Hah. No worries.
Shooting under pressure with adrenaline pumping and breathing erratically (just had a physical struggle), shooting accurately is darned hard no matter how much training you’ve had. It is not ‘bad’ shooting or he is a ‘bad’ shot, he is human.
Shooting at a small target like a moving arm or leg, for instance, is an invitation to miss. . .and from there, where does the round go? It doesn’t go back into the gun, it goes downrange and maybe hits a bystander. So, you shoot center mass to kill and to ensure best odds your bullets don’t go anywhere other than the bad guy.
In combat and in other shootings, there are countless instances of people fighting and shooting even after being shot. Please note the thug did not stop until he took a head-shot.
“Shoot to wound” is no guarantee the guy will stop, and as any CCW instructor will tell you, and cops are trained in this too, shooting IS lethal force, pulling a gun and shooting IS an act meant to kill.
You willing to bet your life that you are a great shot while pumped full of adrenaline and out of breath, that you can shoot a handgun at a rapidly moving thug to disable him and he will stop IF by chance you are able to hit him?
Faced with a split-second decision, fearing for your life, you shoot and keep shooting until the threat stops.
Check out this video (especially at the 7:15 mark): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G1ApUEXcbo
Thank you, Hulka, for taking the time to post back to me.
And thanks for the video too - I watched it twice and learned a lot from “Myth 3” - that is, a person can move 31 feet in the time it takes an officer to draw and fire. That’s like, two blinks!! It helped my perspective a lot, since the stated distance between Brown and the officer was 35 feet or so. I don’t think most people realize just how fast a running attacker can move - I know I didn’t.
Coincidentally today, on my second time through the video, and watching the ‘why shoot a man with a knife’ segment, there was a knife-related shooting near Ferguson. After having viewed the lightening-quick demonstration of just how fast a slash and cut can occur, and how many slashes per second, again, I had very (stunned, but) good understanding of what situation those officers were in today when facing someone with a knife. They were pretty brave if they let that person get 4 feet from them, as rumoured.
Coupled with your post itself, I have a much better understanding of how quickly situations can deteriorate and how Brown may have reacted in his situation to a man who was coming at him, after having attacked him minutes before. Thanks again for a great teaching moment!! I really appreciate you taking the time to show the wider perspective.