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Bill May Forbid Cops From Shooting to Kill

052510shoottokill.jpg Cops are furious over a new bill that would require them to shoot suspects in the arm or leg rather than shooting to kill—even in life-or-death shootouts. The newly introduced "minimum force" bill would edit the justification clause, requiring cops to shoot "with the intent to stop, rather than kill" instead of giving the officer the right to kill if they feel their life is in danger. Michael Paladino, president of the Detectives Endowment Association, called the bill unrealistic, and told the Post, "This legislation would require officers to literally shoot the gun out of someone's hand or shoot to wound them in the leg or arm. I don't know of any criminal who doesn't shoot to kill. They are not bound by any restrictions."

The bill was originally drafted after the shooting of Sean Bell in 2006, but Patrolmen's Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch said cops don't need a bill to keep them from harming civilians. Statistics show that because of the difficult circumstances of most shootings, NYPD officers only hit their targets 17% of the time, though they are trained to shoot at the center of their target. Even VP Joe Biden, who was shown the bill last week, suggested calling it the "The John Wayne Bill" because it requires shooting skills only attainable in the movies.

The bill was sponsored by Assembly members Annette Robinson and Darryl Towns, and is currently being held for further consideration, which may mean more language changing before it is put to an Assembly vote.

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Comments [rss]

  • sowhtifithppnsitwll

    hey, if a person is aiming for an arm or leg are they not more likely to hit a torso?

  • ocm123

    This is a ridiculous law; people who are shot in the arm of leg can still fire back. Also, it is extremely unrealistic to tell an officer to shoot someone who is firing in the arm of leg from forty feet away in a dark alley or project courtyard.

  • ocm123

    Sorry for the typos. I meant to say that it is extremely unrealistic to tell an officer to aim at someone's arm or leg from forty feet way in a dark alley or project courtyard. Also, the guy firing at the police might be running, which makes it all the more difficult to hit a precise part of his body.

  • FDTW

    This bill is ridiculous, and it will never pass. It addresses a real problem in an entirely insane way. Why don't we enact laws requiring stricter review of police shootings and start indicting cops for manslaughter in cases like Sean Bell.

    Let's be honest, if you have a gun, and someone is shooting at you, you shoot to kill, cops or no cops. No training will change that, and that isn't the problem. The problem is cops shooting unarmed citizens or armed citizens who could be disarmed with less than lethal force. Start treating cops who shoot unarmed civilians as criminals, hold them accountable to already existing laws, and let them blow the head off real criminals with real intent to kill.

  • John L

    I agree, but this bill is necessary to prosecute officers that use excessive force. Cases like Sean Bell have gone to trial but the officers have been found not guilty because they were following the law which called for "use of deadly force" in those situations. Cops usually got off because they were following those guidelines but this will change those guidelines.

  • FDTW

    Right, but the way in which the bill is worded means that the PBA and news outlets (and apparently Biden) will talk about it as a "John Wayne Bill," meaning it will never pass. It should be re-written in a less attackable form.

  • John L

    Let me make it real simple for everyone this isn't about what body parts the cops are shooting at, this is about how many times should an officer shoot a person to stop them from being a danger to others. Even if officers shot someone 41 times in just their legs and arms it would still be a problem because that is EXCESSIVE.

    It's not where they are shooting but how many times.

    I can't even recall one was the last times criminals shot a victim 41 times.

    This is about training officers correctly to take a shot or two stop for a split second and take more shots AS NEEDED they can not be trained to blindly empty out their weapons, then they are acting as a firing squad.

  • Loulou

    I aint see anything much at all wrong with it and im dominican born and raised in bk

    I have a problem with thinking that goes on when you pull the gun

    Just like in the military you gotta train,train,train*

    The whole white statement is wrong because even I know of "white guilt"..see it everyday in williamsburg

    In fact your statement "The only people that see nothing wrong with the "shoot to kill" training by the nypd are whites of course (BTW white myself)" shows it clearly.

    I aint naive and on that fairy tale shit of all cops are good and out to protect us.

    Just like that I had my good and bad with the law and I aint gonna be prejudice and say all cops are bad either.

    Lets cut the shit if it wasn't for cops it would be open season.

  • John L

    Please ladies and gentlemen don't fall for the propaganda that the NYPD's union is making this out to be. Here is the actual law as it reads now and how it would read if this bill passes:

    THE CURRENT LAW

    Section of state Penal Law S 35.15(2)(a)(ii)

    “A person may not use deadly physical force upon another person . . . unless: he or she is . . . a police officer or peace officer or a person assisting a police officer or a peace officer at the latter’s direction.”



    THE PROPOSAL

    Section of Assembly Bill A02952

    “A police officer or peace officer . . . uses such force with the intent to stop, rather than kill . . . and uses only the minimal amount of force necessary to effect such stop.”



    No where does it say to aim for limbs or any other body part, that's silly. This proposal says "use force with the intent to stop, rather than kill" meaning focus on stopping the person instead of making sure the person is dead, that's all.

    There's no need to shoot a human 41 times, (unless your goal is to kill) and I think that's what this bill is trying to correct. Cops carry 16 shot Glocks but there's no need to immediately empty out the clip on anyone. So this bill says, you can shoot but remember the goal is to STOP the person not kill them, so if possible take less shots. For example, if the cop shoots the person twice and pauses for a second and sees that the person is still a threat then take another shot and so on until you stopped him/her but officers should not be trained or encouraged to keep shooting until they run out of bullets.

  • ozik

    "...or a person assisting a police officer or a peace officer at the latter’s direction."

    I'm glad this bill takes into account all the sitcom and cop show situations in which a spunky bystander is pressed into helping the police:

    "He got me... I'm dying here, spunky newspaper vendor. You gotta take my gun and sneak up on the terrorist and shoot him anywhere not in the explosive belt. It's okay, state Penal Law S 35.15(2)(a)(ii) has got you covered..."

  • ozik

    Maybe I should write "plucky" instead of "spunky", things being the way they are nowadays.

  • CaptainMXC

    Well said.

  • kc2slg

    No one who has ever fired a handgun would find this anything less than total idiocy.

  • twelveicat

    2011:

    Introducing all new: poison bullets. Can't aim? Boss telling you to shoot for extremities? No problem! These guys activate upon contact with blood and immediately render the affected body uninhabitable.

    2016:

    New law goes into effect: cops can't use hurtful words in the middle of a firefight. They have to be polite to anyone pointing a gun at them and tell them nicely, but sternly to "put the weapon down." They can only get their guns out of the car if the perp refuses 3 verbal requests and 1 in writing.

  • napalm

    The only people that see nothing wrong with the "shoot to kill" training by the nypd are whites of course (BTW white myself). The day a police officer shoots an unarmed white male or female, the nypd would be forced to walk the beat on their knees.

    The mentality and actions of the nypd are disgusting. For example, a few years ago, in the BX, there was an incident where police were called for a fight and when officers arrived, there was a teen holding a knife, police officers say drop it twice, they shoot him four times in his chest. Chest! You mean to tell me there was no way to shoot him in the leg or arm?

    Anyone who says the nypd are out to protect us is just plain naive or just fucking retarded. They are out to make their quota which they are paid to do

  • longacre

    Mr. Napalm, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

  • ocm123

    Just curious, did you ever hear about the killing of the Baptist paster in Georgia, Jonathan Ayers? Ayers, who was white, was a completely innocent and unarmed person when he was shot to death by the police sitting in his car in a gas station. Under your reasoning this case (involving a white pastor)would be all over the national news, but it was not.

    http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-5279161-504083.html

    http://www.ajc.com/news/family-store-owner-wonder-130662.html

  • As nice as this would be, in real life when firearms are involved, the wherewithall to aim (and hit) a suspect in a non-lethal area (the arm and leg still contain critical arteries, namely the brachial and femoral, respectively) is simply not there. Firearms are dangerous and lethal; any shot, essentially, has the potential to kill. We can't pretend like there's a special way to shoot a gun that makes it less lethal than other ways, especially in adrenaline-charged situations.

    All of this being said, Paladino's justification seems off the mark: "Criminals don't play by rules, so cops shouldn't have to, either."

  • camera_club

    can we remove their guns as well!?

  • Loulou

    Having someone take aim at a specific limb/body part another than the chest is just dumb and is gonna end up with more deaths

    I can guarantee you the people who came up with this shit have no experience with guns at all and most likely never even shot one

    A realistic approach would have been more mandated gun training

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