[Rukdafaidas]

Originally Posted by BIG K

Here lies the reason why not everyone can be in law enforcement. In my very first interview before I became a Sheriff, I was asked could I take someone else's life. It was obvious to me that the officer, peace be to his family, was not capable of taking anothers life. Strange behavior by people is normal but, as soon as he returned to his vehicle, I thought he was going to get a gun and I would have taken cover and pulled my weapon. (Don't bother with the argument that I wasn't in his shoes because I have been)

The officer took the step of asking the guy to drop the weapon, I would not have taken the time to ask. As an officer, if you see a weapon, the persons intent is implied and you cease to negotiate, period. To answer your question, we are trained to "stop" the agression. We train to 'shoot' center of mass, (the body, more defined as the chest area) if they stop and are still alive fine, if they die, oh well. He had a gun and the implied intent was to cause me harm or death, it would have been a justified shoot.

But, how do you know if you're capable until you're in that position? I'm sure the officer thought he was capable or he probably wouldn't have taken the job. It's tough to know exactly how you're going to react, until you're in that position.