A few weeks ago, a rookie police

officer from a north Atlanta suburb faced the horror dreaded by all cops

and their families. The suspect, a 20-year-old alleged deserter from the

Army, fired his weapon point-blank into the chest of the 28-year-old patrolman.

The stricken officer, protected

from the potentially fatal round by his bullet-resistant vest, fell to

the ground and, although suffering injury from the tremendous impact of

the bullet, along with another officer, returned fire.

In a few violent seconds, it

was over. The fugitive from the Army will not have to be concerned about

serving out his enlistment. He died at the scene.

Once in a while, someone will

ask, "Do the police shoot to kill?" The simple answer to that

question is, "No." But, on the other hand, the answer is not

so simple.

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 backup, 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.

Think about that one thousand

one, one thousand two, one thousand three, on thou and then it's over.

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. An hour or two later, the chief and the chaplain will

pay a dreadful visit to the officer's wife and children.

There is no time to talk the

suspect down, no time to "shoot the weapon out of the bad guy's hand,"

no opportunity to carefully aim from cover and concealment and fire to

wound. Officers are trained to aim for "center mass" of the

suspect's body and continue to fire until the threat is ended.

"That cop fired nine bullets!"

a civilian might protest. "He shot too many times! He was out to

kill that guy!"

You weren't there. You have

no idea. It wasn't your life on the line. You just don't have a clue.

If an officer is inclined to make a mistake, he or she is much more likely

to hesitate to shoot for that all-important split-second than he is to

fire prematurely.

Most officers have strong moral

codes, have an aversion to killing, became cops to help people, and have

been well-schooled in how likely cops are to be sued. This hesitation

may well result in the officer's death. Criminals who would fire on a

police officer have no such moral restraints. They do not hesitate.

Police officers and deputies

are not trained to shoot to kill. They are trained to "shoot to live."

They are not, regardless of how much anti-law enforcement types might

whine, trying to take a suspect's life. They are simply trying, desperately,

in a few terror-filled seconds to somehow survive the encounter and go

home to spouse and family at the end of the shift. They are "shooting

to live."

If they do shoot a suspect,

and the criminal dies, cops are more likely than not to have severe depression,

to experience sleepless nights, endure posttraumatic stress, and be overwhelmed

with guilt. He or she will be more at risk than other officers to experience

a divorce, become an alcoholic, and take their own life.

He will have had 3.5 seconds

to "shoot to live" while the press, the public, and the courts

will have years and decades to second-guess the officer and wonder why

he "didn't shoot the gun out of the bad guy's hand."

I have two sons who are on

the streets as police officers. Tonight, they will pull over a car on

some dark roadside or will investigate an alarm call. If the moment ever

comes, which I pray it does not, I pray that they will respond to their

training. I pray that they will not hesitate, no, not for one second.

Then, if their life hangs in

the balance, I pray that, in that 3.5 seconds of heart-stopping, throat-choking

horror, they will "shoot to live." I pray their aim will be

true. I pray that they will come home to their families safe and uninjured.

And, then, the next night,

and the next, they will face it all over again, night after night, year

after year. They, and tens of thousands of men and women like them, are

cops. It's what they do.

[David Epps is rector of Christ

the King Church in the south Atlanta area. He is a law enforcement chaplain,

Marine veteran, and a certified Georgia peace officer. He may be contacted

at [email protected] or at www.ChristTheKingCEC.com.]