Author Bio

Robert O'Brien

A member of the TREXPO Advisory Board, Sgt. Robert “Bob” O’Brien Cleveland SWAT Ret. is the founder of the R.J. O’Brien Group Ltd., a law enforcement training and consulting service that advises and trains a number of local, state, and federal SWAT teams.

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firing warning shots

I know that it has been the custom of not firing warning shots, Is this something that is set in stone?

Submitted by: hammer115 @ Wednesday, April 30, 2008 1:32 PM

The short answer to your question is, "yes." In most LE agencies today, warning shots are specifically forbidden. As recently as the 1960s, and into the 1970s, "justifiable" warning shots were considered acceptable under certain circumstances. My department officially banned warning shots in the early 1980s. Although there may be a few exceptions, I'm not aware of any LE agencies/departments that allow warning shots. To my knowledge, nearly all prohibit them. Hope this helps. Perhaps policemag.com readers can shed more light on warning shots.

Answer by: Robert O'Brien @ Thursday, May 01, 2008 10:51 AM

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