Officer fires gun into air

[bigun]

Originally Posted by jednp

I'll second guess a LEO, even if their ass is on the line. Which, I don't believe this officers was. You never fire into the air. And to top it off, she has to do the whole macho beverly hills cop thing and threaten to shoot if they don't stop. Last time I checked, someone not obeying your command to stop, does not give you the permission to shoot them. Not unless they are running at you and you told them to stop already. But threatening to drop someone running away, when they were only involved in a fight.. is wrong. I hope this officer gets repremanded for this hard. When it comes to firearms safety, LEO should be the ones you know you can count on to follow the rules.

Similar to this story, OPD officers exposed their private parts, and fondled the breasts of a suspected prostitute to prove to her that they weren't cops. It's amazing the conduct our police dept thinks is ok.

If they are a fleeing felon and a danger to the community it is ok to shoot them as they try to elude arrest. Warning shots however are never OK.

[jonny04srt4]

Originally Posted by bigun

If they are a fleeing felon and a danger to the community it is ok to shoot them as they try to elude arrest. Warning shots however are never OK.

+1, tho i do not think that the man was a felon, was he? firing warning shots is a big no no, i will agree with that. on mythbusters there was a doctor that did nothing else but study victims of bullets fired into the air.

[SgtRich]

Firing a shot into the air = Bad. Should never be done.

Yelling, "Stop or I'll shoot!" = So what? There's no law broken there. Get over it.

[jednp]

Originally Posted by SgtRich

Firing a shot into the air = Bad. Should never be done.

Yelling, "Stop or I'll shoot!" = So what? There's no law broken there. Get over it.

It's not the fact that it was said really that bothers me. What bothers me, is who said it. With her wreckless behavior, she probably would have shot, and that would have been wrong. We as civilians apparently won't be able to be trusted once we have CCW, to make decisions on when or when not to shoot. Yet a cop firing a gun into the air, and threatening to shoot an unarmed person running away over a small fight, is trustworthy? Fact is, there's no need to say "stop or I'll shoot" unless there is a real reason to shoot that person. I don't know about you, but we don't need cops running around with the mentality that anyone who runs gets shot. Next it will lead to anyone who doesn't answer to their questions gets hit with a night stick.

[retired]

warning shots are a big no-no, against all general orders and the law.

Different depts. have different policies. My former dept. ok'd warning shots only in certain cases, but not into the air. IIRC, they didn't do it until about 5 or 6 yrs. ago.

Re the threat to shoot: Like SgtRich said, so what. Leos are allowed to lie to bad guys, so what's the problem with threatening to shoot if that is all it it is; a threat. If it gets the bad guy to stop so he can be detained, it was a good trick. I did the same thing when I was off duty while detaining two carjackers in front of my home. I knew if they got up and ran that I wasn't going to shoot, because I couldn't. They didn't know that and they were nice enough to stay around until the local pd arrived and cuffed them. Now, if they had gone for their waistband, I would have shot them as I knew they had used a gun. Turns out one of them had it on him.

Bigun is right in his statement also; my former dept. has that policy also. Well, they had it before I retired, I don't know about now.

[retired]

warning shots are a big no-no, against all general orders and the law.

Different depts. have different policies. My former dept. ok'd warning shots only in certain cases, but not into the air. IIRC, they didn't do it until about 5 or 6 yrs. ago.

Re the threat to shoot: Like SgtRich said, so what. Leos are allowed to lie to bad guys, so what's the problem with threatening to shoot if that is all it it is; a threat. If it gets the bad guy to stop so he can be detained, it was a good trick. I did the same thing when I was off duty while detaining two carjackers in front of my home. I knew if they got up and ran that I wasn't going to shoot, because I couldn't. They didn't know that and they were nice enough to stay around until the local pd arrived and cuffed them. Now, if they had gone for their waistband, I would have shot them as I knew they had used a gun. Turns out one of them had it on him.

Bigun is right in his statement also; my former dept. has that policy also. Well, they had it before I retired, I don't know about now.

I agree about not shooting into the air; that just plain stupid.

[Mike TRT]

Originally Posted by retired

My former dept. ok'd warning shots only in certain cases, but not into the air.

Really? I haven't heard of that.....the liability to fire "anywhere" in a non-deadly force situation is huge.

I haven't shot warning shots (or been allowed to) since the coast guard days when a nice burst across the bow to stop a fleeing vessel with the .50

[Mercmar]

Originally Posted by jednp

You're right, it's not rocket science. Considering the fact that she threatened to drop him if he didn't stop after she asked next, that is what we're talking about. Not an officer "threatening" to shoot, under any circumstances that might happen in. So, lets stay on topic. It's talking about shooting someone running away. So talking about threatening to shoot someone, regarding this story, any person who at least has middle school science experience, would know that's what this is about when it comes to threatening to shoot.

Better go back to your middle-school and get some further instructions. Your response is totally nonsensical. There's nothing wrong with her threatening to shoot, under any circumstances outlined in your original post. Is that clear enough, or should I only limit my response to monosyllables?

[retired]

Mike, it is under extremely limited conditions and IIRC, it is to be into the ground. Obviously, if the situation is occurring on pavement, etc., where there would be danger of a ricochet, it can't be done.

I don't recall the exact policy as I'm retired and I've forgotten the specifics of that policy. I was actually surprised when it came about; amazed would be a better term actually.

[mike1972]

You are responsible for every round that you discharge from your gun....... PERIOD...... This story sickens me

Some people are not the type who will engage in combat. Some people are the type who will not know what to do when verbal judo fails. Some people are the type who would be combat ineffective in a situation where physical force is needed........

Those types of people SHOULD ABSOLUTELY UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES BE A COP!

And for one simple reason. Not every person respects the uniform.... In a situation like that, the last thing you want to be is a person who is expected to handle a situation, and not be able to.

I am not a sexist person, nor do I feel that a persons physical prowess makes them any better than others... HOWEVER, I DO feel that those who are expected to do jobs like LE should be able to fight & fight well... Otherwise, why are you a cop?????