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This quote from a newsletter I receive (with permission to quote) crossed my desk this morning. Although the newsletter raised the topic in another context (the value of fear to terrorists), it raises a disturbing issue for us in a broader sense, and one that we don't like to talk about much:
"Years ago, law enforcement trainers who studied officer-involved shootings made a disturbing discovery: A number of cops were dying from "nonfatal" wounds. In these cases, an officer who had been shot would go into shock and black out, even when the bullet had not struck a vital area. Some died as a consequence of shock; in other cases, the gunman involved followed through and administered a coup de grace.
To combat this issue, many police departments and federal agencies embarked on an aggressive education campaign, teaching officers and agents that a gunshot wound is not always fatal and instructing them to continue to fight, even after being shot. A 1986 shooting involving the FBI and two bank robbers in Miami quickly became a case study used by trainers: A critically wounded criminal kept firing at the agents, and the gunfight was ended by an agent who, though seriously wounded, squeezed off several shotgun rounds with his one working arm. In the wake of the Miami shooting, many departments also implemented "disabled officer" range training courses, teaching police and government agents how to handle and fire their weapons when wounded." - Stratfor Terrorism Intelligence Report
I have frankly never attended a firearms training course (and I can't remember them all) where "disabled officer shooting training" was provided (except "weak hand" shooting and "officer down" operations, of course) nor had I thought of including that in our own program. Can you withstand a nonfatal hit psychologically and keep on fighting? Can you operate your shotgun effectively with one hand? Can you change magazines? Would you know HOW to crawl to cover with a blasted shoulder or hip? (For instance, would you think of rolling instead of crawling. We like to think so...but you've been shot and PAIN takes over, remember.) Can you handle the sight of your own blood, and what do you do if you're losing what looks like a lot of it? What does "a lot of blood" even really look like when it soaks your pants leg, etc? (A little blood can look like an awful lot when it's your own and it's not inside you where it's supposed to be!)
If you can't keep your wits about you after you've been shot, you're always going to be in much worse trouble than if you are prepared to take the next effective action available to you - whatever that might be.
Looking at our discussions on the board here, we talk about things like "stopping power" of different calibers and loads, etc. Most of our discussions frankly assume quick, brief actions where the BG goes down for the count simply because we managed to hit him "in the right spot" and with the "right" load, whatever that is. We do frequently acknowledge that people with a high rush of adrenaline or on certain drugs can withstand sprays, pain application, and even Tasers, but exactly the same thing is true of such people when they're hit with fire that "should" take them down. That BG might very well just keep on shooting at you when logic tells you he should already be dead and buried. Besides, he might just have got the drop on you before you even managed to get off the first shot, so he's not hit at all!
So, the question is: Can we keep on fighting when we're hit? It seems that we do need both psychological preparation for that possibility, and specific training on techniques as to how to keep on fighting if that happens.
Anyway...this kind of training is definitely worth thinking about.
"Years ago, law enforcement trainers who studied officer-involved shootings made a disturbing discovery: A number of cops were dying from "nonfatal" wounds. In these cases, an officer who had been shot would go into shock and black out, even when the bullet had not struck a vital area. Some died as a consequence of shock; in other cases, the gunman involved followed through and administered a coup de grace.
To combat this issue, many police departments and federal agencies embarked on an aggressive education campaign, teaching officers and agents that a gunshot wound is not always fatal and instructing them to continue to fight, even after being shot. A 1986 shooting involving the FBI and two bank robbers in Miami quickly became a case study used by trainers: A critically wounded criminal kept firing at the agents, and the gunfight was ended by an agent who, though seriously wounded, squeezed off several shotgun rounds with his one working arm. In the wake of the Miami shooting, many departments also implemented "disabled officer" range training courses, teaching police and government agents how to handle and fire their weapons when wounded." - Stratfor Terrorism Intelligence Report
I have frankly never attended a firearms training course (and I can't remember them all) where "disabled officer shooting training" was provided (except "weak hand" shooting and "officer down" operations, of course) nor had I thought of including that in our own program. Can you withstand a nonfatal hit psychologically and keep on fighting? Can you operate your shotgun effectively with one hand? Can you change magazines? Would you know HOW to crawl to cover with a blasted shoulder or hip? (For instance, would you think of rolling instead of crawling. We like to think so...but you've been shot and PAIN takes over, remember.) Can you handle the sight of your own blood, and what do you do if you're losing what looks like a lot of it? What does "a lot of blood" even really look like when it soaks your pants leg, etc? (A little blood can look like an awful lot when it's your own and it's not inside you where it's supposed to be!)
If you can't keep your wits about you after you've been shot, you're always going to be in much worse trouble than if you are prepared to take the next effective action available to you - whatever that might be.
Looking at our discussions on the board here, we talk about things like "stopping power" of different calibers and loads, etc. Most of our discussions frankly assume quick, brief actions where the BG goes down for the count simply because we managed to hit him "in the right spot" and with the "right" load, whatever that is. We do frequently acknowledge that people with a high rush of adrenaline or on certain drugs can withstand sprays, pain application, and even Tasers, but exactly the same thing is true of such people when they're hit with fire that "should" take them down. That BG might very well just keep on shooting at you when logic tells you he should already be dead and buried. Besides, he might just have got the drop on you before you even managed to get off the first shot, so he's not hit at all!
So, the question is: Can we keep on fighting when we're hit? It seems that we do need both psychological preparation for that possibility, and specific training on techniques as to how to keep on fighting if that happens.
Anyway...this kind of training is definitely worth thinking about.
yet they are dying from nonfatal wounds and not learning to fight through their injuries. Based on the training required for other gear it's clear to me what has to be done. 
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