NCJ Number
149399
Journal
Police Marksman Volume: 18 Issue: 6 Dated: (November/December 1993) Pages: 14-17
Date Published
1993
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article develops police firearms training principles drawn from the findings of the PMA/Fairburn study, a 3-year analysis of police firearms effectiveness.
Abstract
Although the stopping power data were not scientifically valid, the data obtained from 180 police shootings has proven useful in the identification of principles related to police survival in shoot-outs. In all the incidents examined, the police officers survived. Many of the shooting reports included information to suggest that the felon continued to pose a threat to the officer even after he had been hit. This indicates the importance of placing a shot at a point on the anatomy that will stop the felon immediately. This must be a hit to the central nervous system (a hit between the eyes). Training should focus on making such a hit to ensure the assailant is stopped. Data also show that hit percentages fall as more rounds are fired, suggesting that firing fewer rounds and concentrating on making hits is the more successful technique. Training should emphasize shooting in segments of two rounds. Findings show that officer survival and stopping the assailant are more likely when the officer is at least 20 feet from the assailant. This is due to the police officer's superior training in firearms use. Officers should therefore be trained to move backward to increase distance from the assailant while firing.