5 ms·

What happens in Europe when someone is seen in a public park waving around something that looks like this? http://i2.wp.com/missionlocal.org/wp-content/uploads

• tinco 11y ago
  He'll be asked to put his weapon down. And will subsequently be charged with possession of a firearm or of something that looks like a firearm, and in addition probably with some kind of charge for endandering people and if he pointed it a police officer there'd be a charge for that as well. If the police felt especially threatened he might be shot in the leg or tasered (depending on what the police in that country is equipped with). All the charges together would probably result in a hefty fine, something like a few thousand euros and probably some jail time (a few months tops). p.s.: I'm talking about northern european countries here, southern/eastern countries are significantly less easy going.
  • whatok 11y ago
    Do police in these countries somehow have enhanced marksmanship and reaction times vs US police? I am not going to blame anyone for taking someone pointing a gun at them seriously and protecting their lives. Aiming for someone's leg (or let's try some movie techniques and shoot them in the hand) is only going to slow down reaction time and possibly end up with a worse situation.
    • scotty79 11y ago
      I think in Europe police doesn't assume that something that could be mistaken for a gun is a gun because presence of actual gun on any given random event is minsicule. If some gun was fired or if they are pursuing known serious criminals they use guns. In europe use of a gun is a planned action, not instincive response to feeling somewhat threatened.
• the-dude 11y ago
  The cops probably would get called, they might shoot. Police is trained to shoot to disable, not to kill. Sometimes they need to of course. Then if there is any doubt they would be prosecuted and jailed if they overreacted ( this happens ). Of course these situations are extremely rare as Western Europe is not as a violent society as the US is. edit: to add: private citizens carying tasers ( let alone guns ) around is unheard of / extremely rare.
  • goldbrick 11y ago
    "shoot to disable" is not a thing.
    • the-dude 11y ago
      You are welcome to visit. edit: this was in reply to 'if you are, you are living in fantasy land'. which OP edited away. lame.
      • goldbrick 11y ago
        Please provide one piece of evidence that police anywhere are trained to "shoot to disable".
        • the-dude 11y ago
          https://www.politie.nl/themas/schietincident.html https://www.politie.nl/themas/schietincident.html
          • goldbrick 11y ago
            Perhaps it's my poor Dutch, but your link does not say that.
            • mcguire 11y ago
              "An agent can also shoot to arrest someone suspected of a serious offense. In such situations has taught the agent on the legs of the accused to target. Where there is self-defense, the agent may shoot on the trunk of the suspect." Modulo Google translation.
• davidw 11y ago
  There are far fewer guns floating around in most of Western Europe, so it's less likely in the first place.
  • raldi 11y ago
    I think this is the key point. In a society with as lax gun control as we have here, police are placed in much greater danger than they are in Europe, and their training is adjusted accordingly, with lethal repercussions. It also doesn't help that we leave our mentally-ill citizens to fend for themselves on the street, instead of giving them the care they need like most other first-world countries do. Put the two together, and American police are faced with the very real possibility of facing an armed crazy person any day they report for work.
  • sschueller 11y ago
    There are a lot of guns in Switzerland but the police doesn't come in shooting. Most important training the police gets is how to diffuse a situation not how to shoot to kill.