Against the background of the widow of the man shot by the police, who is now sharply criticizing the officers’ actions, the “Krone” explains how firearms are used by the police and what is learned in training.
Police operations like the one on Friday in Bad Sauerbrunn in Burgenland, in which a person who appeared to have psychiatric problems was shot, are rare in Austria. But: In self-defense situations, especially when a police officer is attacked at close range with a knife or a machete, the focus of the training is on “reaching for the firearm,” as Chief Inspector Markus Tantinger from the training center in the Ministry of the Interior says. Shot in the knee Doesn’t stop an attacker In shooting training, the police officers have to aim their weapons at upper body targets – they represent potential attackers. This practice-oriented orientation has two decisive advantages: It not only increases the hit rate of the emergency services – because of the larger area – but also aims to: In the event of an emergency, to ensure immediate defusing of the threatening situation. A targeted shot – for example in the knee or the use of pepper spray – is no longer possible from this distance. In addition, the attacker would not be able to be stopped in a second by a shot in the knee, if it was hit at all. We know from experience that people in exceptional psychological situations or under the influence of drugs often do not react to pepper spray. “In this case, resorting to a service weapon is unavoidable. This is how it is taught all over the world,” said Tantinger. However, the use of the service weapon is generally the last option for police officers during operations. Police should primarily de-escalate. Officers are generally trained to have a de-escalating effect in dangerous situations. Interactive scenario training is also used in which the police officers specifically learn how to stay calm in stressful situations, and the use of weapons is also practiced here. “Experiences from difficult official actions from the past are also incorporated into this scenario training,” said the Interior Ministry. The majority of firearm use involves blank and warning shots as well as shots against things such as car tires. In the event of an attack with a weapon, it is not the police officer’s job to decide whether the suspect has psychiatric problems or not. “They are not medically trained to do this,” said the Interior Ministry. In addition, a corresponding diagnosis can only be made “when the situation has calmed down again”.
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