Force Science: When Shot Suspects Collapse

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--> Force Science News #82

Three studies that will explore certain subtleties of force encounters in hopes of improving safety on the street are underway at the Force Science Research Center at Minnesota State University-Mankato.

One is expected to provide insights into a phenomenon that has not previously been analyzed in detail, says FSRC's executive director, Dr. Bill Lewinski. That's how-and how fast-wounded suspects fall down once they've been shot.

A second project involves extending earlier research into the nature of verbal commands that law officers give in life-threatening situations, and the third will measure the potentially dangerous time cost of visual distractions when officers are trying to focus on a suspect's threatening behavior. [...]

when suspects collapse after being shot, they sometimes fall through an officer's continuing field of fire. "This can result in wounds in the top of the head and other locations that in retrospect may look suspicious and may be misinterpreted as 'execution' shots that were delivered after the subject was down.

FSRC's third current study has to do with the time it takes officers to shift attention during a confrontation, and the potentially ominous consequences of such diversions. [...]