When it comes to my department's use of force, in the end the only way we can use a firearm is to throw it at the perp. We have to take into account where the bullet might land including the possibility that it might go through a wall(the fact that we use hollow points sorta defeats this purpose but we do use rifles that use FMJ which can go through walls). The fact that they built my jail so close to a residential area means that if an inmate is escaping, we really can't shoot at him because we might miss and hit someone in the apartment complex or the development on the other side. At least we're not at bad as Trenton State which is right in the middle of the hood.Originally Posted by Odysseus
Ouch. I tend to think in terms of FMJ rounds, because that's what we use (hollow points are actually banned by the GC), but that's another issue. Everybody is taught to shoot COM, because it's the largest target and has the most vital organs. The odds of a miss increase dramatically when you try to shoot limbs, and the odds on stopping someone also drop dramatically. You can cause permanent damage, but you may not end up doing enough damage to keep them from killing someone or escaping. You don't casually shoot people to wound them, because the moment that you engage with a firearm, you are using lethal force. If the effects are less than lethal, it's usually not for want of trying.
DUmmies think that bullets are like phasers that can be set to "stun".
t is significant that the man Clinton turns to for military advice ---who argued against the tanks and APC's for the raid in Mogadishu---is the same Warren Christopher (then a high official in Jimmy Carter's National Security Council) who helped plan the disastrous raid to rescue the hostages in Iran.
At a planning session for the Tehran rescue, the man selected to lead the raid, the late Colonel Charlie Beckwith, was asked what the would do about the Iranian guards. Bechwith, a no-nonsense veteran of special operations, replied that as they came out the door they would be shot in the head---twice---to be sure they couldn't do any harm.
Warren Christopher gasped, grimaced, viscerally shocked, and asked, "Couldn't you just shoot them in the hand?"
No, he saves that for posters who get mouthy. :D
