Cops learn ’shoot to stop’ By Danielle Williamson/ Daily News Staff
Sunday, October 22, 2006 - Updated: 03:31 AM EST
Most police don’t want to imagine themselves pulling the trigger of a gun that takes another’s life.
Officers are trained for such situations -- they just hope they will never have to put their training into use, says Milford Police Chief Thomas O’Loughlin.
"No one goes into this job with the feeling, ’wow, I have the ability to take someone’s life,’" O’Loughlin said. "To be put in that horrible circumstance is a terrible, terrible thing."
A Franklin Police officer is on paid administrative leave while the Norfolk County district attorney’s office, as part of protocol, conducts an investigation into his shooting last Sunday of Lawrence McCarthy, 42.
After police negotiated for several hours to get him to leave his Chestnut Street home and comply with a restraining order, police said, McCarthy left his house and pointed a gun at police.
The Franklin officer, who has been praised for his "very strong record," shot and killed McCarthy, District Attorney William Keating said.
While not speaking specifically about the incident, area police officials spoke recently about how their training teaches them to "shoot to stop," the mixed emotions that inevitably follow a shooting death and their obligation to protect themselves and others.
"It’s sad," O’Loughlin said. "It’s sad for the person who lost his life, the family, and the officer. No one wants to be in that position."
Each police department has a policy that governs the use of deadly force. State law gives officers the authority to kill people who pose a threat to the lives of police or others, area chiefs explained.
"Deadly force, obviously, is the last thing we want to do," said Walpole Police Chief Richard Stillman, president of the Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council to which Franklin belongs. MetroLEC’s SWAT team responded to last week’s standoff with McCarthy.
Since its formation in 2002, MetroLEC has responded to roughly 20 calls a year for such threatening situations, Stillman said. Last week was the first time someone was killed in a MetroLEC-run operation.
"A police officer, by law, has the right to defend himself and any other innocent person from death or serious injury," Stillman said.
Police are trained to shoot at "center mass," area chiefs explained. On television, actors may be seen shooting a gun out of a criminal’s hand or disabling him by aiming for his leg.
But in real life, police said, that is unrealistic and dangerous.
"That’s nice for the movies, but in reality, my job is to make sure that I don’t get killed," O’Loughlin said.
Marlborough Police Chief Mark Leonard said officers are trained not to "shoot to kill," but to "shoot to stop." The most effective way to do this is to aim for the largest part of the body, often, the torso, he said.
The Norfolk County District Attorney’s office is declining to release the results of McCarthy’s autopsy until the investigation’s conclusion. The office has said he died from a single gunshot wound.
"If you shoot someone in the leg or in the arm, that’s not necessarily going to stop the threat," Leonard said. "An officer may shoot at a leg if that’s all that’s available to him, but that is rare."
Mendon Police Chief Ernest Horn was involved in 1989 in a deadly shooting in the center of his town. Blackstone officer Matthew Mantoni shot and killed a driver who led police on a chase and tried to run Horn over, Horn said.
Both Horn and Mantoni were put on paid administrative leave and underwent stress counseling before returning to their jobs.
"Any officer involved in a shooting will spend a great deal of time second-guessing himself. It’s natural," Horn said.
An investigation showed the Blackstone officer had the right to use deadly force, Horn said.
"There is a very narrow window for when you can use deadly force, and there should be," Horn said. "It’s the absolute last resort, but sometimes it is the only proper action."
Posted by: j809
Quote:
A Franklin Police officer is on paid administrative leave
It was not a Franklin officer.
Posted by: pararezq
i'm pretty sure you are wrong about that...
Posted by: USMCMP5811
Yup he is.
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