By Police1 Staff
NEW YORK — Television anchor Carol Costello participated in training that simulated the split-second decisions police officers face every day on the beat, CNN reported.
Costello was sent to a training facility in upstate New York that included a gun range and fake ‘town’ where police officers are outfitted with equipment and presented with common scenarios they will respond to while on patrol.
A Navy SEAL and former FBI agent acted as Costello’s partner. It became clear to Costello during the first few scenarios how difficult it can be to make life or death decisions in a matter of seconds.
“I don’t have it in me to automatically shoot someone. And, I’ll bet most of us, including most police officers, don’t either,” Costello reported.
Costello also spoke with her instructors about why officers aren’t trained to shoot suspects in the leg — a question frequently asked by civilians during discussions about police use of force.
“That would be great, but when a person armed with a weapon is threatening your life, you shoot to stop that person,” Costello said to CNN. “That means you aim for the largest part of the body.”
Costello told the news site the sole intent of the training was to bring about one thing — perspective.