Police Using Pictures of Children & Pregnant Women for Target Practice?

[celtic_crippler]

What if I told you police in your town could desensitize themselves to the idea of shooting a (armed) child, pregnant woman, or young mother, for just a couple of bucks? The “No More Hesitation” series from Law Enforcement Targets Inc. offers exactly that. For less than 99 cents per target, police can shoot at real-life images “designed to give officers the experience of dealing with deadly force shooting scenarios with subjects that are not the norm during training.”

Ummm… I can kind of see the logic behind it, but it just feels wrong.

Can any of our current LE members add anything to this? Do you use these targets when you practice? Do you see the need for these types of targets? Endorse them or not?

Article & Pix of Actual Targets: http://reason.com/blog/2013/02/19/is-your-local-police-department-using-pi

Oh, and there's this:

...the company has landed $5.5 million worth of contracts with the federal government, it might also be interesting to know if these targets are being used by federal law enforcement agents.

 

[Drasken]

I can see the point, but it feels kind of wrong to me too.
Especially because shooting a target can only desensitized you to a point, if it came down to actually doing it... Well that's completely different.

I would also like to hear from some of our law enforcement members here. Like I said, I can get the point of this but it just seems ... wrong somehow.

 

[ballen0351]

I think it has less to do with "shooting" kids as it does finding the threat. We do shoot no shoot scenarios all the time. They will turn 5 targets at once you need to pick the threat and shoot. I can easily see people totally missing a kid or pregnant woman holding a gun. You would glance right past it looking for more "traditional" targets. Just another thing to keep police on their toes.
If its sole purpose is to desensitize people for shooting kids then I think its a failure. Huge difference between shooting a picture and a living breathing kid standing in front of you.

 

[Tgace]

The pregnant woman target has been around for YEARS. You want to train coppers to shoot at a threat...a pregnant woman with a gun can kill you just as easily as a 250lb biker. Most of these targets come with small pads of "hands" holding badges, guns, cell phones etc. You tape them onto these targets so the trainee doesn't just associate the "pregger/kiddie" target as an automatic "shoot" because she always has a gun. And as Ballen said..these are reaction targets, you react to whats presented. To say they are for "conditioning" cops to kill women and kids is out in left field.

Look...Im no "Big Gvt" lover myself, but this "DHS/FEMA Death Squad" conspiracy stuff is going around the bend a bit.

 

[celtic_crippler]

Just want to say I appreciate the input from our LE folks. Thanks!