members actions and receive similar sanctions

It always made me nervous to work with a member that I did not know and where possible I avoided it.

When I did my Initial training some of the other trainees made me very nervous as their actions were scary, waving the gun around, been so nervous that when they fired they dropped the gun, having a misfire and trying to get the round out by himself. That was only on 9mm, R5 was just as scary although most weren’t allowed on that range.

As for a warning shot, the only time it should be used is if the suspect is fleeing or is armed with a weapon other than a firearm or if they are not holding a firearm. Firing a warning shot if a suspect is holding a firearm may actually trigger them to shoot so rather command them to drop the gun and if the suspect is already shooting then a warning shot is a waste of time.

As for going on a monthly basis, that is the commanders responsibility to arrange, What is ideally needed is indoor ranges that can be frequented by all members and if they fail to attend a specified number of times them they are placed on office duty the same will apply if the fail to receive satisfactory scores

I am glad to see that you are proficient, do you do combat shooting?

As for giving them tasers, batons and pepper spray that is like sending lambs to the slaughter plus most officers (Permanent) don’t carry them anyway.

So if they are not proficient then they should be redeployed to admin duties and if they even touch a firearm while at the station then they should be severely disciplined, But in the end it boils down to the shift commander been responsible for his members by knowing their status and assigning them accordingly.
 
Pros and Cons of Warning Shots:

Pros
(the audible sound of the discharge)
May cause fleeing suspect to physically stop, or to stop a vehicle
May stop/limit a person's aggression
May get a crowd's attention
May "buy time" in a situation

Cons
May impact an innocent bystander
May impact a suspect when deadly force is not justified
May precipitate another officer to shoot someone unjustifiably
May cause the recipient of the warning shot to escalate his/her use of force against the officer(s)
May impact on property causing damage
An officer who improperly shoots a person (accidentally or otherwise) may try to claim that the impacting shot was a warning shot
May engender fear in innocent bystanders
 
A badly fired warning shot is very dangerous as you no longer have a nice shaped bullet flying but a projectile that is no longer able to perform it's intended job (talking std issue not eliminators, dumdums, armour piercing or hollow points).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X