Post-Shooting Effects

Even for people who are trained to stop a threat with the use of deadly force, taking a life is far more personal than it appears on television or at the movies. Even when the use of force is justified, there are still effects that will remain for a lifetime.

• A person who shoots someone often goes through a series of emotions afterward and may need to get some form of professional help. Here are some feelings a person might experience:
  • Denial
  • Anger
  • Bargaining
  • Depression
  • Acceptance
• After an officer is involved in a shooting or a soldier takes a life during a war, the officer or soldier often just walks away from the job because he or she doesn’t want to face that situation again. Not only does this affect the person involved, but it also has a profound effect on his or her family and friends as well as on the families and friends of the decedent.
• The danger is that if the person is involved in another similar incident, his or her reaction to the threat may be hampered by what happened in the prior incident.