We pay top dollar taxes around here to train these guys to shoot the right people ~ performance is expected. What they do in Texas is anybody's business of course but in Virginia they generally need to be sure of their target!
Shooting through glass, particularly windshields (front or back) is no easy task; no matter how good your aim is. The curvature of the glass can make your target appear in a different location than it is. Shooting through the front windshield of a car with 9mm or .45, I've seen bullets routinely reflect down.
However, this is not always the case. There are many variables to consider - type of ammunition HP/FMJ, vehicle is stationary/moving, thickness of glass, age of vehicle, make/model of vehicle. There have been ad naseum studies over this and the best anyone can predict is once the bullet hits the glass deflection is unpredictable at best.
You can be the best shot at the range: known distance, unknown distance, moving target, stationary targets and proven yourself in high stress gunfights.....the truth is there are times to fire into a vehicle when your life or others' are in danger; however, you may not hit your intended target.
The bullet may deflect down into the dash, left into a passenger, up into the roof, right into another passenger. Or depending on caliber, the bullet may deflect completely off the glass and NOT penetrate (I've heard of .22LR doing this). Another common theme is the high amount of glass blown into the vehicle also causes injury as well.
As reckless as it sounds, a lot of times the only way to get a reckless person to stop in a vehicle (that is posing an immediate threat) is to shoot multiple times at the driver until they stop, or are killed - ie blow away enough glass that point of aim = point of impact.
No amount of training will change a bullet's ballistics when it hits a windshield.
Shoplift in Texas and assault a police officer? You are already on a bad road. Even stealing and assaulting a store clerk could lead to getting shot. Try running him over with a car and you and/or your accomplices will probably be shot.
BTW -
Texas § 9.41 and 9.42 mostly likely protect the officer given he was working on behalf of Wal Mart and protecting "his" property (ie property he had a a right to) and that the suspects used force against him while fleeing in commission of their crimes. And, that according to other sources, she tried to run him over in reverse.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
Back in 1997 I bought a couple of Elantras. One nice feature they had was a titanium system placed in and around the passenger compartment that would hold up in a rollover.
Another feature came with the windshield. It was glued onto the frame with a sort of super glue. It was specially hardened so it actually contributed to the roll-bar/titanium box structure ~ the windshield would not break in a rollover.
One day one of the boys managed to roll one of the cars. When it came to a stop upside down he turned off the engine, opened the door and stepped out. He called the cops to report the accident. They sent an ambulance looking for a body.
I replaced that with another Hyundai Elantra ~ brand new ~ kept it 15 years.
Finally tried hitting that windshield with a hammer ~ it didn't break!
Makes me wonder how those windows stand up against bullets ~