It is billed by the London Police Department Chief as “the best (shooting) range in Ontario.” At $22 million, it is certainly modern but one of the features might sit poorly with judges and civil libertarians.
While police can shoot a fleeing suspect that presents an imminent threat to the public, it is relatively rare in most crimes and raises obvious questions under Tennessee v. Garner.
The entire project will ultimately cost $32 million and the facility’s gun range is billed as training officers to do a range of shooting, including the item below:
A shooting range that will allow officers to qualify twice-yearly to use their firearms. The room is insulated so shots can’t be heard outside, and includes targets that can move forward and backward and sideways to better simulate a fleeing suspect. The shooting range also allows officers to play recorded sounds such as shouting, sirens and gunfire, as well as flashing and dimmed lights that can better reflect a night-time or real-emergency scenario.
Presumably, trainees are taught to lead the fleeing suspects by a couple of feet.
The upgrade for coup de grâce shots will apparently be added later. It does have the following training film however for wounded suspects:
For the full story, click here.
Dear sir,
I wanted to write and tell you that some Canadian nut sent me a lottery scam by mail telling me i won a lottery and sent me a check foe 2, 942.90 telling me that I had to go cahs the check and then call him on his phone, I called our attorney general to find out it was a scam but to tell you the truth when I spoke to him, I knew he was a farce, the envelope was post marked from Cnanada, so were the stamps, and the phone number was from a 514 exchange, and I shredded the documents but i thought I wold tell you that someone from Cananda is sending Lottery scams to illinois and boy was I mad, then he tried to tell me I won the 100,000 publishers clearing house sweepstakes, and I had to choose private or public publicity and that he was going to send camera to my house, I proceededt o call our attorney general and I was told to shred the docutments and I did so but you have some crack pots living in Canada trying to scam people. I thought I would let you know Thank you, I sure would like to know how they got my name and address from Canada all the way to Illinois
Heywood Jablome,
I like your name. It tells clearly what part of your body you think with.
“Presumably” ?
Only if you’re an idiot… Which it appears you are.
Do you have any concept of reality? Of simple physics?
A couple feet? Are you out of your mind?
$32M for the range? Nope. For the entire new building.
You should probably do just a little research before you speak about something. Otherwise you just look like an idiot, idiot.
And instead of citing US caselaw, why not refer to the applicable legislation under the Criminal Code of Canada.
Seems anyone can claim to be a “law professor”. Give it a break. A real law professor would source their information before shooting their mouths off.
Fraud.
I’m for less coppers. Period. Folks, especially women, need to learn to defend themselves.
I have more to fear from crazed cops, the DHS, and militarized local police, than crazed criminals (who I can shoot).
Bob Easq:
Posner wrote a book on the “magic bullet”.
He already explained it. But thank you for a vote of confidence. Although I would not have been able to explain it other than to say when a high velocity bullet strikes human flesh some strange things can take place.
I have heard stories about bullets hitting a person in their front chest and coming out the left or right side below the umbilicus.
I wonder of the Canadians know that US Supreme Court decisons are binding on them?
I’m not sure how you go from looking at a modern shooting range to making the assumption that Canadian police will then shoot every fleeing felon.
Before you go out on a limb, professor, have you looked at the policies and procedures of the Canadian police forces to see if they sanction the shooting of fleeing suspects? Have you looked at the governing federal laws in Canada regarding the use of deadly force? Or is this just a cheap shot because the shooting range has the capability of moving a target back and forth. As far as I know virtually every modern shooting range allows the target to move up and down range on an electric pulley system. Mostly to allow the shooter to see what he did. Not to simulate a running away target (which is an easy shot, by the way) but to make the range more efficient.
The use of deadly force is well delineated in the Criminal Law section of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Deadly force on a fleeing criminal may be used if that criminal poses a deadly threat and there is no other less lethal way of stopping that person. To not train for such an event (as rare as it is in Canada)would be negligent on the part of the police. Being able to precisely place a shot in these circumstances diminishes the chance that an innocent would be hurt either by the police or the fleeing criminal.
Where oh where does my bullets roam? I think a better demonstration can be had at shooting Canadian Geese and feed the hungry at the same time.
But then Garner was not given a head start and the conduct of the police was just amazing. So I guess the LEO’s will say that they are damned if they do or damned if they don’t.
Canadians seem a bit touchy lately, at least some of them. I pointed out that their government was going nuts and one of them called me a moron in the comments. At least he spelled it correctly. Our tea-baggers spell it “moran”.
http://blogdredd.blogspot.com/2009/12/some-dementia-is-contagious.html
Anyway, I think they need to focus on some things that are happening in their country which, like this post and others here that compliment it, indicate there is cause for concern for the citizenry of our northern neighbors.
Ironic
meanwhile
There are bad and good doctors now too. A Toronto doctor is facing a disciplinary hearing over allegations he approved special meal allowances for people on welfare and disability programs according to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. Dr. Roland Wong, said he continues to approve applications for the special diet but only if he believes patients have an underlying medical condition that qualifies them for the financial supplement. “Today, I signed maybe five, four,” he said. “Sometimes more, depends.” He accused the auditor general of having a very “slanted view” of the program, and suggested he should be looking instead at the woefully inadequate support payments paid to people in need. Wong said he wasn’t overly concerned about the disciplinary hearing because it was based on a complaint laid against him by a municipal councillor. “This is a case of politicians against a physician, not the patient against the physician,” he said. The Special Diet Allowance provides up to $250 per month to a person on social assistance who requires special foods for such conditions as diabetes. Councillor Doug Holyday said . “This can’t go on.” http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/torsun/091209/canada/doc_faces_probe_over_dietary_payouts
Quebec and other provinces have no such adequate program and why?
Puck heads.
Now all they have to do is set up a range where they can practice taking shots from above at receding targets below and maybe they’ll match Oswald’s performance.
Of course, they’ll also have to figure out how to get a bullet out of a rifle, pass through two bones and not even mushroom. (See Commission Exhibit 399 and ask Byron and Gyges to explain the alleged ballistics)
“Presumably, trainees are taught to lead the fleeing suspects by a couple of feet.”
Not if they intend to hit their target.
Professor, Have you ever done a “ride along” with any police officers?