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54 Law Enforcement Technology June 2014 www.officer.com F I R E A R M S officers, or innocent citizens. If the assailant dies as a result, consider that was their decision. Deadly force must be met with deadly force. A signifi- cant part of your training should be visualizing yourself in various, realistic deadly force situations, and make sure you truly believe that sometimes good people have to kill bad people. ■ The science of wound creation. Have you ever thought about what you're trying to accomplish when you put rounds into a human? Every cop needs to understand the basics of wound creation during a gunfight. Bullets needs to go in deep enough to create a cavity. In fact, two are created: the "permanent" one is the size of the hole made though bone and tissue; the "temporary" one is caused by the round's ripple and shock effect that forces surrounding tissue to stretch and then contract. The round will then fragment, as will bone if it's struck, causing additional damage. There's lots of debate about what is more impor- tant—the type of round or the place- ment of said round, but the bottom line is that to win a gunfight you need to create significant physical damage, and you need to do it fast. ■ Follow-through considerations. When you're shooting to simply hit a paper target, you don't get much practice at handcuffing, securing or even render- ing aid to said target. Remember, the gunfight doesn't end when you've shot the suspect. In fact, sometimes that may be just the beginning. Train yourself to follow through. If you've shot one assailant, is there another? Do you have cover, concealment? Once the assailant(s) are down, are they still moving? Can they access their weapons? When you're able to safely approach, visualize and practice handcuffing them, searching them, and yes, rendering aid if appropriate. The gunfight doesn't end until the threat is stopped, officers and innocents are attended to, and the scene is secure. A couple of years after the academy I attended a training class on my own that caused me to change my entire mindset. I started carrying a backup pis- tol that did fit my hand, I made friends with my patrol shotgun, and I started attending firearms training on my own. I learned what motivated me, and I took responsibility for my own mindset and my own abilities as a shooter. I'm still a work in progress, but aren't we all? ■ Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith retired in 2009 as a 29-year vet- eran of the Naperville, Illinois Police Department. She began her career as a police dispatcher at age 17, and became an officer four years later. She has held positions in patrol, investigations, narcotics, juvenile, hostage negotiation, crime prevention and field training. New design and mobile capabilities … as responsive as you are The NEW Coming Soon! LET_52-54_GunFighter0614.indd 54 5/21/14 9:38 AM