++ [ originally posted by mikhail ] ++
Ireland is similarly gun-free country, and I don't quite agree with you Erik. Certainly, there is an added delay in getting armed police on the scene, but that's the price we pay to try to engender trust in the police force. Police officers in England are trained to think first, shoot last. Compair/contrast that with the US, for example .
You think were trained to shoot first, and ask questions later ???
Maybe in the movies...but not in reality
If that was the case, I would have probably shot many ppl by now (8 years on the job), but I've used my training and judgement to have avoided it
Police officers in the Netherlands are also trained to think first, shoot last. In fact, their policy is that if they shoot at all; their first shot MUST be a warning shot and their second or other consequetive shot must NEVER kill
.
Oh, that makes a ton of sense... warning shots
Dont those "warning shots" have to end up hitting something ??
Hopefully, not the innocent bystander a few blocks away
A shot that wont kill ??? Go ahead and aim for their leg or arm , and see if you dont accidentally hit them in the head, or midsection, and kill them
If we shoot, it is to kill. There is no other way