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Five Phases of Post Shooting Reaction

Shooting often occurs in police work. However, unknown too many, it results in memory disturbances for law enforcement officers, especially if it is their first time.  For instance, some officers may remember the shooting ordeal, while others may not recall anything. Notably, they go through five phases as part of their post-shooting reaction.

Phase one of the reaction happens prior to the actual shooting occurs.  Primarily, it involves an involved police’s concern about being able to pull a trigger or not. As such, the officer experiences instances of concerns associated with the inability to pull the trigger when the ideal moment comes.  Fears of letting fellow police officers down, often occur.

Phase two of the post-shooting reaction for police officers is the causal shooting. Often, it involves the actual killing of someone.  The action is often carried out reflexively in what experienced police officers describe as “going on automatic.”

Phase three is exhilaration, which forms as a result of managing to put police training into action.   Principally, the exhilaration is characterized by a release of significant amounts of adrenaline which can result in a rush.  From a military perspective, this rush could lead to ‘combat addiction” in some officers meaning that they may like it (Miller, 2016). However, the massive rush of adrenaline in some officers can lead to adverse impacts, especially if they did not like it. For example, the ‘adrenaline overdosing’ can affect a police’s nervous systems leading to changes in the reaction such as resistance to using force even in justified situations. It can also cause some officers to react and use deadly force even in situations that do not warrant the use of force.

Phase four is referred to as the remorse, recoil, and nausea stage. It comes after the exhilaration phase, especially if the police experienced a close-range shooting and subsequent killing.  Usually, the reaction is often experienced by almost all officers whose engagement with their adversaries often occurs within close quarters, unlike those who do it over long distances.  Police officers might have feelings of guilt if the shooting was not clear-cut. Similarly, the officer may feel remorse if the actions of the offender forced him to shoot when the action by the suspect was not extreme such as in incidences of domestic violence or botched robbery attempts. During this phase, some police officers may appear preoccupied and detached from the rest as they will be going through various elements of their duties, which is often characterized as operating on ‘behavioral autopilot.”  Moreover, the officers may be easily irritable, hypertensive, and aggressive in responding to other well-meaning officers, especially when they make congratulatory comments. According to Swanson, Territo, and Taylor (2001), some officers may show various symptoms of posttraumatic stress exposure comprising fatigue, headaches, nausea, stomach upset, and muscle tension. However, most of these cases resolve by themselves in a few days.

Phase five is the nationalization and acceptance stage. It involves coming to terms with everything that took place and accepting it as part of the job then resuming the usual life process. Ideally, it may take longer, even months to years in some officers, while for others, it is within a few days.  Primarily, the stage is centered on the police officer assimilating the fact that the use of deadly force in the shooting was necessary as well as justified. However, Swanson, Territo, and Taylor (2001) explain that psychological remnants of the situation may continue to haunt the officer for a long time, especially in future similar events.  Despite this, in most situations, officers return to work with sufficient levels of confidence.