Police Sniper


What is your perception of cops? I've noticed that most people get annoyed with the law and how it restricts them or penalizes them far too often. But is this really the reality of things? Most likely you despise that officer who wrote you a ticket for barreling down the highway at 76 in a 55 mile an hour zone. Or that cop who pulled you over for driving while under the influence. Hmm, if you really think about it, you're angrier at yourself for being in the wrong and getting busted. You can hardly blame law enforcement officers for doing their job. And what a stressful job it must be. Imagine being on a S.W.A.T. team or taking the duty of a police sniper for a single day. If you thought your job was stressful, get ready to see a whole new aspect on things.

Those who choose to enforce our laws on a daily basis are really raising the bar. And if you disagree with that statement, then ask yourself this; would you take their place? A friend of my father's is a police sniper. He's been in this line of work for over a decade now. I recall a day when he was teaching me how to shoot an H&K 308 assault rifle. We were lying on our stomachs in the second floor of a barn. I peered through the scope and across the corn field. I must admit, I was a bit shaky, which was odd considering that my target was a steel plate with a painted bull's-eye in the center. The police sniper encouraged me to breathe calmly and squeeze the trigger on one controlled breath. Never pull it! It will completely jar the weapon. It took me a little while to get it exact, but I finally caught on. Then again, I can't imagine staring through that fancy scope at a real person. My nerves may be all over the place if I had to. I guess becoming a police sniper is not for me.

A police sniper has one of the most stressful jobs in law enforcement. You may not guess this because they're off somewhere waiting, and away from harm's way. On the contrary, so much lies in their hands. The safety of the victims; the life of the criminal; and their own career. Do you want to handle all that stress in a single day's work? Imagine how tough it would be if you squeezed that trigger a fraction of a second too soon or too late.