Can an Officer shoot someone before being shot at?

Question

More detailed? Alright... if BIlly Bob pointed a gun at an officer of the law, ¿is that officer allowed to shoot at him or does he have to wait to be actually shot at?

Answer 1

Yes the Officer may shoot someone if they have a reasonable belief that they are at risk of death or serious bodily injury. They could also shoot if the suspect is using deadly force or displaying the imminent use of deadly force. In other words there is absolutely no need for the Officer to wait to be shot before shooting the suspect...........that would be a very asinine requirement. If the Officer is being shot at then he is already behind the eight ball. Action is way better then reaction.

Answer 2

Poor Billy Bob, he will be missed, but not by the officer shooting him for pointing a gun at an officer

Answer 3

An officer can retaliate without being shot. If Billy Bob is threatening the officer's life, he can fire. It is to protect the officers and the people around. If a suspect is standing at a distance and puts his hand in his pocket and pull it out with something in his hand the shape of a gun, the officer can fire. This is refered to as "Suicide by Police." The officer has no idea what is in his hand, so he is protecting himself and the people around him,

Answer 4

Who in their right mind would wait to be shot at if a person is pointing a gun at them? Of course the officer can shoot him.

Answer 5

If a police officer feels like his life is in danger,then he can fire his weapon. Knife,stick,and even just running towards the officer.



Officers train everyday to use there fire arms,so they know when is the right time to do it.



I heard a story from a friend (police officer) that his buddy trained each day using his gun,firing on a range hitting the target right on the bulls eye.But one day that police officer came under fire,was right next to the person who was firing his gun.must had been a foot away,the officer fire 5shots at close range but missed every one shot.The police was killed that night. Very sad...

Answer 6

Ya point a gun or any thing they can and will shoot you. My lawyer was telling me about how a guy ran with his cell phone in his hand so cops opened fire on him and said they thought it was a gun. I think that was just there excuse.



And I seen on COPS a chick was suasidle out side her house. Soon as she started to walk back inside her house the yshot her in the stomic a few times.

Answer 7

An officer can shoot before being shot at, under certain circumstances.

Answer 8

Heck yeah they can and they do all the time. I read a story that one cop shot someone because he reached into his pocket for something and was shot to death because the cop thought he was reaching for a gun. It turns out it was just a cell phone.

Answer 9

Yes, Billy Bob will be dead without hesitation.

Answer 10

That is a silly question. Why would they have to get a "free punch" at law enforcement before cops can retaliate?

Answer 11

if you are seriously not sure or not convinced just watch the News in Los Angeles

Answer 12

Police can shoot you in broad daylight for doing nothing if they feel like it ... that is, providing there are no people using video cameras anywhere taping it.



If there aren't any video cameras, they will just fill out some paperwork inventing some justifications, their friends that they work with will sign-off on it as "justified" and your body will be sent off to the morgue .... that's the end of that ... and you!



(And no, I'm not kidding about this post.)