My Performance on a Police Use of Force Training Simulator Pt 2

This article is the second in a series discussing my experiences
training on a sophisticated police use of force training simulator or PTS.  During the training session, I completed
several law enforcement-themed scenarios including domestic disturbances,
drug-related incidents, a robbery at a convenience store, and several active
killer incidents.  It was an interesting
experience and I was satisfied with my performance overall since I did not get
shot in any of the scenarios.  However,
in some of the scenarios I did not act quickly enough to stop the perpetrator
from other harming others.

One scenario involved a dispute between two neighbors who lived in
different houses across the street from me. 
Since these scenarios were LEO-focused, even though I was at home, I was
acting in the role of a police officer. 
When the scenario begins, I hear loud yelling coming from across the
street and go to investigate.  As I step
around the blind corner of a garage leading to an area between two houses I see
a man holding a shotgun at his waist and pointed at a woman.  Both individuals are loudly arguing about
something.

I draw my pistol, point it at the man, and command him to drop the
shotgun.  He immediately complies and
places the shotgun on the ground, steps back, and raises his hands.  I lower my pistol to low ready and that was
the extent of my actions in that moment. 
The woman continues loudly yelling at the man and he becomes more
agitated.  Thirty seconds or so pass and
suddenly he lunges for the shotgun, picks it up, aims at the woman, and shoots
her in the chest. A soon as he aims it toward the woman, I shoot him—he goes
down; however, I was not fast enough to prevent him from killing the woman.

As I completed several scenarios, I did not hesitate when the
threat was directed at me.  However, when
I was not immediately threatened, I experienced an instant of hesitation
deciding whether I should act. My hesitation resulted in several people being
“killed.”  As I reviewed my performance
after the training, I realized I was approaching the scenarios with a private
citizen mindset and not the mindset of a police officer. The last time I wore a
police uniform was 1983–almost 40 years ago—so in retrospect I guess this is
not surprising. Over the years I have given careful thought to what situations
I will and will not get involved in and in all but extremely rare occasions,
stay out of other people’s business. 

Practicing reactions to deadly force scenarios or other
emergencies increases our confidence, and increased confidence lowers the
stress response of our bodies when we actually face dangerous situations. Our
field of vision is not as narrow as it might be otherwise, and our tendency to
fixate on a “fear object” or other distraction diminishes. Because
our brain is in a more relaxed state, it is more able to dedicate resources to
creatively addressing new challenges (for example, incoming gunfire from an
unexpected direction).