Zach,
My discussion with LE snipers on this topic was very brief, therefore I can't fully explain the legal ramifications of a long range LE shot. However, the basic information that I got from the local snipers is as follows:
#1- The sniper will likely be grilled in civil, and possibly criminal court for his shot just like a patrol officer would for plugging someone on a traffic stop gone bad. Questions like, "How do you explain the fact that the perp was found dead *AND* unarmed after your perfectly placed 250 yard head shot?" will make you an inmate of the state instead of the hero you might have been had he been armed. Is that really a weapon that you see in the hand of the perp located 300+ yards away through your 10X scope in less than ideal lighting?
#2- Hostile Target I.D. is absolutely necessary to save your tater in the above mentioned court proceedings. You *HAVE* to be able to articulate the fact that the BG posed a threat to you or someone you have the right to protect. Although the LE sniper and his rifle might be able to perfectly place a head shot from 300 yards, he may not be able to convince a jury that he could see well enough to articulate a threat to himself or others.
#3- Collateral damage. Let's say that you not only miss your mark on the BG, leaving him capable of inflicting harm to the hostage as mentioned above, but you actually hit the hostage. Hey, it's a high stress shot against a human target that may require shooting from an uncomfortable shooting position while experiencing physical/mental fatigue and eye stress from gathering intelligence and obtaining proper target I.D. through a rifle scope for a long period of time.
The pressure of this kind of shooting isn't like making a 300 yard paper target shot from a nice comfortable benchrest. A miss, or even worse, an "innocent" hit can cost you for the rest of your life. Imagine you are at the rifle range and your paper target is partially obscured by the Range Officer's head. You have to hit the 3" of exposed bullseye without as much as nicking the RO. How much stress would that add to your target session? The LE sniper that hits the innocent would experience as much, if not more grief than you would if you hit the RO at the range.
LE snipers don't have license to kill with immunity. Quite the contrary, they must be able to articulate that they were justified in using deadly force to defend the life of themselves or innocents that they have a right to protect. The tactical commander might give the green light for a shot but guess who's tater gets cooked if you make an unjustifiable shot based only on his command?
Bear in mind that we're not saying that long shots are not made or justified in certain LE scenarios. The point is, they *have to be justified and articulated* and that can get tough when involving long distance shots.
I hope this kind of clears things up for you.
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May 20, 2000-From 3pm to 6pm
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R6...aka...Chris
[This message has been edited by Rainbow Six (edited May 20, 2000).]