Shooting an UN-Armed person

For those who are not (nor ever have been) a Law Enforcement Officer (LEO), I would ask you to participate in an exercise of sorts. I’m going to ask that while you read the following, you mentally put yourself in the position of a LEO. And, I’d ask that while you attempt that, you put aside any personal feelings you may have about LEOs and what you may have seen in the news.

Willing? Okay - ready?

You are a Uniformed Police Officer, patrolling your area of town, referred to as your “beat”. You’re in your patrol car, and you drive through a known neighborhood of largely construction laborers and oil field roughnecks. The area is also an area known for street fights and public intoxications.  ……………. With me so far?

Suddenly, you see a guy run up to a couple who were just walking along street, and sucker punch the man, knocking him to the ground. You radio the dispatcher of the location and that you just witnessed an assault in progress. You hurriedly get out of your patrol car to intercede. The assailant is now standing over the downed man, and the women is screaming for someone to do something, yelling HELP.

As you call out to the assailant to FREEZE, he puts his hands up and stops his aggressive movements as you approach. The man is of average height and weight, is shirtless, and from all appearances, is not readily seen to be armed. You order him to put his hands behind his head, and he complies. You approach and start to grab his wrists and make the arrest. About the same time, you see some other guys come out from the nearby bar, and they call out to the assailant (suspect) by name, so you figure they may be friends.  ………………………… Getting a feel for the situation?

As you grab the man’s wrist and pull your handcuffs out ------ he suddenly turns on you and you find you are now in a struggle. The suspect is stronger than you, and you are trying to fend him off, as he is getting the upper hand on you. Now, you are on the ground, punched in the face and body, and you now feel you may lose the fight. And, the suspect is looking in your face, saying to that you’re a “dead mother fucker”!  ……………………… So, if you’ve never been in a real fight, this may be hard to get a feel for. But try to really imagine this and try to have that feeling of being defeated and helpless.

By now, you’re exhausted. You can barely block the flurry of fists to your face and body. You’re unable to land any good punches to the suspect. (If you have ever wrestled on a team, or even with a bigger brother, then you know that feeling, and how moments can seem like long minutes.)   

Your mind is racing back about your brief career. You know from training that some police officers have been killed with their own department issued firearm. According to what you were taught, and according to FBI crime statistics, 51 LEOs were killed with their own firearms from 2000 to 2013.

You regain you thoughts about your current situation, and pray that Back-Up gets there soon, as you have basically lost the fight and are now trying to keep your gun from the suspect. You know that if he gets your gun, he may very well use it against you. ………………………… Please, close your eyes, and try to visualize this scenario in your head. Try to capture that feeling of defeat. Try to imagine your gun being pulled away from your holster.

(*)  You have both hands on your gun now, as you double up, trying to protect your face and your gun. The suspect is now pulling at your arms, trying to pull your hands away from the gun. You now are in fear for your very life. As your arms weaken, and the gun begins to come out, you are able to turn it toward the suspect, and you are able to pull the trigger. The suspect stands and backs up. At first, you don’t know if you hit him or not, because he stands and pauses. Then it seems TO YOU, that he was ready to come at you again. You know if he does, you have no strength left to fend him off, and you fire your weapon again.    ……………………… You have now shot an UN-ARMED man, TWICE. And the second time, he was standing several feet away from you.

As the crowd gathers, people are yelling that you killed their friend. From their pint of view, you two got into a scuffle, and he was trying to keep you from pulling your gun and killing him. They all swear that he was just trying to stop you from pulling the gun. 

You gather yourself and get to your feet, as your Back-Up Officers arrive. They pull up, and see the crowd, see the suspect down on the pavement, and see you standing more than 8 feet away now.

You are in a neighborhood where they all know each other, and all stick together. Your Back-Up Officers didn’t see the incident, and only can write statements of what they saw when they got there. All the “witnesses” say that YOU started bullying “Fred”, and got into a fight, then you shot him. Fred was UNARMED, and was simply trying to fight off a bully COP, who shot him – TWICE.    …………………. Still with me? Have any feel for this yet?

Now, let us change this up just a bit, okay. -----

(Alternate *)
As you and the suspect were fighting, he gets the best of you, and you know you are losing the fight. You are praying that if you lose, the suspect will just get up and run away. You think about trying for your gun, but you know the suspect is not armed, and your mind races about the consequences of shooting an unarmed man. Then, the suspect gives you a hard fist to the upper jaw, jarring your head against the pavement. Now you feel yourself slipping into a daze. You can barely grasp what is happening now, barely able to even move. Your both still on the ground, with him on top, as the suspect pulls your gun out of your holster, and shoves the barrel into your side. The gun is between you and him, and not in sight of anyone else. Then you feel the burning, and have no ability to move, and become confused, as you drift into ….. death.

So there you have it. Just one scenario to consider. In part, that was a true story. Another Officer I used to know in Colorado, was in just such a position. He lost the fight (a bar brawl actually), and his gun was torn from his holster. The suspect got away, taking the Officer's gun with him. The Officer was not killed, although beat up pretty good. A couple weeks later, the gun and suspect were recovered.

But from 2000 to 2013, 51 LEOs were not so lucky. This doesn’t count all those killed by other means. So I ask, before you jump to any conclusions about a LEO shooting an unarmed person, try to wait for the investigation to see what REALLY happened. Law Enforcement Officers are NOT super-men and women. (Anyone who thinks they are, are fooling themselves). Other than some self-defense training (terribly little, at that), they are every day men and women, sworn to enforce the law, and hoping to go home to their families after each shift. And in their case, losing a street fight means their weapon could very well be used against them. Losing a fight is not a school yard embarrassment. For them, losing a fight has the real possibility of ending their life!