Myths from TV and Movies - Part 1

There is a lot of information out there on the subjects we discuss and the unlearned individual can come away with bad, false and misleading information.  I’m going to throw out a bunch of “commonly thought” ideas, where they come from and why they are wrong. I’m also going to break a major rule of journalism and not provide citation or references for my statements because they are not easily quotable. If you want to know more about a particular line of thinking and my resources you know where to find me.
1.       Cops should be able to shoot to wound or shoot a gun out of a suspects hand rather than killing.
This is becoming less prevalent as information about cops and shooting becomes more disseminated but is still out there.  People who present this as a viable option in the midst of a confrontation have not had training or law enforcement experience and comes out of ignorance.  If you are in the middle of a need-for-lethal-force situation and you shoot the suspect anywhere other than a kill zone the suspect can still respond.  Just because you blow out his knee or hip doesn’t mean he can fire back or stab you. The goal of the shooting is to stop the attacker from continuing their attack. If the goal was to kill why do the cops give first aid to those people they’ve just shot? Because the attack has ceased, the threat is gone.  Shooting a gun or knife out of someone’s hand is possible as evidenced by the police video but is extremely hard.  If attempted you run the risk of hitting something other than the gun or gun hand.
2.       Cops are highly trained in shooting, hand to hand fighting and suspect control.
Sorry to say, cops are not trained in these areas beyond what they get going through their respective academies to learn the basics. If cops want to become better they have to participate in outside classes, courses or seminars sometimes at their own cost. Many officers never have to draw their weapon in 20 years of service and in physical confrontations they are permitted to use one level higher on the force continuum. They don’t need to be experts in hand to hand when they have pepper spray or batons.  Unfortunately, departments spend more time on sensitivity training and procedures than they do suspect control or shooting.
3.       You can be thrown through glass and not get cut to ribbons.
This is real popular in TV and movies where the two people are fighting and they go through a large glass window with no injuries.  I’ve read a number of stories of burglars who have cut their femoral artery stepping through a broken glass window.  Simply put, you put anything through a window and it’s going to get shredded. Also a good self defense tip!
4.       If you get shot or stabbed you will most likely die.
Again, very popular in movies and TV where the good guy or bad guy gets shot and they die.  Statistically, the majority of people who are shot or stabbed survive the assault.  Stories abound of people who have been shot or stabbed numerous times and surviving.  It appears the single most important thing in a shooting or stabbing is the underlying attitude. If you think it will kill you it probably will.
5.       You can kick the gun or knife out of someone’s hand.
Another popular action sequence but most well trained and knowledgeable martial artist will tell you this is bull.  It is possible if the person is standing there, holding out a knife or gun at waist level  to kick it out of their hand and those that are inexperienced may buy into this as a valid technique. The realities of combat quickly prove this deadly wrong.
6.       Crimes are solved rather quickly.
Crime shows wrap everything up neatly in a hour  and the general public has bought into the idea the police ask a few questions, ‘canvass the neighborhood’ and catch the bad guy in apartment 2B.  In some areas and with some departments, some crimes like burglary are not investigated at all. They take your information but will not go any further simply because of lack of manpower and the scale of time versus importance.
End part 1

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