Through the school paper, I’ve been talking with some of the supervisors in Campus Police. The guy I interviewed last night is the perfect person to interview: you ask him a question and he’ll talk for a while, so it’s not a round of 20 Questions. Some of what he said isn’t really relevant to the article I’m working on, but it’s really neat anyway.
For example, would you ever have thought that:
- Repeated studies have shown that an officer whose shoes aren’t shined is significantly more prone to being attacked? Not, presumably, because criminals secretly have major OCD, but because, on a subconscious level, it communicates that the officer is not at the top of their game. Or at least that’s what researchers have theorized.
- If you’re an officer with a holstered gun, and someone comes at you with a knife, if they’re closer than 21 feet, they’re going to stab you before you can fire. This one surprises me a lot. Five feet and I could see them lunging at you. But 21 feet seems like an incredible distance. I remarked about how surprisingly high that was, and he told me that they periodically demonstrate it at the range: someone stands (well off to the side so they don’t get shot) 21 feet away, and, when a signal is giving, the officer pulls his gun and fires at a target, and the guy 21 feet away starts running. Every single time, he’s past the shooter before they get off their first shot.
Yeah I knew about the knife thing. It comes up a lot. That is of course why police like to keep a good distance from people or get their gun out early. The thing is I wonder how many untrained people could hit someone with a gun at more than 21 feet. Especially while under stress – like being afraid. It’s not as easy as people think. I’ve done some practice in what they call practical (or tactical) pistol shooting and I’m not bad at it. Not great at it eather. I’d really rather not have to bet my life on it.
What concerns me about a gun is that, by definition, you’re going to have to use it in a VERY stressful situation. And if, in that split second, you don’t make a sound decision, you may be tried for murder. It’s not like you sit back for a few minutes and ponder whether you’re legally justified in using it. (Granted, a guy charging you at a knife is pretty straight-forward. But suppose some guy bashes in your window with a baseball bat in the night. Is it vandalism, burglary, or is he intending to hurt you? Is the bat a weapon or just a means of breaking our your window? Will a jury agree?) Granted, I suppose in many cases, your choice really comes down to “risking being tried for murder” and “risking being buried as a murder victim,” but still, I don’t know if I trust myself to make the right decision in that blink of an eye.
I think the people who are going to come at a cop with a knife are probably not thinking too clearly anyway. The problem is that they’re probably perfectly willing to risk their life, and just don’t care.
A lot of firearms trainers recommend that gun owners think long and hard about possible situations before they ever come up. You want to have a base set of thinking before it comes up. Guns for self-defence are not for everyone. I’m not sure they are for me in every case.
Someone with a knife is scary. I’ve never been threatened with a gun but I have with a knife. I do not wish to have that happen again.