Interesting facts about deadly force

Complete article: http://www.twincities.com/ci_11630767?IADID=Search-www.twincities.com-

"Pulling the Trigger: A 25-year Study of Deadly Force Encounters by Law Enforcement" (Galde Press, 2008).

The recently published book is less a study than a potential training tool and overview — primarily from a law-enforcement perspective — of the 110 reported fatal police shootings in Minnesota from 1981 to 2005. The shootings claimed the lives of 112 civilians and two cops.

What's impressive about the book is that it contains a summary from case files, media stories and court filings of every fatal police shooting in the state during that time span.

The first is the Jan. 3, 1981, fatal shooting by Burnsville police of 17-year-old Gregory Knodel. The suspected burglar was shot as he came toward officers with a pry bar. The last case is the Aug. 1, 2005, fatal shooting of Ricky Redin, 47. Redin accosted a woman at a Minneapolis grocery store, then stabbed two cops before he was fatally shot.

NOT 'TRIGGER-HAPPY ROOKIES'

Interesting factoids gleaned from the book:

 The hours between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m. accounted for most of the shootings — 58.

 Wednesdays — not Saturdays, as most people would assume, with all their shopping and social activities — was the day most fatal shootings took place — 28. Mondays, with 16, bested Saturdays by just one.

 Only 25 of the fatal shootings took place outside the seven-county metropolitan area. Not surprisingly, Minneapolis and St. Paul cops were involved in most of the local shootings.

 Almost half of the people killed by police were armed with a handgun. About one in five were armed with a knife. Of the 110 fatalities, three were unarmed.

 All but two of the people shot were male.

Brubaker found interesting the average age and experience of most law-enforcement officers involved in the shootings.

"There is that notion out there that most are trigger-happy rookies or cowboy types," Brubaker said. "But actually, the average age is 34 or 35, and the average length of service at the time of the shooting is about seven years."