KCTV5 photographer Yumi Taylor participates in training exerciseKANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -
Law enforcement agents sometimes have to make split-second decisions that make the difference between life and death.
As a result, officers will simulate situations that call for the use of deadly force. A training exercise was held Wednesday by the FBI and they opened up the firearms training simulator to the media.
Through the simulation, agents learn about their rights and the rights of suspects to ensure deadly force, when used, is done so properly.
KCTV5's Bonyen Lee participated and took an hour-long class on the FBI's deadly force policy. This was more than a video game exercise.
"I had to justify what would've been an act of deadly force. Is the suspect capable of physically harming? Has he harmed already? And will he do it again," Lee explained.
Robert Stuart, the FBI chief division counsel, said agents have to make life-changing decisions based on the facts as they know them at the time.
"Every agent, every LEO, every person, anybody with a weapon has to think about what am I capable of," Stuart said. "Does the law fit within what I'm about to do?"
Stuart said agents use deadly force on rare occasions. And they don't have to warn a suspect that they are going to fire their weapon if the agent believes a suspect poses an imminent danger.
"We don't use it unless we absolutely have to but when we do use it we're doing it according to policy, we're doing it only when it's a tactical requirement," Stuart said.
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