To pull the trigger or not?

[jeremy2]

Am fully aware of the dangers you guys face in your daily routine but i got to ask,what goes on in your mind in those final, mind boggling seconds before you pull the trigger? Is your conscience rattled by that life changing act?

 

[missbishi]

Fantastic question jeremy2, I would love to know straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak.

 

[jperd21]

I agree. Although sometimes these experiences can be traumatic and I can definitely understand the reluctance to share. I'm sure it's intense... and frightening.

 

[Rainman]

Cops are but human. Even soldiers who are trained to kill their enemies eventually get PTSD I believe the same thing happens to cops because they or at least a good number of them can't erase the fact that they robbed someone of their life. Still don't believe it?

Police officers struggle with PTSD, but treatment can bring stigma - The Denver Post

"Seifert [a cop] . . . plunged into depression after a shootout with a gunman who killed the general manager of the Eldora Mountain Resort. Forty-nine rounds were fired in the battle with gunman Derik Bonestroo.

Once you kill . . . that stays with your forever. Tormenting you . . . so I'm certain that just before the trigger is pulled the officer holding the gun knows he has a really difficult choice to make and that the decision will forever alter his life. Negatively.

 

[JoanMcWench]

Tough question only because people are very different. Some people have the ability to compartmentalize things & easily make peace with a decision to shoot someone (let alone kill them). Others may just have a hard time with the decision itself let alone the act. Depends on the person.

 

[jperd21]

Well put. I'm not a police officer myself, but I come from a long line of Marines, and I have heard repeatedly the gravity of taking a life. As a young teen, I tried asking my father about his time in the service and if he ever took a life. I've never seen him close up like that before or since. He really didn't want to talk about it, and I never asked again. What ever happened obviously had a lasting impact on him.

 

[marcamm]

I think, at the FIRST time they do it, it takes a great deal of emotion. Taking somebody's life is no joke; it takes a great deal of courage to be able to pull that trigger. I like comparing it to the Harry Potter series - the Killing Curse. Every time you take someone's life, a part of your soul is severed forever. I agree with jperd21,​ it can have a lasting impact on someone.