From: callison@essex.ecn.uoknor.edu (James P. Callison)
Newsgroups: rec.guns
Subject: Re: Denver Police shoot man
Date: 18 Dec 92 13:35:55 GMT
Organization: Engineering Computer Network, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA

In article <1992Dec17.120738.9138@ke4zv.uucp> emory!ke4zv!gary@gatech.edu (Gary Coffman) writes:
#In article <199212160530.AA13594@news.service.uci.edu> spickett@orion.oac.uci.edu (Steve Pickett) writes:
##
#As Super Chicken once said, "You knew the job was dangerous when you took
#it, Fred." Sure police work is stressful, but it was a free choice by the
#individual to put themselves in that situation. Police are sworn to serve
#and protect, not intimidate and terrorize. They have no right to put an
#ordinary citizen in a stressful situation in order to ease *their* stress
#levels.

#It should also be noted that police work is *not* one of the more dangerous
#jobs in America. Firefighters, coal miners, and agricultural workers are
#more likely to be injured or killed on the job than police. Farmers have
#the highest injury and death rate on the job of any common occupation,
#yet that's normally considered a low stress job. 

Exactly how many farmers do you know? It's basically days of long, hard
work, with plenty of stress over whether the crop will come through so
you and your family will survive. Farming is _NOT_ a low-stress job!

#In police work, automobile
#crashes claim more police officer's lives than all other causes combined.
#Prohibiting high speed chases would do more to increase police, and public,
#safety than any other action.

Actually, I think that most of the officers killed in auto crashes are 
hit by other drivers. I know of MANY cases of officers in Oklahoma
being killed by being hit while writing tickets, but I know of no cases
where an officer was killed during a high-speed chase.

But back to the original subject, whether it's right or not, you must
become as non-threatening as possible as quickly as possible. That goes
double if you have a gun, because both you _and_ the weapon have to 
become non-threatening, or it _will_ get you shot (it's the rare cop
who'll give leeway where a firearm is concerned. He can't afford to.).
In my case, I'd operate the decocker, then allow the gun to pivot
around my gun finger, so that it hangs by the trigger guard, grasping
it around the slide--after I've explained it to the officer.
IMHO, explaining what you're going to do is the imperative here. If the
perp gets away, it's their responsibility to recapture him; yours is to
STAY ALIVE. If they have their guns drawn, they shoulde be protecting
you and covering him; if they can't, you're positioned WRONG. You should
IMHO, position yourself, to the best of your ability, in such a way that
when the police show up, they can see both you and the perp. That's also
to your advantage, as it gives you the bestview of the surroundings.

				James

James P. Callison       Microcomputer Coordinator        OU Law Library 
Callison@aardvark.ucs.uoknor.edu   /\    Callison@uokmax.ecn.uoknor.edu
	constellation!biglaw!callison@mailhost.ecn.uoknor.edu
DISCLAIMER: I'm not an engineer, but I play one at work...
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