When it comes to police officers in America, the firepower that each officer so has, is plenty lethal; in which, the firearms that they utilize are quite capable of firing not just one round in a second, but three rounds or even more – and the more rounds so fired, the greater the chance that somebody will feel the effect of that bullet or bullets, of which, many a person so getting shot by a police officer’s handgun do not fare well, at all. The thing about lethality of the handguns so being utilized by police officers, is not ever situation, necessitates or calls for, the use of that lethal firearm, whatsoever. So too, the salient fact that firearms of today, unlike the revolvers of yesteryear, are quite capable of discharging multiple rounds of bullets at an extremely rapid rate, is indicative that those on the receiving end of those bullets will find that they need not overly worry about being arrested or having their day in court, because they are often, dead or mortally wounded.
Not every situation, that a police officer confronts, necessitates the use or the threat of use of a lethal firearm. While a police officer is fairly entitled to protect themselves as well as to protect innocent others, this doesn’t mean that they don’t also have other viable choices, to avail themselves of, especially since their duty is really one of service to the community, as opposed to being the enforcer of that community. This thus signifies, that as things currently stand, that there is a strong correlation, between the more lethal the weapon that a police officer has, and the more people that end up getting killed or badly hurt.
Perhaps, in the real world, having deadly firepower readily available is always a necessity; so as to have order, or such is a requirement for the officer to best do their job, or as a tool to serve and protect the public, and so on and so forth. Yet, taking another person’s life, is a very serious thing, of which, those with a conscience, might well find themselves second guessing what has so occurred and wonder if perhaps there were alternatives that could have been pursued, instead. It is submitted, that in many a case, there are legitimate alternatives, and if we so prioritize these more, it would probably be a better construct for society. This is why, devices such as a Taser, or the use of pepper spray, or of rubber bullets, most definitely have their place, and the training and usage of such, should definitely be encouraged.
We need to keep in mind, that there are a fair amount of people that are mentally disturbed, but aren’t themselves, typically, a real and present danger to anyone; so too, there are plenty of people that find themselves somehow to be just in a really bad place, but given enough time, their situation can often be successfully de-escalated. The thing about firearm usage from the police, is that it all happens so very quickly and probably way too easily; and once a bullet or bullets has been discharged from a gun, there isn’t any way to ever take them back.