Gun shot at about 6 on 8/30?

I guess I was envisioning something like a small, rapid-fire dart gun that would carry tranq drugs that would very quickly knock out whoever it hit. I can just see someone being allergic to the drugs though, and then they would go into anaphilactic (sp?) shock and would then sue the NYPD once they were given an epi-pen shot, and heaven forbid they then are allergic to that....

The problem with tasers is that they're single-shot weapons, at least the ones I'm familiar with. Miss, or find that the recipient is resistant due to emotional or chemical factors, and it doesn't work out.

Also, no LEO is going to pull a taser in response to an apparently armed adversary. You're going to pull your standard service sidearm, and make sure your opponent is not capable of further resistance.

What I don't get is why the training says to empty your magazine once lethal force needs to be used. Maybe this made sense in the days of six-shot revolvers, but given that police often use double-stack automatics, it seems like overkill. No pun intended. And it would seemingly leave the officers with nothing left to confront another threat should one manifest itself. Why not snap off a few rounds and re-assess whether the target requires more shooting?

The video of the ESB shooting last week was especially telling in just how much NYPD errs on the side of safety for themselves at the expense of their environment. They pumped the guy full of lead, and he was very clearly unconscious, but you can see on the video that they approached him as if he was a lurking crocodile, ready to spring back at them. This in spite of the fact that he never pulled the trigger at the police, though he did appear to brandish his weapon at them.

Again, I'm not blaming the individuals, but I do question the appropriateness of their training.

When someone is afraid for their life, even the most rigorous training is often not applied.

...instinct and emotion take over.

That said, I am confident the police would welcome more weapons and lethal force training. It is a complex problem that involves a shortage of resources.

Police are not trained to empty their magazines. They are trained to shoot to stop the threat. They don't "lay down suppresive fire", shoot people in the knee to stop them, match deadly physical force with less force than their foe...

Sight alignment and stance mean crap in most encounters. In a rapid draw and fire situation you will only be using the front sight and quite possibly shot while moving.

A police officer will continue to cover his target as he approaches a downed adversary until the firearm is removed and the perp handcuffed. Yes, they will handcuff a seriously injured or even dead perp.

Hollow points are less likely to exit the body and that is part of the reason why they are used by law enforcement.