You need time to calm down from the effects of the incident before giving your side of the events that had just occurred…
In Part 1 of What to Expect Following a Defensive Shooting, we covered what may directly occur following a defensive shooting and the law enforcement response you may encounter. Part 2 discusses in more detail the physical and psychological responses you may feel following a defensive encounter.
Imagine that you are involved in a life-and-death incident and have just used your firearm in self defense. The shooting is over, and you are standing there, firearm in hand, wondering what happened. It is not uncommon for people who are involved in critical incidents like these to experience many things that cause them concern. Time dilation (slow motion), auditory exclusion (did not hear shots being fired), and short-term memory loss are common. I can tell you from personal experience that I felt the time dilation and auditory exclusion, both during and shortly after the shooting. I saw everything move in slow motion and could not tell you how many shots I heard or how many times I fired.
Physically, you will of course have an adrenaline dump into your system. It is part of your body’s defense system; adrenaline raises blood pressure and increases your heart rate. It also causes you to have reduced blood flow to the extremities—just when you need your fine motor skills, they are one of the first things to leave you. The reduced blood flow to the extremities is a survival tactic your body remembers from the days of hunting for food. You would be surprised at how much damage the human body can take in the extremities and still keep fighting. As I like to tell my students, you are not out of the fight until you are dead. Along with an increased heart rate, other physiological responses such as loss of bowel or bladder control, as more than a few soldiers in combat can attest to, may be experienced during traumatic events.
Now this is where my advice should be heeded. You see, once you are involved in one of these types of incidents, the police are going to respond and ask you everything that happened and why. Unfortunately, if your recollections are not clear and you make a mistake, even though legitimate given the circumstances, the information may be used against you later. There is a reason that police who are involved in officer-related shootings get some time to collect themselves before they have to give an official statement on what happened. You need time to come down from the effects of the incident before you are asked to try and explain everything that happened. This is why it is so important for you to take some time and not volunteer any information about the incident until you have recovered from the trauma of it (please see Part 1 for more information regarding this point).
I know this may sound like strange advice coming from a lifelong cop, but having been there myself, I know that you are not in your best state of mind after having to defend yourself. If you want to read up on the changes that happen and get a more detailed explanation of them, I highly suggest you read Lt. Col. Dave Grossman’s book On Combat: The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace. Dave also gives lectures to law enforcement and military groups. Reading this book has saved more than one cop from the debilitating effects, both physically and mentally, that occur following a self defense shooting. I’m sure it will be a benefit to you as well.
Chris Wagoner is a Senior OpsLens Contributor and U.S. Army Veteran. He has been in law enforcement the last 35+ years. He specializes in LE Firearms Instruction, and is in charge of a large Police Academy in North Florida. In his spare time Chris is a freelance Military Reporter and owner/founder of the Largest Military Videos Channel on YouTube “3rdID8487”.
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