The ‘Laws of War’ serve different purposes than the law of policing. Feigning outrage that soldiers are prohibited from something police are not, or vice versa

The ‘Laws of War’ serve different purposes than the law of policing. Feigning outrage that soldiers are prohibited from something police are not, or vice versa, is silly. Some — but not all — of the differences arise from a general principle that the use of weapons in war is to remove enemy soldiers from the battlefield. A wounded enemy soldier requires far more enemy resources than a dead enemy soldier. Police are different. If they are going to shoot it should be in circumstances where there is an immediate threat to their own (or another’s) life. The threat should be so imminent and deadly that multiple shots without consideration of whether the perp will likely die or merely be injured is the rule. Stated differently, if a cop has the time and presence of mind to ‘shoot at a leg’, he shouldn’t be taking the shot in the first place.