Well trained professionals practice strict trigger discipline. Some local cops are not that well trained, unfortunately.
Years ago, I was out at an outdoor range doing some target practice when a van-load of Sheriff’s posse showed up. It was, as the kids say, in-fucking-credible. These guys were doing their Steven Segal/gangbanger moves, emptying full magazines (Glock 17, 17+1 rounds) at targets without touching the black, and just generally violating the hell out of gun safety rules. I tried to correct one–the guy next to me–tellng him not to step out in front of the shooting line until everyone stopped shooting. He pointed his censored gun at me (for emphasis, not deliberately threatening, but still) and told me to “mind my own fucking business before we drag your ass down to County.”
Wow. I have never seen a bunch of civilian shooters act in such a cavalier and reckless manner, and I’ve never seen LEOs act like such a bunch of thugs then or since. I stopped patronizing that range thereafter, due to several issues but that was a biggie.
While these guys were no doubt an egregious exception (rural Midwestern state), local police in general have varying but often extremely minimal training and certification requirements with regard to firearms. Of course, pulling a gun is the last resort, even for a police officer, and one hopes they never have to do so in the course of an entire career, but if it comes down to it, I want an officer to be able to handle himself (or herself), or at least not be more of a threat to themselves and bystanders than to a perpetrator.
Stranger
I’ve heard many anecdotes just like yours. That’s why I made the caveat about local police. In the military, you could find similar bad habits among non-combat troops and some national guard or reserve units (think Jessica Lynch’s unit with the non-maintained, non-functional M16s). But among active line infantry units, special forces, elite police units, federal agencies, etc…you tend to find good trigger discipline.
When lightsabres are outlawed, only Sith will have lightsabres.
They’ll have my lightsabre when they pry it from my cold, dismembered hand.
