Did LE really have to shoot to kill?
What happened to shoot to disable him and cause him to drop his weapon?
I bet these officers did not have shoulder cams on. So, it’s only a one way version as to what happened.
NC LE are too anxious to shoot. It has been an ongoing problem for years!
When a person mentions "shooting to wound" they often mean to shoot someone in the arm, leg shoulder or other non-fatal location.
After all, they just want the person to stop their aggressive behavior, remove the threat, and not KILL them. Right? That makes sense on the surface, but I want to point out that there are some important things to consider.
During an event when the life is, or is perceived as being, mortally threatened, the body enters fight or flight mode. The brain dumps chemicals including adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol into the body to prepare itself to survive. The downside, these same substances that increase our alertness and strength and endurance also decrease our reaction time. Why? Blood is diverted from our extremities and from the surface of the skin to decrease bleeding if we were to be injured. Functions not necessary for survival including digestion are slowed or completely shut down. (I personally believe my metabolism entered the fight or flight mode at age 30 but that's another post).
That, in turn, greatly diminishes our fine motor skills, tunnel vision may occur, as a response to the chemicals being released into the body. In this state, some people have lost the ability to unlock doors, operate phones, or other actions that require fine motor skills. Being accurate with a handgun is exceedingly difficult, and under those conditions that ability is greatly reduced. The military and law enforcement teach that when adrenalin dump occurs the training takes over. Is your training up to speed? For in that state, even the best of shooters, including trained LEO, may not be able to get that one shot to the shoulder, hand, arm or elsewhere. If you miss, the guy with the gun is going to be shooting YOU.
With the exception of a brain shot, most shots do not kill instantly. Man, like any other animal, must follow the dictates of nature and expire from lack of oxygen to the brain. How is this going to happen? First is your basic circulatory collapse, either a complete failure of the heart that stops the flow of oxygenated blood to the brain or bleeding out. Or second, they can die from loss of functioning of the lungs, i.e. the lungs fill with blood or the airways are disrupted to the point that they cannot support the flow of air through them. When the lungs quit replenishing the oxygen in the blood what little you have left in oxygen stores is soon gone and the brain shuts down.
But unlike TV, this does not happen instantly, and depending on where your shot went and how determined or high on drugs your attacker is, they might reach you before you find out.
