I wasn’t besmirching soldiers, who have legitimate reason to be snipers. Civilian law enforcement lacks a legitimate reason to employ a person who’s only function is cold-blooded killing.
I disagree. There are always situations where a precision shot can end a hostage situation with no innocents killed. There was even a recent case where a disturbed man with a gun was sitting in his yard threatening to kill himself. From a range of about 200 yards, a sniper managed to execute a "cold shot" and literally shoot the gun from his hand. This one has been on YOU TUBE and various television shows. Actually all law enforcement agencies have a legitimate need to employ snipers, but there should be an efficient means of vetting those individuals to screen out the folks who enjoy the process.
By the way, I don't get your contempt of the whole hot or cold blood thing. Personally, if I'm a commander and I need one of my sniper assets to make a cold shot (a shot that has to be 100% effective the first time) then I sure as heck want ice water in his veins and a coldly professional attitude to get the job done. I sure wouldn't want some hot headed young twerp with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove.
Horiuchi should have refused the order to shoot but he was in fact operating under orders that were contrary to agency policy. Instead of a policy where subjects outside and armed MAY be taken under fire, the on site policy seemed to have been: Armed subjects SHOULD and MUST be fired upon. However the higher ups on that seemed to have slipped away. Still he should not have risked the woman and her child. He claimed he was actually shooting at an armed male trying to dart thru and open door in the cabin. He took the shot under the (improper) on-site orders but Vickie and her baby walked into the shot. He should not have risked that. But he wanted to take the shot and he wanted the pic of his trophy thus proving a certain level of psychosis. The folks who should be keel hauled under an aircraft carrier are the ones who changed the rules of engagement and the folks who chose and supported Horiuchi.
Snipers are a fine tuned instrument of surgery. They should never be used as a blunt instrument of terror. That seems to be an institutional facet of life in certain federal agencies. US Marshals, FBI, BATFE, and it appears to include some portion of Delta Force (judging from reports of their role in Waco).