(August 22, 2014 at 12:45 pm)Losty Wrote: The answer to your question is yes. Yes, Americans (sadly especially the police it seems) are inclined to go straight for shoot to kill.
I don't think this is true. I think most Americans aren't inclined to kill at all.
Having said that, and having handled firearms since age nine, I'll tell you this: I was taught to never point a gun at a man unless I intended to shoot him, and never pull the trigger unless I intended to kill him, and that makes a lot of sense to me.
However, most LEOs I know do not go immediately for their gun when confronted with a crisis, especially now that non-lethal options are more prevalent than, say, 20 years ago. But training doctrine for most police academies advises what I was taught as a boy: try to avoid shooting, but if you must, shoot to kill.
It's a bit of a distinction.
