18 SHOTS? People, as I have been saying for years now, THE POLICE TRAINING IN THE USA IS THE PROBLEM.
18 shots - to stop a guy with a knife? ONE well-aimed shot by someone trained - was what the situation called for.
Instead, the police defaulted to their “spray the area with gunfire and swiss-cheese the target” training, with predictable results.
The hostage MIGHT have survived a stab wound to the neck - but she sure wasn’t gonna survive the “swiss cheese treatment”.
ITS. THE. F%@&!. TRAINING. STUPID.
Cops in Europe are trained differently, and get different (read: less lethal) results.
That's not why 18 rounds were fired.
They fired that many hoping to drop the suspect before he was able to cut her throat from ear to ear.
...with less “collateral damage” to innocent civilians, as well as fewer suspects killed (many of whom objectively weren’t doing something deserving of immediate execution).
There’s a reason why there is such a thing as “suicide by cop” in this country. Even mentally ill people recognize that the police are trained to respond with lethal force much too readily.
To restate:
This is NOT a particular state or city problem.
This is NOT a “racial” problem.
Its a TRAINING problem, and its nation-wide in scope.
When I first got my Hi Point 9mm a couple of years ago, I wanted to sight it in. I put a small cardboard box about 50 ft away with a small target taped to it. WITHOUT it being sighted in or adjusted, I could pretty much hit the box, though not in the target. I’m assuming that if it had been sighted in, I would have been able to hit the small target circle, which is about the size of a head. From 50-60 ft away.
From the vid, there were two cops well within 50 ft of this guy. Either one of them, or both, could have taken ONE headshot at any time - IF they had been trained and had range time, which I’m assuming they were *supposed* to have. There would have been no need for more than two or three head shots, let alone 18- taking out the hostage as well as the perp. There’s really no need for the reflexive “hail of bullets” - shooting to empty the mag just ‘cuz someone else fired. Their training should be better than that.
I understand the adrenaline rush and other things, but these are supposed to be experienced, trained police officers. They should be held to a higher standard than civilians. And yet most CCW owners are better skilled and better “trained” than most cops.
Like I said, I’ve understand the circumstances and adrenaline pumping as I’ve been out on the streets with a badge and a gun, as well as quite a few years in EMS. These cops SHOULD be sued.
Yes. Train more snipers, and use them judiciously.