One of my pet peeves

[baldeagle]

This story has been circulating on the internet recently - http://www.ijreview.com/2014/06/149056- ... questions/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - an El Paso officer shot and killed a handcuffed suspect, and people are outraged, because the officer was cleared by both the El Paso PD and the Texas Rangers. I'm not interested in discussing whether what the officer did was right or not, and I don't think it's a subject we should expand on here. What I am interested in discussing is a statement in the story.

In an effort to protect this obviously disturbed man from causing himself, or anyone else, any further harm, Flores made the decision to shoot him to death while he was handcuffed.

This statement irks me to no end. Only murderers make the decision to shoot someone to death. This officer made the decision to shoot, no doubt, but I doubt seriously that he intended to kill the suspect. All officers are trained, as are CHL holders, to shoot for center mass to stop the threat. It should never be our intent to kill. In fact, head shots are thought to be iffy at best because they are so often fatal. A CHL holder who shot someone in the head instead of the chest could very well go to trial for murder and the self defense claim would be strongly questioned.

Due to media ignorance, we often see things like this or someone questioning why an officer didn't shoot someone in the leg to stop them from advancing. It irritates me to no end that the media never presents factual information and instead publishes emotional appeals to drive readers' opinions.

There, I've vented.

[baldeagle]

Hollywood is also to blame for putting out movies in which bad guys are stopped by shooting limbs instead of COM. Non gun enthusiasts see this and think that it's simple to aim and shoot when in reality, as we know, it's easier to hit a larger target than a smaller one. Plus the fact that arms and legs can move a lot faster than a torso.

That's an excellent point. It made me think of football. Football players are taught to focus on the runner's mid-section rather than his feet, because the feet can move so much faster, but the torso has to go where the legs carry it. That might be a good analogy to explain why COM is where you are trained to shoot.

[carlson1]

9. Blatant, global, or rampant law enforcement bashing is prohibited. Discussions of specific identifiable events presented factually are fine, but only if they related to an event involving the posting Member or a Texas CHL.

Rule 9 has been amended and thus this thread has been locked.