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Use of a firearm in the line of duty?

Little background is probably in order, but I am still fairly shaken up. Last night on patrol at 7PM we go a call from the adjacent county of a high speed pursuit entering our jurisdiction with suspected drug ties and confirmed presence of firearms. As I was the closest unit in the area, I followed textbook procedure when responding to the call.

We set up a spike strip along the 2 lane highway, as we got word the vehicle was traveling northbound at a high rate of speed, at times exceeding 100 MPH. We set up the road block with weapons drawn when the perps hit the strip and their vehicle hit an embankment, flipped on its side and came to a rest aprox. 300 meters west of our position. As we approached, we witnessed 2 perpetrators exiting the vehicle in a crawl with weapons in their hands. Myself, and three other officers loudly exclaimed "Put it down"!, and "Put the weapons down"!

I have drawn my weapon tons of times in the line of duty, but never fired. When supposed driver raised his elbow in an apparent effort to point the weapon in our direction, we opened fire. Both perps survived, but with multiple gunshot wounds. As it turns out, the suspects were fleeing a reported carjacking after robbing a connivence store at gunpoint earlier in the day. Naturally, IA is going to want to chat with me Monday, and I did not get back from the station house til almost 8AM this morning.

Was I in the right?

4 Answers

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  • 8 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    Yeah you should be, they arent dead so that makes what automatically happened less serious, if he was threatening you with a weapon that you believed would cause serious harm to you or others that is what your gun is for.

  • 8 years ago

    You haven't been an officer very long, have you? You did just exactly what I would have done, so you went home and not to the morgue or hospital. It sounds like this was your first use of force incident, and we all wonder if we did the right thing the first time. Relax, sounds like a righteous shoot to me.

    Source(s): Former deputy sheriff/corporal
  • 8 years ago

    Yup, you were right, but your aim was probably off a bit. Do they not instruct head shots anymore?

    We always had a motto down our way in the deep south that said: "Better to be tried by 12 than to be carried by 6", and that might still apply.

  • 8 years ago

    You do know that in the event of a pro-longed investigation, civil suit, or other legal action that stems from this, there are ways that your internet musings about it could come out in court and be used against you. It has happened.

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