I’ll preface this saying that I own firearms and I spent 11 years in the military, I’ve had people shoot in my general direction, but I’ve bever been in a firefight.
Police and military operate in different environments that require different skillsets and different training. People expect, incorrectly, that police are there to protect citizens (this isn’t a rant about them protecting only the owner class…the judicial branch has upheld that police had no duty to protect). IF they had a duty to protect, they wouldn’t be allowed to open fire without a target in site and awareness of what was beyond that target and endangered when they miss that target.
Hearing a gunshot is not a valid excuse for randomly discharging your weapon.
I’m glad nobody was hurt, and I really hope the VA or some other organization is able to help this guy recover from his combat trauma. The department that hired him should have done better, and I hope they revisit their candidate screening policy…