Rule 4 or Why the Deputy Didn't Shoot Back

[HCM]

http://www.foxsanantonio.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/why-bexar-county-deputy-didnt-shoot-back-16942.shtml#.Vi--UIo8Lv6

Y'all's Thoughts?

[Peally]

Dunno about that specific situation but I often ponder it when near crowds or out in public. It helps to be able to choose safe alleys of fire on the fly, taking into account your skills.

[Dagga Boy]

I am medically retired because I had to make a Rule 4 decision on not shooting a suspect because two small children were directly behind him when I had made a lethal force decision. It is a very difficult decision to make and hard to Monday Morning QB based on the very intense increase of visual acuity in some of these situations.

[JF1]

You can teach it, but when the officer is caught in the moment of the situation can he realize what is going on around him? Was he given the proper training to manage the situation? Can he create another opportunity to engage with other tactics? Does he have the proper mindset and skill to make the shots necessary? Are they going to only shoot as fast as they can accurately hit? Each incident is unique to the individuals involved, terrain, distance, weapon system, stationary, moving, etc. Hopefully your trainers/command recognize the difficulties officers will face and use proper training to prepare them. And I don't mean relying only on shooting a hostage target on a square range. Some other recent incidents are linked below with fortunate (officer and innocents able to go home) outcomes, but resulted in serious injuries. If the proper training isn't provided frequently, you are going to get varied rule #4 results.

http://abclocal.go.com/story?section=news/local&id=8059437 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF3zH38viPA

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/24/justice/new-york-empire-state/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pAxswiw8Ks