Many years ago a young officer accompanied me on an operation targeting armed men in the Central Village community in St Catherine. He had barely completed his probation but was an athlete, well-trained, enthusiastic, and brave.

He was sitting behind the driver in a right-hand drive, unmarked unit. The suspect was on his side. I was in the passenger seat and an experienced campaigner like myself was seated behind me. The driver was an older detective who had served since the 80s.

As we approached the suspect, a young man, I saw a gun in his waistband. As the unit stopped I saw the young man go for the gun and draw it. I couldn’t fire, as I would have had to fire across the driver. I realised in a split second that the young officer, who was the only one who could fire, didn’t.

I knew we were dead. The next thing I saw was the driver’s window shot and then the windshield.

The driver opened his door, dropped his body to the road, and fired. It was a two-second manoeuvre.

His action stopped the young man from emptying the clip into the vehicle and rendering my children fatherless.

This officer had been a veteran since the 80s, during which time the toughest cops in our history ruled the streets without helmets or bulletproof vests. This was when men like “Lepke” and “Sad Sack” from Operation Squad led the fight against the gangs. That is the same squad that our present Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) for Operations Clifford Blake served.

The detective who performed the manoeuvre left the unit still moving as the other veteran and I exited the unit to engage the gunman.

The unmanned vehicle smashed into a building down the road, leaving us without cover. The gunman escaped wounded.

Other gunmen joined in and we were pinned down with no cover and limited ammunition. We couldn’t even see the attackers as they were firing from far through the zinc fences.

The young officer in the back of the vehicle, up to the time of writing of this article, had still not fired.

We were rescued by an operational team that included two young constables named Wayne Powell and Oneil Morgan. I am forever in their debt.

The whole experience took 15 minutes from first shot to rescue. It felt like two days.

When I asked the young policeman who hadn’t fired what the hell happened, he said, “I froze.”

I was annoyed, but I understood.

The decision to fire is one of the most important a lawman will make during his career. However, it is not isolated to lawmen. Licensed firearm holders also have to make this decision. Sometimes even family members of licensed firearm holders have to make this decision.

What must one consider? Is it legal? Is it necessary? What lies beyond the target? What will occur if I force the gunman to fire back? What, therefore, is beyond me? Is using a gun my best tactical choice?

Well, if you find yourself pondering too long on this issue you should have spent more time training with Captain Hibbert.

All of these are decisions you have to make, and they are likely sub-second.

Therefore, it’s a period between one-third of a second — when reflex kicks in — to a little under one second. So two-thirds of a second is your operational window. Worried? Go visit Woodleigh or the Jamaica Rifle Association (JRA). Only training will help.

For a lawman this will improve with experience. But it’s not a perfect science.

If a man pulls a knife within an arm’s length of you pulling your gun is wasting valuable time. It’s better if you run and fire, or block. Go defensive in the short period of time you have to respond.

If you are at home and you are not a licensed firearm holder, but you are under attack and can access the licensed firearm, you are legally within your rights to use it. I will go a step further. If your partner is armed and beating you to death in a domestic dispute you are within your rights to use his gun to defend yourself. This is, of course, if you can’t run or save yourself any other way.

The decision to fire must never be motivated by anger. No life-altering decision must be made when you’re angry.

The decision should also never be taken when reasonable alternatives exist. It must be driven by practical reasoning.

If the gunman has a gun at your baby’s head as a threat it’s likely that you drawing a gun will bring a bad outcome.

The time to draw and fire just isn’t adequate for anyone other than a grandmaster. Try reasoning and waiting for the situation to tactically improve.

I was once being trained by a former United States military special forces soldier. I remember one day during a training drill he said, “Opportunities rarely present themselves. You likely have to create them.”

So you can create an opportunity by distraction, using something as simple as dropping a bag.

Lawmen can help themselves to become better at making this decision with training. Civilians can help themselves to become better at making this decision with training. Trust me, training is 80 per cent of what is needed.

A key thing to remember is not to look for reasons to fire. There is nothing wrong with having that licensed firearm for a lifetime and never having to use it in a gunfight.

Conversely, don’t have it and allow harm to come to you or someone else because you are afraid to use it. Make the decision easier.

Use ammunition that doesn’t over-penetrate. Avoid places that will require you to fire. If a dance or a stadium event requires you to be armed because you feel you’re in danger, then stay home.

If you think a domestic conflict may require the use of a gun, then get the hell out of that relationship.

It’s a lot to think about for both civilians and police officers. But it’s necessary to spend time preparing for the day that you may have to make that decision. Both eagerness to fire and reluctance to fire can be destructive.

The country we live in necessitates our being prepared, and this won’t change in the short run.

Our police are hundreds of times more likely to fire than American police in any state. Our civilians, although having a lower likelihood of having to fire than our lawmen, still have a much higher likelihood of firing than civilians in the United States.

The decision-making process is very similar, though.

Lawmen have a legal obligation to protect the public that civilians don’t have. However, both have a moral obligation to do so.

Become comfortable with that weapon. Train with it. Spend time with it. And until you are ready to make that decision, leave it at home.

Feedback: drjasonamckay@gmail.com