Page 20 - August 2016 Newsletter

One-shot drop only in the movies
One of the most common public complaints about police involved shootings stems from the number of shots fired at a suspect. The public can’t understand how multiple shots ever can be justified. Television and movies have pro- grammed civilians into believing that upon be- ing shot by a single round the subject falls to the ground and dies. This misconception is one of the many problems contributing to the divi-
shop. It found that “reliable and reproducible instant inca- pacitation is not possible with any handgun bullet.” Even if the heart is destroyed, the individual has enough oxygen in the brain for full and complete voluntary action for 10 to 15 seconds. Moreover, the study concluded that the psy- chological factors contributing to incapacitation are prob- ably more important than any others, including knowledge of the injury, fears concerning the injury, intimidation by
DANIEL HERBERT
sion between the public and its officers. Law enforce- ment must attempt to educate the public about certain realities not known to civilians if it hopes to improve relations with the community.
the weapon and the desire to quit. However, mental fac- tors are also the primary cause of people not being rendered incapacitated. A person may be unaware of the wound, highly motivated to escape or keep fighting, filled with adrenaline and/or under the
Bullets rarely incapacitate a subject instantly. The
most common reaction to being shot is actually no reaction. Absent a hit to the central nervous system,
a subject can continue to function for up to 15 seconds. The lethality of most gunshot wounds is due to blood loss, which is unlikely to result in immediate incapacitation be- cause the brain can continue to function without oxygen for a short period of time; the amount of oxygen depriva- tion is dependent on the amount of blood flow to the brain, which, unless all blood flow to the brain is shut off, may not drop to incapacitating levels until the wounded person has lost a considerable amount of blood.
The FBI Academy conducted a wound ballistic work-
sion is the type of ammunition used by law enforce- ment officers. Handgun ammunition is capable of produc- ing lethal injuries but its ability to inflict incapacitating injuries is much less efficient. Also, officers involved in shootings usually don’t know whether they have struck the offender until well after the shooting. A study of New York Police Department officer involved shootings from 1998 to 2006 found that officers had an average hit rate of only 18 percent. What is more, a police officer with average firing skills is capable of firing up to five shots per second.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 20
FOP
Legal Rep t
influence of drugs.
Another factor relevant to the shots fired discus-
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ AUGUST 2016 19