The recent shooting of a man at Outram Park MRT by a police officer have sent shockwaves through the society over the usage of firearms by the Police Force. Recent letters to the press have attacked the Police for easily “shooting a man down cold blooded” and have asked for clarifications from the Police.
I served as a Military Police officer for my National Service and i do carry a firearm during my duties, a P226 Pistol. In the army, each personnel is clearly taught and are to comprehend fully the “Rules of Engagement”. In my opinion, with my experience in the Army, i see no wrong doing done by the Police officer shooting the man. It is a clear written rule, you are able to shoot the person if you feel that your life is being threatened. Certainly, your life is more valuable than anything else.
The furore among the public is not that he shot the man but that he didn’t aim at a non-life threatening part of the body. Honestly, from my duties, facing a man wielding knives and having the deadly intent to hurt you is not an easy feat. You have to understand that the moment a man is pushed to a corner with no where to run, only two things will occur : Give up or a final bravo stand to save himself.
We are talking about a man’s freedom here. Like animals, man turns into a savage beast when he is caught in a corner. Biologically, his Sympathetic Nervous System or “flight or flee” system will be pumping his bloodstream with adrenaline to give him the strength for his last stand. Try holding a man who is fighting for his freedom and i can tell you it’s not any easy feat. Two to three men may be needed to hold such a person down, let alone cuffing the detainee. What more now, if the person is wielding knives and who had already killed a man earlier.
Certainly, a life lost is indeed a tragic affair. One has to realise that it is never in the police creed to kill it’s offenders; it is to arrest by all means possible. But, at such dangerous situations, one’s life outweighs the rules of arrest. Lets paint another picture; what if the police officer did not shoot the offender. One scenario is that the man surrenders and is arrested calmly. However, another scenario is that the man kills either one or both of the police officers. Whats worse, he then steals the police officers guns and goes on a killing spree. Is that possible? Trust me, it is. Now which is more worse, the death of an offender who had killed a man or the deaths of many more innocent lives. Guess it’s an easy answer.
Furthermore, it’s not an easy feat to look into a person’s eyes and aim during the heat of a fight. The police officer certainly thought of ever possible action and weighed out all the circumstances before finally choosing the last option; to shoot the offender. And trust me, it’s not an easy feat to shoot a man. Even i, after going for so many shooting ranges firing different weapons like P226, GPMG and M16 rifle; I can’t say if i have the guts to shoot a man even if it’s to save a person’s life. Its an incident the police officer shall never forget.
The Police force will protect the public no matter what but it also has to protect and care for it’s own officers. The only way to improve this incident is to train police officers to aim for non-life threatening areas under stressful situations such as a knife attack.
Fai @ ilovelookinggood
