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SHELBY COUNTY SHERIFF INCIDENT


One evening in January 2001, a Shelby County Deputy was involved in a defensive 
shooting near Houston Levee and Walnut Grove.  The deputy stopped to assist what
he thought was a stranded motorist in a pick-up truck stopped in the roadway.  

Unfortunately, the truck was occupied by a disturbed person who was planning to 
start shooting people shortly.  As the deputy approached the truck, the suspect 
fired a shot from a handgun, hitting the deputy in the chest.  Thankfully, the
deputy's body armor stopped the bullet.  The deputy drew his standard issue 
Beretta .40 and returned fire with two shots, both of which hit the suspect.  

The officer retreated to his patrol car, radioed for help, and reloaded his weapon.
The suspect then began moving toward the deputy, so the officer engaged him again, 
firing seven additional rounds and getting seven additional hits.  The suspect went 
down and the incident was finally over.  Several days after the incident, the suspect 
was still alive (although, not well) at the Med.

Points to ponder:

1.  As stated many times before, bullets, especially from handguns, do
    not always immediately stop an attack.  This attacker took two hits
    in the chest that did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!  The suspect then took 
    seven additional hits before ceasing activity completely.

2.  The object of shooting someone is not specifically to kill them.  Even
    though shooting stopped the attack, the suspect did not die.  Stopping 
    the attack is infinitely more important than whether the suspect dies.
    
3.  Shots that hit low may not have the desired effect.  Handgun bullets
    are ineffective in general, but they are particularly ineffective
    if they don't hit a vital area.

4.  Bullets do not knock you down.  Both men were shot, but neither one
    fell down.  The BG took two rounds, then seven more while advancing
    on the officer.

5.  A 100% hit rate is unheard of among LEO.  Nationally, depending on
    whose numbers you read, the average for LEO shootings is between 9
    and 18 percent (yes, that means only between 9 and 18 percent of
    all shots fired hit the intended target, which also means between
    82 and 91 hit something else.  All of those bullets go somewhere
    and hit something).  Most policemen only practice once or twice a
    year when they have to requalify.  This particular officer is on
    the SSSD shooting team.  You must practice regularly!

6.  Many permit holders carry small, short barreled, low-capacity (5-6
    rounds) pocket guns.  Had this been the case here, a good guy may
    not have had enough rounds.  For years the accepted average number
    of rounds fired was 2-4, but, in the last few years, the average
    number of rounds fired in a conflict has risen to 6-8, for various
    reasons that I won't go into here.

7.  In Memphis, almost 50% of all violent crime involves two or more
    attackers.  Nationally, the figure is about 36%.  If someone with
    a low-capacity gun had faced two or more attackers of this audacity,
    they would have run out of ammo quickly.  Once you are in the fight,
    you cannot go get more ammo.  You must have enough ammo with you to
    complete the task at hand.  "What you brought is all you got."

8.  No matter what type of gun or ammo you carry, even with good centered
    hits, there is no guarantee you will stop the attacker with a certain
    "magic" number of shots.  This deputy was carrying a good combination
    of caliber and brand of ammo (standard issue .40 caliber Black Talons),
    yet the BG took nine rounds.  The only guaranteed stop is a good solid
    ocular window hit, which is difficult enough for the average shooter,
    even when not under stress.  In order to actually be immediately
    physically effective, ocular window hits must actually hit the ocular
    window, which puts a bullet into the brain.  Bullets that hit on the
    edge of the head actually tend to deflect.

9.  Be mentally prepared.  Problems can happen anywhere, any time, and they
    happen fast.  The intersection of Walnut Grove and Houston Levee is out 
    in the county not inside Memphis, and is considered to be a very nice,
    quiet, safe neighborhood.  It should also be noted, recently (September,
    2003) a bank was robbed in that neighborhood, and an insurance office
    in the Wolfchase area was robbed in November, 2003).  Crime can happen
    anywhere, regardless of what neighborhood or part of town you live in.

Robert V. Robinson
My Experience and Training: