Police empty their magazines in case dead isn’t dead enough 

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It’s not at all like the Bugs Bunny cartoons, where characters can be flattened by steam rollers into thin ribbons and still magically pop back open into living beings. Real guns are killing real people, and if you’re one of the victims, it will leave you speechless. Or, if you happen to be a real felon, shot while deep in the commission of some terrible crime, you’ll have to say to yourself, “I’ll never do that again.”

Guns really do kill. And death, despite all the sympathy and prayers, is pretty damned final.

It’s not all about bad guys shooting innocent people. Police-involved shootings have been on the rise.

In 2022, there were almost 1,200 deaths attributed to the police. Tragically, only about one-third of them involved violent crimes. Some were domestic situations; some were traffic stops; some were mistaken identity; many involved the mentally ill; and at least a third of the shootings happened as a suspect was running away—something that flies in the face of the “lethal force” standard.

Often the situation is clear, and it doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to determine culpability. But it’s not always a slam dunk. Police departments and prosecutors are forced to reach an informed decision, invariably without the testimony of the person who was killed. When police shoot, they don’t just shoot. They make sure that the “threat” is completely eliminated and that means not half-dead, but 100% ready for the morgue.

If the officer was wrong in his decision to shoot, death eliminates a witness. If he was right, it means that the world is a safer place for the rest of the population. Fortunately, but late in coming, body cams have become what should be impartial witnesses on behalf of both the police and the suspect—and yet police departments are struggling with laxity in compliance with body-cam rules.

The modus operandi is clear. Once officers believe there’s an imminent threat, every available man expends his magazine into the suspect. Where there are multiple officers involved, each with an extended magazine that holds at least 17 rounds, it means that the victim is likely to look like a kitchen colander, draining the victim’s blood. Let’s face it: three officers with the basic Glock automatic, can drill 51 holes in a body in less than five seconds. Police must think and respond fast. That means that mistakes will be made and innocent people will die.

For Americans, being shot by law enforcement personnel should be a growing concern.

So, what’s causing this trend toward an increasing number of police killings? Certainly, the absence of rational, effective gun laws is a gigantic part of the problem. Because guns are plentiful, America’s police must be armed.

Keep in mind, the UK is a good example of how its local police—the Bobbies—are not typically armed with guns. Why? Because the UK has strong gun laws.

We must sympathize with the police. Every day of their lives, their jobs expose them to tricky, dangerous situations in which they must make instantaneous decisions about the use of lethal force. Police constantly face people they don’t know--people whose actions they are unable to predict—and, let’s face it, an officer is the only one who can determine just how scared he/she should be. Sadly, there have been lots of “accidents.”

It's easy to point fingers in the matter of officer-involved killings. Chalk it up to the fact that our police are primed to expect that everyone else has a gun. That expectation, along with the human vulnerability to misidentify or magnify threats—like cell phones, screwdrivers or a suspect trying to pull a Kleenex from his pocket for nasal hygiene—is driving the numbers of lethal-force killings. Chalk it up, too, to inadequate police training—training that spends far too much time on use of force and a combat-style mentality, and far too little time on conflict de-escalation and crisis intervention.

As long as guns are cheap and easy, and no real attempts are being made to reduce their numbers, people will continue to be killed by our police. The biggest problem is that our country’s leaders have sold their souls to the deadly-force lobby and its gun manufacturers. Our police will continue killing our citizens as long as they live with the fear that every person out there carries a gun.

I think Robert Reich summed up the problem with his recent post on social media: “If someone tells you there's nothing we can do about gun violence beyond thoughts and prayers, remind them: … More guns don't make us safer—A majority of Americans want gun control. We don't have to live like this.”

The author is a retired businessman, novelist, columnist and former Vietnam-era Army assistant public information officer. He resides in Riverton with his wife, Carol, and their best friend, “Poppy.” comments@cityweekly.net