Shooting under stress is difficult, even for a well trained individual. Center of mass is the most reliable tactic so that's what they're trained to do. Plus, even shots to the legs can be lethal, so if lethal force is not justified then the officer should not be using his firearm at all.
Nobody said beeing a police officer will be an easy task. Of course there will be difficult situation, but the highest priority should always be the citizens safety, no matter if innocent citizens or suspect of crime.
Of course a shot to the legs can be lethal, too. But thats a lot less likely than a shot in the chest, so its worth going that route.
I agree more training is needed. It's just not as simple is that.
The best training is interactive videos including areas ala Men in Black. Unfortunately hardly any departments can afford something like that.
I'm sure it won't be simple, but I think spending a lot of money to have a capable police force is money well spent.
I mean look at that:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUdHIatS36A
There is money, but its spent on the wrong things. Especially 10:53... a small town in georgia has a fucking tank.
It works in films, because films are bullshit. In real life, if you can even get a 'clean shot' off, chances are an artery will be hit. And then that person is going to bleed to death unless the cops know how to stem the flow of an arterial bleed, which isn't a guarantee. Not to mention the fact that getting a single accurate shot FROM A HANDGUN at medium to far range is extremely difficult.
Cops should know a lot about first aid and medical treatment and the should have basic medical equipment in their car.
I just don't get why we have to find all kinds of excuses why these problems can't be worked on.
Of course the US is different than Norway or Sweden or the UK or Germany, but that doesn't mean that there isn't a lot of room for improvement in the US.
There are stories coming out of the US on a daily basis that would cause a huge scandal and weeks of political debates in other countries, and in the US people just shrug their shoulders and act like there is nothing that can be done.
There is at least some talk about racist background in these cases, and I'm not saying that not a problem but in my opinion poorly trained cops are the much bigger problem.
I'm also wondering why cops themself don't speak up. Because these incidents make it harder for the good cops to do their jobs because citizens become more hostile around cops, less trust etc.
And afterall things get safer for the cop, too when he is trained better.
I don't live in the US, I have family living there but I haven't been living there myself, so my opinion on the police over there isn't first hand, but from what I've seen and heard I think there is a lot that can be improved.
I live in munich and a friend of mine is police officer here. Each year during Oktoberfest there are police exchanges happening. Mainly officers from other european countries coming over to help the german officers at Oktoberfest, since there are a lot of foreign visitors its always good to have officers who speak their language fluently.
There also are some american officers and they always say that its a very valuable lesson to see policework in different countries. I think countries can learn a lot from each other. If you want to improve its always a smart thing to ask other parties for tips. Not only when it comes to policeforce but also healthcare and other issues.
German government recently sent a delagation to canada to learn about their immigration policies. Stuff like that should happen more often.
