Cops shoot to live not to kill

THE EDITOR: A few months ago police officers on patrol in a small village in the Bahamas observed a car with four men speeding on the narrow streets of the village. They also observed that there were no rear lights or number plates on the car. Their suspicion aroused, they pursued the car, which eventually crashed into a tree. As the officers disembarked from the marked police vehicle the suspects opened fire with automatic weapons hitting one officer in the chest. The impact of the bullet into the bullet-resistant vest knocked him to the ground. He and his colleagues returned fire, killing one of the suspects and injuring the three others. Had it not been for the vest the officer hit in the chest would have died instantly.

In recent weeks in Trinidad and Tobago the police used deadly force which resulted in the deaths of suspected criminals. Very often the media and many citizens of the community express concern over what they term to be “Police Killings.” The question usually asked is whether the police shoot to kill. The simple answer to such a question is “No.” The average person who has not been involved in law enforcement cannot imagine how suddenly a routine traffic stop, such as the one mentioned earlier, an effort to execute a warrant or serve a summons can turn violent. Grave danger looms and is always present in any action the police have to take regardless of how minor it may seem. In the Bahamas we had a police officer shot when called to the scene of a domestic dispute between man and wife. The officer died on the scene. The public accepts the garbage seen on television where the bad guys are shot in the legs or the gun shot out of the hand and many other fictitious situations. In real life it is so different. The violence against the policeman explodes without warning and in most instances unexpected. It would last about three to five seconds with several rounds being exchanged from a distance of only a few feet. In a matter of seconds someone is dead or in severe pain and agony.

If the suspected criminal is down, the policeman, very nervous, will handcuff him and call for an ambulance. If the suspected criminal is bleeding profusely the officer is expected to and most likely will render first aid and try to save the life of the suspect, who just tried to kill him. I have known officers who have even prayed and pleaded with God to save the suspect’s life. If on the other hand the policeman is on the ground, more likely than not, the suspect will walk over to him, point his gun at his head and calmly pull the trigger. He will most likely steal the policeman’s weapon and flee from the scene. With the policeman dead the chances of the criminal suspect being identified are less. A senior police officer will later visit the policeman’s wife and children. In three to five seconds there is no time to talk, no time to shoot the weapon out of the suspect’s hand or to shoot to wound. Police officers are trained to aim for the centre chest and continue to fire until the threat on his life is ended. Those who protest were not there. They have no idea and it was not their life on the line.

Many police officers have strong moral codes. They do not wish to kill anyone. They are tremendously upset when it happens. Quite often they have to be counselled. Many of us became policemen to serve our country. Criminals who would fire on policemen have no moral restraints. They do not hesitate. They want to evade identity and capture. Our policemen are not trained to shoot to kill. They are trained to shoot to live. They are simply trying, desperately, in a few terror filled seconds to somehow survive the encounter and go home to their wives and families at the end of their work period. It is very well known that policemen involved in such encounters when the criminal dies become severely depressed, there is likely to be sleepless nights and post traumatic stress. He knows that he had only three — five seconds to shoot to live, while the public, the media and the courts will have years and decades to second guess what action the policeman should have taken.

I have a son in the police service. He works on the streets. I hope that the moment never comes when he will have to make such a decision. I sincerely hope and I do pray that he will not hesitate, not for even one second if his life hangs in the balance. I pray that his aim will be true and that he will shoot to live. I dread the thought to have the senior officers coming to me with news of his death at the hands of some criminal. He must shoot to live. I pray that policemen engaged in this battle on the streets will always come home to their families unharmed to return to the service each day and night, month after month, and year after year after year to keep our people safe and secure from the violent predators on the streets. There are tens of thousands of us all over. What we do is to Protect and Serve.

PAUL THOMPSON

Editor’s note: Paul Thompson is a Trinidadian who served in the Royal Bahamas Police Service for 30 years and then returned as Asst Commissioner of Police. He comes to Trinidad for Carnival every year and comes to the defence of the Police who he says, “shoot to live” not “to kill.”