Why officers shoot till the threat is stopped

I tried my hand at deputy sheriff work in the late 70's and didn't like it much so moved on.
Back at that time shotguns were carried in a locking stand in the middle of the front seat.
Always.
I don't recall one being used but it was there if needed.Back then around here a slap jack was the most used tool. Most offenders just wanted to fight and no weapons were used against officers.Lots of knots on noggins on Sunday morning but everyone lived to fight again.

This video looks like a shotgun would have been a good thing to have in that case.

Hi cap pistols and firing lots of rounds don't make sense to me. Looks like one or two rounds from a shotgun would be safer for the officers and the public.

But it seems there is not much that makes sense anymore.
 
The patrol rifle has replaced the shotgun in most law enforcement roles that call for a long gun today.
 
I wonder why the LEO decided to holster his pistol when the perp was charging at him? Seems like a couple of more rounds in the X ring would have been better.
 
He maybe should have shot from a close retention position as the bad guy closed on him. The flip side is that he expected to go hands on with the bad guy in that last charge at such close range and you don't do that with the gun in your hand. The safest place for the handgun in a grapple is locked into the security holster. Hindsight is that grappling with a knife wielding nut job is a very bad thing. The officer is reacting to the bad guys actions and at those close ranges he has parts of a second to recognize what is happening and formulate a plan to react and counter the bad guy. Sometimes you get it right and sometimes you don't.
 
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This is why I switched from a little Ruger LC9S Pro 7 round semi-automatic pistol to a Walther PPQ SC LE Semi-Automatic pistol with 15 round magazine in a double-stack magazine configuration. The Walther PPQ SC LE is heavier and harder to carry but if I need protection It will give me better protection that the little Ruger.

That guy in the video that was shot was on something. He was too jacked up and didn't go down after being hit multiple times. Not sure what caliber and type of bullets that police gun was firing but they didn't stop the guy from getting back up. I would have pulled the trigger a few more times. You can tell that the policeman didn't want to shoot the guy but had no choice. A knife can do tremendous damage at close range and the gun closed and go the drop on the policeman. If not for the other policeman being there to shoot the guy with the knife the 1st policeman could have been killed.

Now, this video makes me think about Officer Brown and the Fergerson MS incident with that Michael Brown Kid who had just robbed a convenience store and was bull-rushing the Fergerson MS policemen after fighting for the policeman's gun inside the patrol car. That set off a riot and the policeman ended up resigning from the force. A big guy like that can also do a lot of damage if he gets up close to you. The policeman in that incident kept shooting until Michael Brown was dead. People just don't have respect for the law anymore. Some of these people are brought up to disrespect law enforcement. They think that they can get by robbing stores and fighting with the policemen for the policeman's gun.
 
Originally Posted By: GCHe maybe should have shot from a close retention position as the bad guy closed on him. The flip side is that he expected to go hands on with the bad guy in that last charge at such close range and you don't do that with the gun in your hand. The safest place for the handgun in a grapple is locked into the security holster. Hindsight is that grappling with a knife wielding nut job is a very bad thing. The officer is reacting to the bad guys actions and at those close ranges he has parts of a second to recognize what is happening and formulate a plan to react and counter the bad guy. Sometimes you get it right and sometimes you don't.

IMHO the safest place for that gun was pointing it at the guy who was charging him with a knife and pulling the trigger until that guy with the kife as back on the ground.
 
Originally Posted By: Coyotehunter_Originally Posted By: GCHe maybe should have shot from a close retention position as the bad guy closed on him. The flip side is that he expected to go hands on with the bad guy in that last charge at such close range and you don't do that with the gun in your hand. The safest place for the handgun in a grapple is locked into the security holster. Hindsight is that grappling with a knife wielding nut job is a very bad thing. The officer is reacting to the bad guys actions and at those close ranges he has parts of a second to recognize what is happening and formulate a plan to react and counter the bad guy. Sometimes you get it right and sometimes you don't.

IMHO the safest place for that gun was pointing it at the guy who was charging him with a knife and pulling the trigger until that guy with the kife as back on the ground.

I can agree with that. BTW, the Michael Brown shooting was in Ferguson, Missouri.
 
Originally Posted By: GCOriginally Posted By: Coyotehunter_Originally Posted By: GCHe maybe should have shot from a close retention position as the bad guy closed on him. The flip side is that he expected to go hands on with the bad guy in that last charge at such close range and you don't do that with the gun in your hand. The safest place for the handgun in a grapple is locked into the security holster. Hindsight is that grappling with a knife wielding nut job is a very bad thing. The officer is reacting to the bad guys actions and at those close ranges he has parts of a second to recognize what is happening and formulate a plan to react and counter the bad guy. Sometimes you get it right and sometimes you don't.

IMHO the safest place for that gun was pointing it at the guy who was charging him with a knife and pulling the trigger until that guy with the kife as back on the ground.

I can agree with that. BTW, the Michael Brown shooting was in Ferguson, Missouri.

Yes. Thanks. I was trying to say Missouri but can't remember the shorthand for Missouri. I'm guessing it's not MS. It's MO maybe? I should have looked it up. My mistake.
 
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