# 1963 - Tucson awards medals for shooting criminals

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1963-tucson-awards-medals-for-shooting-criminals/983754>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [May 8, 2023, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1963-tucson-awards-medals-for-shooting-criminals/983754 "2023-05-08T15:11:14Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\
**Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1963-tucson-awards-medals-for-shooting-criminals/983754/1 "2023-05-08T15:11:14Z")

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Looking over a May 1, 1963 newspaper I found a small article about Tucson, Arizona. Police Captain James E McDonald will be awarding marksmanship medals to anyone shooting a criminal in the act of committing a major crime. Seems like some ambiguity there. I wonder how it played out?

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**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\
**Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1963-tucson-awards-medals-for-shooting-criminals/983754/2 "2023-05-08T16:11:57Z")

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They have to be careful not to kill the alleged criminal since there would then be no trial to prove they were in the act of committing a major crime. Always read the fine print before you start killing people to win a medal.