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No Wisdom in Warning Shots

Every time I see an article on warning shots I'm reminded of a story from my LEO days. Officers responded to a man running through a shopping center, chasing people and swinging a machete. The man charged the first responding officer, who's first shot went wide before he ended the threat. This was a few years back when the current anti-police movement was just getting started.

The news was on scene desperately trying to find someone to claim that the officer was a racist/sexist/homophobe who committed an act of brutality against someone having a mental health crisis, but the witnesses weren't playing along. Sensing what the media was fishing for, one old guy walked up to the reporter and almost yelled, "That officer did everything he could to avoid hurting that fella, he even gave him a warning shot!"

Needless to say, this was at least a decade after warning shots were banned by almost every police agency in the country. The clip made the news and I doubt that the officer has ever lived it down. This story isn't directly on-topic, but it is a reminder that there are members of the public who still think warning shots are a valid tactic.
 
There used to be all kinds of things that were normal practice that these days in retrospect seem dangerous or stupid. Warning shots. Trying to shoot someone in the leg. Etcetera. There's also plenty of new things that are stupid and dangerous. Having to call a superior officer before engaging a fleeing vehicle or using deadly force. That's the problem with civilian oversight committees. They are F'ing civilians and have right next to zero credibility or experience with law enforcement tactics.
 
wmg1299 said:
Every time I see an article on warning shots I'm reminded of a story from my LEO days. Officers responded to a man running through a shopping center, chasing people and swinging a machete. The man charged the first responding officer, who's first shot went wide before he ended the threat. This was a few years back when the current anti-police movement was just getting started.

The news was on scene desperately trying to find someone to claim that the officer was a racist/sexist/homophobe who committed an act of brutality against someone having a mental health crisis, but the witnesses weren't playing along. Sensing what the media was fishing for, one old guy walked up to the reporter and almost yelled, "That officer did everything he could to avoid hurting that fella, he even gave him a warning shot!"

Needless to say, this was at least a decade after warning shots were banned by almost every police agency in the country. The clip made the news and I doubt that the officer has ever lived it down. This story isn't directly on-topic, but it is a reminder that there are members of the public who still think warning shots are a valid tactic.
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Well, there's a president now that thinks women can more easily handle a double barrel 12 gauge over an AR 15, and that they should waste both shots firing them into the air from the balcony...and that when the cops arrive they should shoot the perp in the leg.
 
Most Folks fail to realize that Law Enforcement is trained to use +1 level force when responding to an incident. Police are not there or trained for a fair fight. They are trained to win, diffuse the situation, or put into custody the offender and restore things to peace. Whether its a verbal or physical, they are trained to subdue the situation. That may mean a warning verbally to subdue minimally and all the way to deadly force.

when your life is in danger, you dont want police to show up and have a lackluster, lets possibly see whats going on approach. You want them to respond and respond quickly.
 
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