Joe Biden: Cops Should Shoot Suspects ‘In the Leg Instead of the Heart’

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has said another incredibly dumb thing. No shocker, I know.

In light of the George Floyd death and subsequent nationwide protests, Joe Biden wants police to aim for the legs rather than the body, according to Breitbart News.

WATCH:

BIDEN: “Instead of standing there and teaching a cop, when there’s an unarmed person coming at them with a knife or something, you shoot them in the leg instead of in the heart is a very different thing.." pic.twitter.com/hG5PCR9oyD

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 2, 2020

From Fox News:

Joe Biden said Monday that police — if facing a threat from a person with “a knife or something” — should be trained to “shoot ‘em in the leg instead of the heart,” amid five straight days of protest following the death of George Floyd.

“Instead of standing there and teaching a cop when there’s an unarmed person coming at ‘em with a knife or something, shoot ‘em in the leg instead of in the heart,” Biden said in an address to black community leaders in Wilmington, Del.

“There are a lot of things that can change,” Biden said, regarding police training.

There are a few problems with what Biden said. First, what kind of unarmed person has a knife? If someone is coming at me with a knife, they are coming at me armed.

Furthermore, why does Joe Biden want police shooting unarmed people? That’s a tiny bit problematic.

Obviously Joe is taking heat from the right for this statement, but he is getting killed for it by the left for his brilliant idea.

I refuse to accept a nominee who thinks cops should shoot an unarmed person even in the leg. I’m calling on @JoeBiden to step down and let a real leader lead. This isn’t going to work. Biden’s not cut out for this. We need fundamental change. #BidenDropOut pic.twitter.com/Fc3H2tn1fG

— Ryan Knight ☭ (@ProudSocialist) June 1, 2020

Donald Trump: "when the looting starts, the shooting starts" 😬@JoeBiden: "shoot them in the leg instead of the heart"

That's really the message you have for us, Joe? That's the best you can do? You need to be a lot fucking better, and fast (or step aside). November is coming.

— Sunrise Movement 🌅 (@sunrisemvmt) June 1, 2020

Choose your fighter.

GOP: Martial Law

DNC: Just shoot them in the leg, man!

— Dr. Victoria Dooley (@DrDooleyMD) June 1, 2020

There’s one final problem with Joe’s idea. No one ever in the history of the world has aimed for anything other than the head (kill shot) or the chest (easiest to hit). If a police officer must take a shot at a suspect, it is because they are an imminent threat. The most important thing at that point is to neutralize the threat. It is much more difficult to hit a leg than the body.

The National Review’s Dan McLaughlin outlined why Biden’s idea to shoot in the leg is a bad idea.

This is bad advice that would get people killed. Police do have a variety of tools of non-deadly force at their disposal (tasers, rubber bullets, etc.), although some of those, too, can be deadly in some circumstances. Floyd, after all, was killed by a man’s knee. But anyone who has been trained in police work or the military could tell you: Firing a gun is always potentially deadly force. You shoot for center mass, to kill, or you don’t shoot at all. If you’re not prepared to kill someone, you should not even point a loaded gun at them, much less fire it. If you don’t have grounds to shoot to kill, you don’t have grounds to shoot.

There are all kinds of things that can go wrong by trying to shoot to wound, because most people are not expert marksmen, and even expert marksmen do not have the greatest of aim in chaotic circumstances. You can miss, and the person you’re shooting at isn’t stopped. You can miss, and hit and kill an innocent bystander. You can hit someone in an artery, and they bleed to death.

It’s a great thing that Biden is out of his basement and back to being out and about. Now he will put his foot in his mouth daily. Hopefully, as people start paying more and more attention to the campaign, they will realize Joe no longer has the mental sharpness necessary to become president.