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Wednesday
Apr212010

Civilian vs. Law Enforcement Rules of Engagement

First watch this video of a encounter a LEO had with a armed drunk:

 

I posted the following over on The Shooting Bench Forums where you can read the other replies.

OK, first of all I agree the officer was justified in the use of deadly force and I’m pretty sure the bad guy owes him a pair of underwear!
Now with that said I’d like to play devils advocate and pose a question:  The officer moved towards the back of the vehicle and the BG took off on the run in the opposite direction and thus posed no imminent threat to the officer yet he drew his weapon and fired into the back of the fleeing vehicle.  Now the other side of my question, what if that was a civilian that stopped to render aid and the same thing happened, the BG shot, the civilian moved to the back and drew their weapon and shot as the van was fleeing in the opposite direction and posing no threat to the civilian.  In both scenarios the BG may pose a actual threat to other civilians since he is probably drunk and is obviously armed and dangerous.  Does this alone justify the use of deadly force by a LEO or Civilian?
What is boils down to what are the Rules of Engagement for LEOs vs. Civilians?  Are these rules actual laws or is it just a duel standard enforced by the judicial system?

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