Orange County Sheriff vs. Orlando Police Dept.
[url]http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-loc-settle062301.story?coll=orl%2Dhome%2Dheadlines[/url]

Thats a lot of jack, but it doesn't replace a human life.  It seems to me the sniper made a mistake.  Hell who am I too judge I'm a desk jockey.

From the article it seems that there was a gross lack of communication between the two groups.  The sniper that fired the fatal shot either didn't have sufficient info on the perp - specifically that the perp was male and not female or he forgot.  Either situation is unacceptable.

Another question is did the sniper fire on his own or did he receive an order to fire from a supervisor?  And yet another... if the female who was shot walked out the door by herself, why did the shooter fire?  If this is the hostage taker - there should have been a hostage within arms reach.  If there was no immediate threat, why was she fired on?

I am posing these questions based only on the information available in the article.  There may have been other info that we are not privy too.

Anyway - the details would provide lessons and insight for other special response team members.

I believe a sniper must remember that once a shot is on the way - it cannot be recalled.  If you (the shooter) are tasked with making the shoot/no shoot decision, you better be sure before you touch off the shot.  Even if you are listening to the direction of a supervisor - YOU are still the one pressing that trigger.  It will be YOU who will bear the responsibility of a mistake.  When an innocent goes down - everybody in the world seems to take a tight pucker and disappear leaving you in the spotlight.

At any rate, it is sad that an innocent lost their life and apparently the perp lives on.....

[sniper]
[b]The Sniper

The fella that made that shot shouldn't be allowed near a weapon.

Sounds like the Lon Horiuchi syndrome has spread!!!