New York University's independent student newspaper, established in 1973.

Washington Square News

New York University's independent student newspaper, established in 1973.

Washington Square News

New York University's independent student newspaper, established in 1973.

Washington Square News

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NYC cops should switch to rubber bullet guns

Bystanders who were shot by two New York Police Department officers last year outside the Empire State Building have chosen to sue New York City. The unsuspecting victims are quickly discovering that the city’s defense team poses a significant legal challenge. These lawsuits, and the many similar ones that have preceded them, are indicative of the NYPD’s larger, yet preventable, problem.

Since 2011, 16 bystanders have been shot in the NYPD’s line of fire. NYPD firearm training is only a 13-day process. Officers are expected to renew their training annually, and special training is given to certain officers, such as plain clothes police or highway patrol. It is unlikely that this annual two-week training period can sufficien-tly prepare an officer for the highly varied and psychologically stressful environments that he or she faces.

Generally, police officers are permitted to use deadly force when they perceive an immediate threat of death or serious bodily harm to themselves or civilians. In last year’s incident, officers opened fire on a gunman to protect their lives from imminent danger. In a split-second decision it is impossible to calculate all the probabilities of success or failure. In cases where innocent bystanders are hurt from stray police bullets, courts often accept this inevitability and defer to the police or dismiss the case altogether. Therefore, officers should be expected to undergo an intense training process to prevent unwarranted use of lethal force.

But even the most substantial training process will ne-ver eliminate the chance of collateral damage. That police are armed with lethal weapons means that their mistakes might kill. The number of individuals fatally shot by the NYPD has been steadily declining — there were nine deaths in 2011 in contrast to 93 in 1971. Nevertheless, the annual number of civilian casualties resulting from police shootings should be zero. This can only be achieved if handguns are replaced with nonlethal weapons. For instance, the use of rubber bullets would drastically decrease the likelihood of fatal mistakes.

The lawsuits in the Midtown case are a product of a perpetuated problem for which we already determined a solution. Not only does the NYPD have a responsibility to reform its hasty training program, but it must also replace its lethal weapons with effective nonlethal ones. This would minimize the risk of civilian casualties while still protecting our streets.

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, Nov. 11 print edition. Email the editorial board at [email protected].

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  • J

    JonMNov 13, 2013 at 1:13 am

    This is the dumbest thing I’ve read this month. Maybe longer. And considering the drivel that qualifies as “reporting” by the “journalists” of today, that’s saying something.
    Rubber bullets? Are you stupid? Rubber bullets don’t consistently work for crowd control, much less violent, drugged up, criminal control. And those are large ones, coming out of shotguns. Sending rubber bullets down a handgun barrel, with sufficient force to make it noticeable, can’t be done while providing accuracy or repeatability from that gun. Rubber bullets still require a gunpowder charge to launch from a shotgun. Trying to do that from a handgun would, with the increased pressure and heat involved, would just create a gooey mess after a shot or two.
    Criminals don’t carry guns with rubber bullets. They’re shooting at police officers with intent to injure or kill. Shooting them with rubber bullets is unlikely to do much of anything, unless you happen to hit them in the head; in which case, you might actually kill them. If they’re wearing any kind heavy clothing, they might not even notice the impact of a rubber bullet.
    Police are, and long have been, armed with various non-lethal weapons, from batons, to pepper spray, to Tasers. These things can still kill, but sometimes, they’re ineffective and the person on the receiving end still requires additional, sometimes deadly, force to subdue.
    I’ve seen people, on various drugs, who have been shot multiple times in the torso, who didn’t even know they’d been shot. Shoot someone like that with rubber bullets will accomplish nothing.
    Before you go spouting off an idea as ridiculous as this, why don’t you try learning something about law enforcement, beyond the statistics. Or better yet, why don’t you find out how many more days of training each NYPD officer will need to achieve fewer civilian casualties, and then figure out how to pay for it.
    Police officers love training. They want to do their jobs correctly, and without the least amount of fuss possible. That means avoiding shooting people, especially the “innocent” ones.
    For a department the size of NYPD, 9 casualties is a pretty good statistic. 16 bystanders in 2 years is pretty impressive. Things could be, and have been, much worse. So they’re obviously doing something right. Why don’t you focus on that instead?
    Maybe you should go try out some of the “stress training” and see what you think. It’s almost as good as the real thing. It might just open your eyes to what the men and women you’re bashing face every day.

    Reply
  • G

    Gary GriffithsNov 12, 2013 at 9:13 am

    Collateral damage in the form of injuries or fatalities to bystanders is always the police officer’s nightmare. However, something that no one stops to consider when it happens: What would happen if the officer didn’t return fire. Aside from his/her own safety, what’s behind the officer? Would the perpetrator refrain from shooting because there’s a school bus full of kids behind the officer? No, more likely the perpetrator would deliberately shoot bystanders to create confusion and aid his escape.

    Police officers are trained in marksmanship and trained to fire only as a last resort on an imminent deadly threat. The perpetrator is not. From the big picture, THE PUBLIC SAFETY STANDPOINT, the faster the perpetrator is stopped, the safer everyone is, even if bystanders are endangered by police gunfire.

    Reply
  • T

    TopCat_TexasNov 12, 2013 at 9:12 am

    Not sure if the video of Empire State Building shooting is still on-line somewhere, but it showed that the officers were in pure panic mode and did not give the “criminal” a chance to surrender, it appears that he was attempting to lay down his gun when the first shots were fired. Both officers just kept shooting in the general direction and the bystanders were scattering in all directions. I fear that the police union in NYC protects their members to the point that none of them can be trusted to be good cops.

    Reply
    • R

      Rob COct 1, 2014 at 12:01 pm

      Is this a joke? LOL. I watched this video over a dozen times. The guy you put in quotes as a criminal, just murdered a man on 33rd St between 5th and 6th Ave. He was not going to surrender. He pointed the gun directly at the cops. What a moron.

      Reply
  • R

    ryanNov 11, 2013 at 11:27 pm

    Next weeks post… Always bring a knife to a gun fight! The reason Cops can’t hit anything their shooting is because their triggers are mandated to be 13 lbs. Bad guys using triggers that are 5lbs or less,

    Reply
  • M

    meNov 11, 2013 at 9:35 am

    Horrible. First training is twice a year for 1 day. And rubber bullets really. How about u do their job and get shot with real bullets retard.

    Reply