From: ke4zv!gary@gatech.edu (Gary Coffman)
Newsgroups: rec.guns
Subject: Re: Bad tactical position ( was Psychology in Defense)
Date: 19 Nov 92 15:15:09 GMT
Organization: Gannett Technologies Group

In article <01GR43DMASCW0057UK@VAX1.Mankato.MSUS.EDU> apskato@vax1.mankato.msus.edu writes:
#In article <lairdb.721549413@crash.cts.com>, lairdb@crash.cts.com writes:
## I am a police officer?  Look at the result with mild surprise, say "whoops",
## get kidded in the locker room, and do a few days of paperwork until the
## shooting team sends me a memo saying "No problem, bucko, it was a good shoot."
#Please.  How about getting put on administrative leave for a long time while
#the Internal Affiars Unit, the County Attorney's office, the City Manager's
#office, the local human right's commission, the US attorney's office, the FBI,
#the Justice Department, and the local news media review your actions and decide
#over the course of several months to years what you had a second or so to
#decide.  As an officer, you will get reviewed by administrative law, civil law
#and criminal law.  If Internal Affiar's decides that you violated the
#departmental policy, you can kiss your butt (and your job and pension) goodbye.
#Heaven help you went the victim's family's defense counsel get's done with you.
#Now you can not only kiss your job and your pension goodbye, but also the house
#and anything you will have to sell to pay the civil penalties.

Both of these positions are true. It's amazing the amount of variation
in local exposure there can be. This is like the concern shown by some
posters over liability issues involving handloaded ammo. In some locations
it may be a concern, but certainly not in Georgia. Here, a cop is almost
never put on administrative leave after a shoot, except in the city of
Atlanta. He's right back out on the street as soon as he picks up some
fresh ammo.

Most departments don't even have an IA unit. They call in the GBI to
look at the case if they have doubts, which is seldom. Human rights
commission? What's that? One department I deal with carries automatic
weapons to deal with *chicken* thieves. In many counties in Georgia,
the Sheriff defacto *runs* the county. Nobody dares cross him or his
department. The lawyers are all part of the "courthouse gang" and
are all supporters of the Sheriff. They wouldn't *dare* consider a
suit against the department. An outside lawyer has lost before he
begins.

On the other hand, in the city of Atlanta a cop who has a righteous
shoot against a motorcycle gang firing automatic weapons at him
will sit behind a desk for at least a month and be criticised by
the media and second guessed by the City Council. Heaven help him
if he has a non-issue hideout weapon or non-issue ammo. Funny how 
violent crime rates are higher in Atlanta.

Sweeping statements about police, civil liability, and the like
just don't wash in America. There's too much local variation.
What applies to big city Kalifornia Kops may have no bearing on 
departments in other areas. Civil liability may be an issue in some 
places, and totally a non-issue in others. Just as important as 
knowing your local laws is knowing your local *politics*.

Gary