The belief that police officers are necessarily well-trained is overstated. I wanted to be a cop for a while and I went through police training. I'm sure it varies by jurisdiction and that many agencies have their own stricter standards, but basic standards for police marksmanship aren't very high.
Based on the training I experienced, I'd expect the average police officer to be able to hit a stationary, isolated man-sized target with a pistol most of the time from up to 75 feet.
I would have thought that the quality of police is measured not in their ability to shoot and hit something, but in their ability to refrain from doing so.
Your equaling of “well-trained police” with “police marksmanship” is a bit frightening.
Well, in this case, I meant "well-trained in marksmanship", but your point is valid. Training in marksmanship was inadequate; training in verbal de-escalation was almost nonexistent.
How is that frightening? Knowing the proper situation to use a firearm is obviously paramount, but I'd rather cops also be accurate after the decision to use a gun is made.
I know. It's just a widespread belief that police officers are usually skilled marksmen who are vastly more skilled in the use of firearms than say... the average civilian gun owner. I want to make it clear that this is not the case; police firearms training is usually fairly basic.
Based on the training I experienced, I'd expect the average police officer to be able to hit a stationary, isolated man-sized target with a pistol most of the time from up to 75 feet.