He Made Me Do It

One of the many sub-specialties I've developed in my nearly 40 years of police work is teaching the laws regarding the use of physical force and deadly physical force. This came as a byproduct of being a firearms instructor. One of the things that must continually be reinforced is the reality that we, as police officers, are not generally the actors, but the re-actors. We respond to the actions of another.
In my years I've been blessed with the ability to talk my way out of most situations; I've even told drunks "GO OUT AND SIT IN THE BACK SEAT OF MY CAR," and they have done it...then along came last night.
It wasn't a horrible call, bad enough; but I've been on worse. It finally came to the point where the other guy made the decision for me. The best use of resources, the most effective way to end the conflict, the safest way to get it over with was to use the Taser.
In spite of several warnings, verbal directions, more warnings...I deployed the tool. What a horrible decision to make, to put fifty thousand volts into another human being! However, he had made the decision; he made me do it. The safety of the others made it necessary. He made me do it. Not a second thought nor a regret has gone through my head.