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Paladin wrote: ↑Fri Aug 10, 2018 3:19 pm
Police should never be charged for doing something legal that happens to be outside their training or "common practice"

This officer had above average marksmanship skills, which is why he would not recommend others taking the shot. Round #3 went into the ground, his background was clear.

That's the issue- shooting to wound is not legal. Regarding his marksmanship, unless he has validated this with the Department, and is a Designated Marksman, or similar, he is in violation of policy.

Please don't get me wrong- in a "common sense" world, I have little issue with what was done. However, having worked EMS, supporting the Tac team, there are waaaay too many guys who think they're "above average" because they got lucky, stepping outside of policy. More often than not, it ends badly when someone is killed or injured because of their "superiority" and risk-taking. Dunn may be a high performer, with measured extreme competence with small arms. If so, good on him. Because the totality of circumstances brought him to a negative finding in the shoot, I suspect that is not the case.

"Corporal Dunn confirmed that this type of shooting is inconsistent with his training and that he would not recommend that others take this kind of a shot."

The bolded portions are really the end of the story. "Like last time..." indicates an operational pattern of exceeding training standards and common practice among his peers. Monday Morning QB'ing also includes stating that the officer was justified- he isn't. Applying deadly force means applying deadly force, not, "I can shoot his earlobe off and make him re-think..." The officer fired 3 for 2, where did round #3 go?

I'll be really blunt- yes, men on drugs and women escalate differently than a plain PO'd non-EDP male. I've both de-escalated and ramped up subjects for specific ends, and it is a fine balance. Fundamentally, you have to operate within standards of training and common practice. When we start thinking that we went out of bounds once, and everything worked out, and that now that way of doing things is a new personal standard, we run into trouble. I would note that the DA did not charge him, even though that would have been justified.