Firing at a vehicle is a controversial practice in which a person discharges a
gun
A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, p ...
at an
automobile
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...
. Many police departments, including those of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
,
Police Statements Vary on Firing at a Vehicle – New York Times
/ref> Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...
,[http://www.less-lethal.org/docs/53/VirginiaBeachUseOfForce.pdf] and Prince William County, Virginia
Prince William County is located on the Potomac River in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 482,204, making it Virginia's second-most populous county. Its county seat is the independent city of Manassas ...
, have rules specifically banning officers from engaging in it, even when the officer is about to be run down by the vehicle. Firing at a vehicle is viewed as being generally ineffective and posing many risks.[ For instance, the bullet may go through the car windows and strike an innocent bystander on the other side. Not only that, but firing at an automobile may bounce the bullet back at the officer, if the metal is strong enough.
]
References
Law enforcement techniques
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