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To: MIchaelTArchangel
Stewart wounded Garner three times in the leg as they traded gunfire in a hallway, McKenzie said.

I'm willing to bet that more than one shot was fired by the LEO; one struck. Apparently you've never been in a firefight, and do not realize that 4 out of 5 (or more) of your shots miss. Getting multiple consecutive shots on target when the target is moving AND you are avoiding being shot (presenting as small of a target possible yourself) is nearly impossible.

One shot was apparently enough. If the gunman had body armor, he may have taken more, but having seen guys hit while wearing body armor, he'd be an easier target at that point (the vest may stop the bullet from penetrating you, but it still hurts like crazy, does a fair amount of blunt force trauma, and will stun you for at least a few seconds).

The reality is that - even with all the training you can muster - in a firefight you're lucky to hit more than 20% of the time. And that drops immensely if you're shooting for head shots only. You shoot for the largest area of the target as possible, and if your target is wearing body armor you'll slow them down.

Ever seen the damage on the inside of a IIIA vest after being hit with a 9mm round? No, there's no hole from the bullet, but the golf-ball sized protrusion will get your attention in a hurry, if not crack or break a rib. Body armor will stop you from being perforated by pistols, but it won't keep you from being incapacitated.

I've seen guys knocked out of breath - like they were punched in the solar plexus - when hit in their body armor, and it took them 5+ seconds to recover. And the bruises that showed up a few hours later were some of the nastiest black and blue patches I've seen...

17 posted on 03/30/2009 10:49:21 AM PDT by PugetSoundSoldier (Indignation over the sting of truth is the defense of the indefensible)
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To: PugetSoundSoldier
Body armor will stop you from being perforated by pistols, but it won't keep you from being incapacitated.

I'm reminded of an incident that happened in the Atlanta area a few years ago. A cop was chasing a burglar on foot when the bad guy turned around and fired a shot at him with a .380 pistol, which is certainly not a powerhouse cartridge by any means. The cop was wearing body armor, but he went down and had to be taken to an emergency room for treatment of a very bad bruise over his heart that was causing breathing problems IIRC.

I saw a color picture of the bruise on local TV news, and even though the cop was a black guy the dark bruise was very obvious and looked to be about the size of my hand. If a puny little .380 can do that through body armor think what a .45 acp or .357 magnum would do.

31 posted on 03/30/2009 7:56:01 PM PDT by epow (Liberals aren't liars because they lie, they lie because they're liars.)
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