To shoot or not to shoot is the decades-old question when confronted with the decision to shoot the driver of a vehicle you perceive as intending to run you over. Some departments strictly forbid their officers from shooting at moving vehicles.
As with any use of force, there are many factors to consider. One thing an officer usually does not have – in the middle of “… a tense, uncertain, rapidly evolving event” – is time.
What can you consider now, before you are placed in a position to consider shooting into a vehicle?
Can you get out of the vehicle’s way? Are there physical barriers between you and the vehicle? If the vehicle is moving, what direction is it traveling, and is that a threat to you? As it travels towards its intended target, you, or others, are there bystanders behind the vehicle? Are you able to disable the vehicle, not the driver? The position of the officer at the time of the shooting would be telling if the officer intentionally placed themselves in the path of the vehicle.
