It's past time to revisit the 21 foot rule

[maxrandb]

I was interested in where this "21 foot kill-zone" the police keep talking about came from, and found some interesting stuff. Apparently this has been standard police training for over 20 years, but it also appears that it is not being properly taught or practiced. I've bolded some of the things from the article I find telling.

http://www.policeone.com/edged-weapons/articles/102828-Edged-Weapon-Defense-Is-or-was-the-21-foot-rule-valid-Part-1/

1. MISINTERPRETATION

"Unfortunately, some officers and apparently some trainers as well have 'streamlined' the 21-Foot Rule in a way that gravely distorts its meaning and exposes them to highly undesirable legal consequences," Lewinski says. Namely, they have come to believe that the Rule means that a subject brandishing an edged weapon when positioned at any distance less than 21 feet from an officer can justifiably be shot.

For example, an article on the 21-Foot Rule in a highly respected LE magazine states in its opening sentence that "a suspect armed with an edged weapon and within twenty-one feet of a police officer presents a deadly threat." The "common knowledge" that "deadly force against him is justified" has long been "accepted in police and court circles," the article continues.

Statements like that, Lewinski says, "have led officers to believe that no matter what position they're in, even with their gun on target and their finger on the trigger, they are in extreme danger at 21 feet. They believe they don't have a chance of surviving unless they preempt the suspect by shooting.

"However widespread that contaminated interpretation may be, it is NOT accurate. A suspect with a knife within 21 feet of an officer is POTENTIALLY a deadly threat. He does warrant getting your gun out and ready. But he cannot be considered an actual threat justifying deadly force until he takes the first overt action in furtherance of intention--like starting to rush or lunge toward the officer with intent to do harm. Even then there may be factors besides distance that influence a force decision.

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Now I ask you, could the officers in St. Louis have taken cover behind thier vehicle?

Instead of yelling and screaming, could they have just calmly talked to him and tried to de-escalate the situation?

Again, I think that mis-teaching this 21 foot kill-zone needs to end. There simply needs to be a return to samity.

[Schema Thing]

1. also the "empty your gun into them" rule.

THAT is the militarization of the police that likely took Brown's life. This idea that you shoot till they are limp on the ground, is bullshit and needs to end yesterday. Yeah, maybe in war, but not in "protect and to serve".

[Logical]

2. Cops are idiotic. One fires and then all of them need to unload their guns also. nt

[alcibiades_mystery]

3. I'm laughing to keep from crying

[951-Riverside]

4. Before it was "a car is a 3000lb weapon" now it's "the body is a weapon"

50ft ...21ft it doesn't matter. You have a bunch of sick crazy mentally ill people involved in law enforcement who just want to kill people, of course the powers that be let them do it with impunity.