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I haven't scrolled through this whole thread yet so not sure if this follow up link has been posted yet?
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Santa-Rosa-Boy-Shot-7-Times-Autopsy-229183821.html
While I understand the concern about a replica rifle that looks like a real rifle, I do not see how the response in this situation, 7 shots, was needed. When there is a threat, you disable the threat, such as a shot to the leg, shoulder, or other non-lethal (hopefully) location. That does not mean destroy the threat. When it's a child that is seen as the threat, further action on the adult should be taken before using deadly force. In this example, a warning shot, or waiting until a shot is fired before turning to deadly force would have resulted in this news story not existing.
I don't know police protocols, but I'll just throw this out there as a Force Protection Officer pretty well-trained in Use of Deadly Force.
a) Warning shots are almost never authorized (in the Navy, it's only at sea when trying to get another ship to change course, and only authorized by the Captain of the Ship or Officer of the Deck--not by a random lookout). Discharge of a firearm means that that bullet will land somewhere. Just because you shoot in the air, or at a tree, or at the ground doesn't mean that there won't be a ricochet, or that you won't hit a civilian wherever it lands, etc.
b) You never pull the trigger unless you intend to kill. If you are discharging your weapon, it is for the purposes of utilizing Deadly Force (different if you carry weapons such as a baton/tazer/beanbag gun--but we don't let our force protection troops do that).
c) If you shoot to kill, you only aim center-mass (or head, if center-mass isn't working b/c of body armor or whatever). Trying to shoot a gun out of someone's hands is not authorized. "Winging them" is not authorized. If there is a round coming out of your weapon, it is because you've determined that deadly force is required to stop the person you're aiming at. If you try to get cute, you have a much bigger chance of missing the target and hitting someone from a).

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