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It appears that in at least one department, you're better off being in a vehicle than being a cop's wife or girlfriend!


The following is a table published in the March 1995 issue of Police magazine.

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"Bulls" Eye

Here's a look at every bullet fired last year by New York City cops, as reported in the police department's 1993 Firearms Discharge Assault Report:

TARGETS ------------- SHOTS FIRED ------ HITS

At perpetrators ......... 928 ........... 173
At dogs ................. 155 ........... 111
Accidental discharges .... 43 ............ 17
To protect other officer . 18 ............ 10
Police officer intoxicated 10 ............. 0
Suicide ................... 8 ............. 8
Into locker ............... 6 ............. 0
At vehicle ................ 5 ............. 0
At girlfriend ............. 3 ............. 3
Attempting suicide ........ 3 ............. 2
Threatening suicide ....... 1 ............. 0
At wife ................... 1 ............. 1
At beer can ............... 1 ............. 0

Hmmm, 1993 was pre-Giuliani. I wonder what it was recently.

6 and 0 at the locker? Befuddles the imagination. What's the rage, er range?

Let the records show they should post a picture of their wife/girlfriend on their locker before target practice or shine a hologram of their squeeze on the perpetrator before the trigger squeeze to help improve accuracy.

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Allen Moulton from Uechi-ryu Etcetera

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Allen M.:
6 and 0 at the locker? Befuddles the imagination. What's the rage, er range?
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think that the "hits" column only ndicates people hit, not innanimate objects.

"Let the records show they should post a picture of their wife/girlfriend on their locker before target practice...."

Call me PC, call me a drag, or a stick in the mud, but, I don't find this funny. Partner violence is the number two reason for women to visit ER's with trauma. Number one is "falls," hmmmm.

My calculator shows 5.3641618497109826589595375722543 shots fired for every hit on a perpetrator. That's not surprising because in a firefight many shots can be fired to attain one hit. I find the statistics interesting, Panther, but unless there is more information behind that raw data the numbers can't reveal any kind of picture, except whatever the mind will conjure.

The "Locker" business. Was that in the police locker room? A gym? I'm curious.

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Allen Moulton from Uechi-ryu Etcetera

Allen-san, Sorry, but I don't have any further data or information. I just thought it was an interesting table, even if it is ~8 years old. Another one of my little tidbits for provoking thought, discussion and dialog.

Ian, Your point is well taken... however, no one suggested that you necessarily take it as funny or not. I think the statistics (even though ~8 years old) are startling enough to speak for themselves concerning the partner violence you mention. But while the aspect of partner violence is a serious issue, Allen-san's quip for improving accuracy is humorous not in a funny-ha-ha manner but in the absurd irony of the improved method for accuracy it suggests. As pointed out, without further information, we can come to many conclusions... My purpose was to have a (reasonable) dialog based on those various conclusions and everyone should feel free to express their observations no matter how un-PC they may seem. I could have started with the comment that the officer's could improve their accuracy by envisioning themselves when the acquire a target... or that a beer can around intoxicated and armed officers is safer than other objects... but I didn't. I pointed out the obvious and shocking tidbit that the accuracy seemed to improve in a domestic violence situation! You are more than welcome to start a domestic violence thread. I feel that is (in many respects) truly a tough issue... especially in certain States such as Massachusetts where restraining orders are routinely abused for divorce gains.

I was influenced by the smiley face. If one were to disapprovingly joke about this problem it might have gone " how pathetic is it that these numbers give the impression that the NYPD could improve their accuracy by imagining aiming at their significant others?"

In any case, this is more detail than I hoped to go into. I just think whether ironic or not, no joke about partner violence is funny.

A simple guide to etiquette or ethics is to imagine what would happen if your joke or experimental design were suddenly revealed to all parties. For example, if you designed an experiment that entailed secretly peeking at people's mail, for whatever cause, and imagined yourself being caught, you'd imagine you'd feel sheepish or embrassed and that's your clue the research is too nosy. Well what if one had to read the joke at a support group for battered women? Or to any woman given the high incidence of partner violence?

I am by no means trying to stifle free expression, just expressing myself freely in the hopes of encouraging the direction of future free speech--and indicating that I know several women at my dojo that would not feel comfortable reading the above joke.

Now, I know we all run the risk of offending whenever we post, and know that *I* certainly have. Lastly I apologize for getting a bit off topic here. Perhaps posting etiquette ought to be its own tough issue.