I’ve been thinking about the little girl that was hit by a police bullet in the dressing room of a Burlington Store. In the video you can clearly see the cop rack an AR, you can also see him fire it 3 times inside of the store. Seems to me that that gun is way to much for the operation that were on. I know it’s all a bit random but an AR inside of a store is asking for bullets to go through walls, shelves, merchandise etc. There were plenty of 9MM’s around that could/should have been used before he opened up with a “High Powered firearm”. Just my 2 Cents.
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That’s another tragic, unfortunately Police took the main role.
When you listen the dispatch and watch videos from store cameras and Police’s body cams, you will find out they were expecting active shooter or hostage situation.
In such case rifle is needed.
I don’t see anything wrong with the whole procedure. I cannot understand how he missed from such short distance. 
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Rule #4 - Always be sure of your target and what is beyond.
You must POSITIVELY identify your target before you shoot and you MUST be convinced that anything that you shoot at must have an effective backstop to stop your bullet, otherwise you MUST NOT SHOOT!
If it’s good enough for USCCA students, ut should be good enough for every person with a firearm in his/her hand.
Stay safe out there.
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This is really true with rifle rounds. And if its a green tip 556 then it may cause serious over pen.
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I doubt a 9mm round would have been less deadly under the circumstances. Cops had no idea if the crazed guy had a gun, or was unarmed with a knife (he came unarmed with a bike lock, but who wants his head bashed in?).
I saw the video. The officers shout “slow down” to the cop with the rifle, which I took as they wanted to keep him covered. Despicable Yahoo “news” spun it as if he was eager to shoot someone. It is police bullet that killed the girl, but the thug with the bike lock is the murderer.
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I’m not knocking the cops decision to shoot, he had no other choice and did the right thing. I’m questioning his choice of weapons. A 9MM hollow point “Might” be a little less likely to penetrate the second/third surface than a 556/223. 
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What do you think about this? Shoot or no shoot, and face the consequences in either case.
What do I make it? I don’t know. I thought that we were talking about the 14 year old who was in a dressing room that was shot by a Police Officer.
Did the Officers in this video have a clear target to engage? Did the Police Officer who shot the 14 year old have a clear target to engage?
That would be my first question.
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“that was shot by a Police Officer”
I know that’s what happened but the sound of that makes it look intentional. I’m sure or at least hope that officer wouldn’t have fired had he known there were innocent people in the line of fire.
I go back to my original point of following rule #4 of the Universal Rules of Firearm Safety. And, furthering that point that the rules apply to everyone with a gun in his/her hand.
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These are fair questions. I am sure the Department has a policy to investigate every police shooting.
If the officers’ actions are found to be justified and in agreement with all policies by the internal investigation, will you accept it?
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I fail to see why I’m being asked. I don’t have a dog in this hunt.
Go back to Rule #4. Re-read it and understand it. And then ask yourself if you ever have to use your firearm in self defense, and you fire rounds in the direction of your attacker and you shoot and wound or kill an innocent person, what should happen to you?
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I did not mean to sound like I am questioning.
Rule #4 stands as you stated it. We are responsible for every bullet we send flying.
Just like many other things, rules for police and armed civilians are not exactly the same. A civilian would likely face charges for shooting at a fleeing criminal. If cops truly thought the guy may kill if allowed to run away, it balances the risk of hitting a civilian they did not see.
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That is not what I was taught in the Academy actually. But that was years ago and I’m no longer an LEO so, things may have changed. I certainly hope not. Accidental injury or death that is caused by negligence is a criminal offense. I’ll defer to our Attorney experts at USCCA to expound further.
I guess because I teach others, I try to keep things simple with regard to safety and liability. The USCCA curriculum that I use is very specific. We follow the rules or someone gets hurt or killed. And someone goes to jail and the other to the hospital or morgue.
I don’t pretend to have all the answers. Carrying a firearm in uniform or in civilian clothes is a grave matter, a grave responsibility with very, very grave consequences.
Stay safe and Happy New Year Alexander.
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“Might” is the key word here. There are actually a lot of tests showing 9mm penetrating through more wall layers. Many .223/5.56 tend to fragment after hitting a wall due to the higher velocity and penetrate less afterwards. There are also .223 rounds specifically designed to penetrate less but still be reasonably effective.
The key is not to miss your target no matter what you are using. But I think that is a lot easier said then done when lives are on the line, the adrenalin is flowing and split second decisions need to be made.
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That’s an absolute NO SHOOT. Well, the UPS driver’s family is set for life…without him.
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