German Police Fired 85 Rounds in 2011, Which Is Just 14 More Bullets Than Were Fired at Jose Guerena This Time Last Year

German cops fired all of 85 rounds in 2011, according to a new study written up in Der Spiegel. A Boing Boing reader translates: 

"According to the German Police University police officers used exactly 85 bullets in 2011 - 49 warning shots, 36 shots on suspects. 15 persons were injured, 6 were killed. Germany has a population of about 80 million. (This does only take into account shots in connection with crimes. There were an additional 9000 shots on dangerous, sick and injured animals)."

Meanwhile, On May 5, 2011, a Pima County SWAT team fired 71 bullets into the home of Iraq War veteran Jose Guerena while his wife and four-year-old ducked for cover. That's one police department, in one county, on one day of 2011.

H/t Rex Riepe. 

Comments

[LemonMender]

Just proves that the Germans are pansies, right?

[sarcasmic]

Looks like Germans could take a lesson in "officer safety".

[NotSure]

Think of all the jobs that will be lost in the bullet making industry if the police did not fire all these bullets.

[Kaptious Kristen]

I dunno...wouldn't this be a great argument for anti-gun assholes to use for more gun control?

[NotSure]

I doubt it, it is the police doing the shooting, people against gun rights generally support powerful governments.

[Kaptious Kristen]

No, my point was that Germany is a basically disarmed civilian society, so the police wouldn't have to use that many bullets. In an armed society like the U.S. is it any wonder the police have to fire 71 rounds at one dude?*

*(anti-gun argument, not my personal viewpoint)

[niobiumstudio]

False, Germany ranks 15th in a list of countries with the most guns. There are 30.3 guns per 100 people. That is almost the same as Iraq, with 34.2/100 people. They are very high up there for gun ownership when compared to a normal country - other than the US. We just LOVE our guns way more than any other country on earth - even Serbia only has 58.2 guns/100 people.

[NotSure]

Off topic, but what is a normal country ? I don't think there is such a thing, which country would you consider the most normal country in the world ?

[wareagle]

Somalia. Of course. Gunz and roadz.

[niobiumstudio]

I just meant a country with basic statistics similar to our own. High per capita, fairly low crime rate (key word fairly), high education, etc... pretty much any well off western European country, Australia, Canada, etc. Of course no country has a population or love of guns quite like ours (except maybe Somalia as wareagle pointed out - and Afghanistan loves their guns too).

[wareagle]

high education, low crime is often found in democratic Asian countries. However, private gun ownership may not be very common. Bad if you are avid hunter, shooter, or collector; not so bad if you just want to go about your business without having to worry about being accosted by either thugs or cops. (Someone is going to say that is redundant, but you get the point.)

[Kaptious Kristen]

And only ~3 million licensed gun owners (splitting the difference between two sources). Out of a population of 80 million. So when the cops confront someone, they have reason to believe the person will be unarmed.

[niobiumstudio]

Well with over 25 million guns in Germany you would think there is a pretty good possibility a criminal is armed...Unregistered guns are treated quite differently in Europe than they are here. As for those above, by "normal" country, I meant those with basic statistics similar to our own. Of course there is no "normal" county - every one has their own weird, weird things.

[hk]

Conceal and carry has helped deflate murder rates all across the United States.

I would guess the police are asked to do a lot more in this country, than they are in Germany.

[slq]

Well, there are a lot of guns, but pretty much the only place a civilian can lawfully carry a loaded gun is at the shooting range or in a raised blind (unless you get a special exemption, which is pretty much impossible for hoi polloi).

[Fist of Etiquette]

Maybe if the Krauts were more prone to panic fire this would be different.

[John]

There is that old joke about how in hell, the cooks are English, the mechanics French, the Lovers Swiss, the cops German and it is all organized by the Italians. I guess that needs to be amended to say "the cops are American". Sad Sad.

[sarcasmic]

I heard the joke as follows:

In hell the cooks are English, the cars are French, and the police are German.
In heaven the cooks are French, the cars are German, and the police are English.

In hell the cops are indeed American, but what would be American in heaven? Certainly not the cars.

[Spoonman.]

The houses, according to a Chinese version of that joke I've heard.

[Dr. Frankenstein]

My Vietnamese co-worker says you want to eat Chinese food, marry a Japanese girl and live in an American house.

[Karl Hungus]

My Vietnamese co-worker says you want to eat Chinese food, marry a Japanese girl and live in an American house.

Or my favorite local Japanese restaurant, which is owned by my friend - a Chinese woman. They bank on us not knowing the difference, and 99 times out of 100, they're right.

[The Derider]

A good test there is to say "Hiroshima" and then try to give the person a high five. If they give you the high five-- they're Chinese. If not, Japanese.

[Karl Hungus]

A good test there is to say "Hiroshima"

That's actually pretty novel, but probably a better test - if you don't want the chef to beat off on your dinner - would be to simply ask. 😉

[Amakudari]

Probably most Japanese restaurants in the US are run by Koreans and Chinese. It's easy enough to make passable Japanese cuisine, so there's really only a point to having someone at least trained in Japan for the high-end stuff.

[NotSure]

I do like the American fast food franchises, lots of French like it too, despite their alleged good cooks.

[CE]

What would be American in heaven? The entertainment (music, movies and sports)

[kinnath]

In heaven, the cooks are Italian, the police are English, the mechanics are German, the lovers are French, and it's organized by the Swiss.

Your version of hell matches my memory.

My French co-workers tell me that heaven is an American paycheck; hell is an American wife.

[Paul.]

My French co-workers tell me that heaven is an American paycheck; hell is an American wife.

I thought heaven would be a European pension.

[hk]

Yeah this version makes more sense, the Swiss are doing very well for European standards.

[CE]

I heard it this way:

In heaven,
the cooks are French,
the cops are English,
the engineers are German,
and the lovers are Italian.

In hell,
the cooks are English,
the cops are Italian,
the engineers are French,
and the lovers are German.

[hk]

It all sounds stupid, sorry.

[hk]

Not to be too rude, I meant the idea behind it sounds silly to me.

I like Italian food more. :]

[R C Dean]

This does only take into account shots in connection with crimes.

I don't know what this means. Does it mean crimes committed by the police? Does it mean shots fired at people when there was no crime in view? What?

[Drake]

They aren't counting dogs, wounded deer or target practice.

[Isaac Bartram]

FTA:

"There were an additional 9000 shots on dangerous, sick and injured animals"

[AlmightyJB]

Evidently shooting dogs is universal.

[niobiumstudio]

I don't know about this, I talked to a few co-workers from our German office and apparently they aren't really known for wrong-house raids or raids in general and just blowing away dogs. I'm sure they kill every off-leash dog on the street (like they do elsewhere), but they don't recall any cases (at least in Bavaria) of police shooting dogs in a drug raid or anything like that. 9000 doesn't sound that high, and the fact they even track it is pretty telling. Good luck getting even the number of shots fired in the US and a breakdown like they have in Germany.

[AlmightyJB]

I did actaully see some stats a year or two back about hits per shots fired by police. I think it may have just been NYC but I don't remember for sure. What I do remember from the is how terrible the stats were. It's no wonder they have to fire so many shots because they can't hit the broad side of a barn. I realize there is fear and adrenaline in play but they were like 25-30% inside 5 feet and got worse from there. If your at least 15 feet from a NY cop and he has less then a 15 round mag, your probably pretty safe according to the article.

[AlmightyJB]

Drugs are bad mkay. We have to kill everyone so no one does drugs mkay. It's for the children mkay.

[Tommy_Grand]

Yeah, but based on the WW2 movies I've seen, it is like 100 times harder to hit a US marine than to cap a German.

[CE]

And 35 rounds less than the LAPD fired at an unarmed teen on US-101 last month, for fleeing from a traffic stop.

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