The Private Group Pty Ltd - Security Division - Bodyguards - Reasonable Force - Reasonable Force with a Firearm

You may carry a firearm, as part of your job, but when can you use it?

The short answer is when you fear for your life or to protect the life of another.

It is unusual that in some jurisdictions you may be armed in defence of property but not in defence of people.  In some jurisdictions you may be armed with less than lethal options.

As a guard escorting a payroll, if you fear for your life when confronted by armed offenders, it may be reasonable to shoot.  You must consider all the circumstances, including the risk to the public, the REAL risk to you and those around you.  Are you prepared for the aftermath?  If you make a decision, you must remain confident it was the right choice, second guessing yourself and 'what if' recriminations will not do any good.  Once a decision is made, and an action taken, it cannot be undone.

In most circumstances guards choose not to shoot, because there is no opportunity.  This is fortunate. 

Remember, being in fear of your life is not something that should exist when robbers are withdrawing, unless there has already been gunfire.  As security staff you are not there to 'catch the bad guy', under those circumstances.  You must protect yourself, your workmates and others, whilst attempting to prevent the theft of the valuables you are guarding.

As an aside, military research has indicated that even with military conditioning a number of soldiers cannot shoot another human. 

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So, what are they armed with??

Well, it may be a .22LR semi-auto (a little pee shooter!), it may be a knife,it may be a baton or a club!?

Am I justified in shooting? 

Basically any firearm from a .22 to a .454casull is capable of killing you.  The same applies to a man with a knife.  With a gun holstered, and a knife wielding or sword wielding person, who means you harm, within 20 feet you are at a disadvantage.  How long do you think it takes you to draw a gun?????  How fast can they close that distance???  It has been shown (again, our thanks to the Americans who really get into this stuff!) that a person with a knife can cover 26 feet and stab you in the time it takes to draw and shoot from a holster.

So, are you better off using your hands to deflect them?? again, the choice is yours.  There are gun techniques for close combat such as would occur in this scenario. One of the easiest is 'rock and shoot' whereby you palm the offender with your non-master hand to their face - hard!, as you do so you draw with your master hand rotating the barrel towards them as it clears the holster and fire as you point in their direction.  You continue to fire untill the threat no longer exists.

This also applies to the person who has knocked you down and is starting to beat you to death.  Are you in fear of your life???? Then defend yourself.

Rock and shoot can transition into another technique known as a failure drill.

What if I'm shot, myself?????

YOU ARE NOT DEAD IF YOUR STILL THINKING, fight back.  Shock will slow you down, if you let it.  Pain and injuries can be ignored.  You may even be fatally shot, but you can continue to fight.  There is a very impressive piece of film recreating an incident quite some years ago known as the FBI incident.  It involved two male bank robbers who travelled around in their F Truck.  The offenders were engaged by FBI agents after one robbery, shot 'fatally' many times but continued to fight on, killing a number of agents.  The offenders didn't give up, they didn't care that they were shot, that they were technically 'dead' but kept going.  The FBI used this as a training tool, to evaluate, and force students to consider, the many variables in a gun fight.

Removing the threat is the best way to permit care givers to look after you.  This may mean you have to negate the threat.  Until the threat has been removed there is a chance you may receive further fatal injuries, or they may prevent you getting the medical assistance you need.

Don't just lay down and die.
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For more on the subject of defence with a handgun

For long arms and sub-machineguns

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The author of this article is The Director.  He considers himself fortunate in that he has been permitted to train with some very experienced Australian and American weapons experts on self defence, active service weapons carriage and engaging hostile persons in a hostage scenario.  These pages a quick precise of some of the things taught.
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