The average citizen cannot possibly imagine how suddenly a routine traffic stop, warrant service, or interrogation can turn sour. In the movies, the bad guys can be seen planning and calculating their next move and, when the action starts, the cops dive for cover, call back-up, and a gun battle ensues for the next fifteen minutes. The cops and the bad guys chase each other through the streets of the city, firing scores of rounds, and, amazingly, even exchange taunts. In real life, such a scene almost never happens. In real life, the violence explodes without warning, lasts an average of 3.5 seconds, with five rounds being exchanged from a distance of three to seven feet.
Someone is dead or screaming in agony.
If the suspect is down, the officer, with shaking hands, will cuff him and call for an ambulance. If the suspect is bleeding profusely, the officer will try to administer first aid and save the life of the man who just tried to kill him. Officers have even been known to pray at such moments, pleading with God to spare the assailant's life. If, on the other hand, the officer is on the ground, more likely than not, the suspect will walk over to him, point his still smoking pistol at the officer's head, and pull the trigger. He will then steal the officer's own weapon and flee into the night.