Researcher Alexander Jason reports that even under benign experimental conditions brain programming compels roughly seven out of 10 officers to keep discharging rounds after being signaled to stop shooting. “In a real gunfight, under extraordinary stress and threat of death, an even much higher percentage would likely deliver extra shots,” Jason asserts. [More]This is something to hold onto and give to your attorney if you're ever involved in a DGU where you just keep firing.
[Via Carl S]
7 comments:
Somehow I don't see this as explaining the cop who apparently reloaded twice in the course of shooting the unarmed Bell to death in NY.
This is just propaganda to manipulate the public. It has no validity at all. But I'm sure it will be embraced by every murdering coward in blue who has no self control. It makes shooting board inquiries so much easier. Don't know how that works, exactly since they alway rubber stamp "justified" on anydamnthing a cop does.
that even under benign experimental conditions brain programming compels roughly seven out of 10 officers to keep discharging rounds after being signaled to stop shooting
It means they were not trained properly which seems par for the course. I can't speak for police instructors and instruction, but I am an IDPA Safety Officer and in the rare occasion that I need to yell STOP! my shooters all stop immediately after hearing the command. It only takes a couple of Safety Chats and a bit of practice to do it.
Not that I have any desire to "justify" most of the things done by cops but _if_ someone is justified in shooting even one round then a few more is probably good policy. And that applies whether you are a cop or not.
As to training people to stop shooting when someone yells STOP!, that seems like a particularly bad idea. If I am in a shoot or die situation I don't want a trained response to slow me down at a critical moment if one of the bad guys yells STOP! Some other cue should be used at the range, something not likely to occur in a confrontation.
Bob R beat me to the point about using stop in police or self defense training.
As to the timing involved to cease firing? In a class once we timed the students in firing five aimed rounds at ten yards with 12 gauge slugs. I fired off all five rounds, first shot to last in 0.81 seconds.
How long does it take to yell "stop!"? How long to yell "Cease Fire!"? At my previously stated rate of fire that's at least one round between the 's' and the 'p' of stop, at least two rounds before you finish yelling "cease fire".
In this study the timer probably started the instant power went to the lights. But it takes time for electricity to run up the line to the lights, time for the lights to power up and emit light. Time for that light to reach the shooters eyes. Time for the eyes to send that info to the brain, for the brain to process that a light is shining. Time for the brain to decide that is a signal to cease fire, and time to send a message to the muscles to stop pulling the trigger. All this occurs after the timer starts and none of it is instantaneous.
Here you go: Reaction Times in Lethal Force Encounters: The Tempe Study (PDF)
http://www.forcescience.org/articles/tempestudy.pdf
And this is related: Biomechanics of Lethal Force Encounters (PDF) (interesting data on time to trigger, reaction times, etc)
http://www.forcescience.org/articles/biomechanics.pdf
And then there’s this interesting piece of historical data; The Lethal Employee:
A close examination of the statistics on workplace violence reveal, per stats from the Justice Department:
About 2 million are victims of assault.
More than 1,000 are killed.
Workplace homicides account for 1 out of 6 fatal injuries.
Firearms used to commit more than 80% of all workplace homicides.
About 75% occurred during a robbery.
20% were the result of bombings, stabbings, beatings.
Etc, etc.
http://www.forcescience.org/articles/lethalemployee.pdf
And yet they still carp about keeping us safe by preventing us from being prepared for effective self-defense. I wonder just how many of those “lethal employees” are Only Ones?
The Articles page ( http://www.forcescience.org/articles.html ) has a wealth of data, official data, that could be used to rebut most if not al of the anti-gun arguments. If only that was funded as our full-time job.
As an aside, when I am asked if I am armed, or why I carry, I answer that, except for my pre-teen years, there has never been a day in my life (aside from the times I was unconscious, paralyzed, or in coma ) that I have not been armed. As I’m sure you’ve heard before, a weapon is only a tool. The “armament” lies between one’s ears. Then I ask the questioner “Do you have a belt buckle? Well then, there you go; you’re carrying a deadly weapon.” The same person seldom asks twice.
Not to be confused with investigator Jason Alexander:
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/palm/blog/jalexander_375x375.jpg
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