ABSTRACT
A faulty taillight provided the officer with an opportunity to enforce the state’s vehicle equipment laws and to break the 4
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. boredom. Calling in the stop and the license plate, the officer waited for the registration return before activating his lights. The high-end sports car immediately pulled to the right and stopped. As the officer approached the car, the driver opened the door and began to emerge. At this point, the officer’s mind began to race, while time, it seemed, began to move very slowly. These reactions were brought about by the officer’s realization that the soon-to-be-deceased was holding a nickel-plated Colt Python in his right hand. The officer recalls studying the detail of the signature vent rib barrel and mentally noting that the driver not only had good taste in cars, but also in the weapons he carried. By now the officer’s own weapon was in his hand and rising toward his target, although something about his grasp of the gun felt very unfamiliar, almost as though he was wearing heavy gloves. He was screaming, “Drop the gun,” or something, but his own voice seemed all but inaudible. The suspect’s hand and the
weapon it held were also rising, an act that served to accelerate the speed at which the officer’s mind was now attempting to process this profoundly unbelievable event. Before either weapon was aligned with its respective target, the officer had time to begin moving for cover, to briefly pray and to momentarily feel a sense of concern for his wife and children.
