Yeah..only cops should have guns...to bad they are such lousy shots...

[2aguy]

Yeah...New York cops have a habit of shooting a lot......luckily this time they didn't hit bystanders.....

BREAKING: New York City Cops Shoot 84 Bullets, Hit Perp Once - The Truth About Guns

 

[bucs90]

My 2 points:

1- I'm sure YOU would be an instant bullseye shooter with a pistol trying to hit a moving target...under stress...with shots being fired back at you.

2- Pistols are very innacurate. An M4 "assault rifle" shoots a MUCH smaller bullet than a police pistol...but is 100x more accurate, especially at distances over 20 yards and against moving targets. Cops TRIED carrying these far safer, more accurate weapons....but YOU and others call it "militarized". And yes...the military carries them for a reason (accuracy).

So....back to "spray and pray" with a pistol.

 

[Buzz Jenkins]

Remember that cop that shot the guy after the traffic stop recently? The guy ran because he owed back child support. He turned and ran from the cop. He pulled his weapon and fired. In my opinion, the shooting was WAY out of line. But what really struck ME as being out of line was that it took like 7 or 8 shots to bring down the guy.

There is a theory about overcoming your enemy with superior firepower, where you just unload on them. But that usually is applied where you are outnumbered it to distract the enemy - "cover fire" - to facilitate troop movement/advancement.

I also understand that many times these high volume shooting incidents are caused by the cops being REALLY ramped up as the result of a chase and/or other dangerous situation.

All that said, I totally agree with the op. Cops appear to be shooting at a level much lower than should be expected of them. My 10 year old son shoots properly and accurately with pistols and rifles. Why cannot the cops do the same? Of course, this impression is based on media reported stories that may not be representative of the whole. I have not seen statistics on this. It may be that most perps are taken down with 2 shots or less, as should be the case. When it comes to police snipers they do a pretty damn good job. So they may not be as bad at shooting as we think.

Personally, I think handling a firearm should be considered the most important thing that a cop does since it is potentially the most potentially fatal. Today's cops are trained to be all cuddly and result oriented rather than proficient shooters. Policing theory is great. But if you cannot handle a firearm then you ought not be carrying.

 

[Jarlaxle]

My 2 points:

1- I'm sure YOU would be an instant bullseye shooter with a pistol trying to hit a moving target...under stress...with shots being fired back at you.

2- Pistols are very innacurate. An M4 "assault rifle" shoots a MUCH smaller bullet than a police pistol...but is 100x more accurate, especially at distances over 20 yards and against moving targets. Cops TRIED carrying these far safer, more accurate weapons....but YOU and others call it "militarized". And yes...the military carries them for a reason (accuracy).

So....back to "spray and pray" with a pistol.

So...time to require all police officers to carry single-action revolvers instead of 18-round semiautomatics. That should reduce "spray and pray".

 

[Wildman]

practice, practice, practice, makes perfect!!