Concealed carry teacher argues cops don’t shoot to kill

Brandon Kirk, a veteran handgun safety expert who teaches concealed carry classes across Colorado, believes the perception that police officers are trained to “shoot to kill” is a myth.

“They are trained to stop a threat,” Kirk said. “And once that person is incapacitated or they are disarmed, unable to cause harm to another person, at that point they will stop pressing the trigger.”

In Ferguson, according to Officer Darren Wilson, Michael Brown went for his gun on August 9.

Wilson maintains he feared for his life and fired multiple shots. He said he was only doing his job.

Kirk understands Wilson’s and believes the officer was justified.

“Whenever you’re scared you might have to fire multiple shots because you’re only going to be half as good on the streets as you ever were practicing on the range,” Kirk said. “You’re only going to be half as good because you’re that scared. 90 percent of the time, a single shot is not going to be effective to stop a bad guy.”

Ultimately, Kirk believes when an officer uses force, deadly or otherwise, it’s a last resort.