Consider administrative priorities in the context of civil liability. Cities have insurance policies to shield them from liability, but not intentional actions. If a line officer is actually trained and encouraged to be a fine marksman, "the police are being taught to shoot to kill!" will be the warcry of the crybullies when the wrongful death case hits the courtroom. If the officer dies because the suspect was not stopped by the poor shooting, it is a lot cheaper. If the training is enough for the officer to be "average" the city can claim they met or exceeded the minimum standards of competency. If the entire departmentshoots like an "average" SWAT operator, then that is an intentional action that might break that nice insurance protection. Administration is not your friend.
Consider administrative priorities in the context of civil liability. Cities have insurance policies to shield them from liability, but not intentional actions. If a line officer is actually trained and encouraged to be a fine marksman, "the police are being taught to shoot to kill!" will be the warcry of the crybullies when the wrongful death case hits the courtroom. If the officer dies because the suspect was not stopped by the poor shooting, it is a lot cheaper. If the training is enough for the officer to be "average" the city can claim they met or exceeded the minimum standards of competency. If the entire departmentshoots like an "average" SWAT operator, then that is an intentional action that might break that nice insurance protection. Administration is not your friend.