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280:"—in which a cop's shot sparks a volley from other officers—may have caused his client to fire 16 shots... According to the NYPD patrol guide, a contagious shooting occurs when "a shot fired by one officer sets off a chain reaction of shooting by other personnel … Thomas Reppetto, head of the Citizens Crime Commission, said the term contagious shooting was used during 1960s riots when a cop would fire at what he thought was a sniper and other officers would follow."
195:: At 12:24 pm, according to eyewitnesses, a Sgt. Myron Pryor turned and began firing at the students with his .45 pistol. A number of guardsmen nearest the students also turned and fired their rifles at the students. In all, 29 of the 77 guardsmen claimed to have fired their weapons, using a final total of 67 rounds of ammunition. The shooting was determined to have lasted only 13 seconds, killing 4 students and wounding 9, although John Kifner reported in
25:
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Two New Jersey state troopers who face trial in the 1998 shooting of three minority men in a van on the New Jersey
Turnpike told the authorities they shot in self-defense as the van backed toward one of them. But the state released a court document Wednesday in which one of the men, Danny Reyes, said
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Some experts are calling the most recent incident in Queens an example of "contagious shooting," which might at least partially explain many other examples of apparent over-firing. The phenomenon seems to be a combination of reflex, panic and trust. In an article in the
Baltimore Sun, law-enforcement
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when a man "open fire on responding officers, who fired 46 times in response". "In the Harlem episode, unlike the Bell and Diallo cases, a gun was shot before any officers fired, according to the police account. So, Professor O'Donnell said, in the Harlem case, 'there really is a shot,' and not just
383:
The phrase NYPD officials have been using to describe why five officers would then shoot 49 more bullets into a car without anyone shooting back is "contagious fire": cops shooting because their partners are. It's what happened on the night of
February 4, 1999, in the Bronx, when police officers
169:
2004: "When 44-year-old drug suspect
Winston Hayes' SUV lurched forward, he hit a police car, deputies unloaded their weapons, firing 120 shots. Four bullets ended up hitting Hayes, who survived, one hit a deputy sheriff, 11 hit patrol cars, and 11 hit five homes in the neighborhood (one of them
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firearms instructor observed it in training. "Consistently, in every class, officers would shoot at their target upon hearing others shoot, even when their particular target board did not contain the called target." He suggests that one reason it occurs is because of
264:; March 26, 1999; "Some law enforcement officials said that it was possible that only one or two of the officers perceived a danger, and that the others opened fire simply because their comrades had begun firing—a phenomenon known in law enforcement circles as
666:
Some law enforcement officials said that it was possible that only one or two of the officers perceived a danger, and that the others opened fire simply because their comrades had begun firing – a phenomenon known in law enforcement circles as contagious
562:; November 26, 2006; A Queens bachelor party turned into a bloodbath early yesterday when five cops opened fire on a car with 50 shots - killing the groom-to-be, wounding his two friends and leaving furious relatives demanding answers from the NYPD.
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personnel, in which one person firing on a target can induce others to begin shooting without knowing why they are firing. The term may have been coined, but certainly rose to prominence in public discourse in the aftermath of the
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sheriff's deputies fired more than 50 shots into the car in which drunken driving suspect Carl
Williams was driving after his car rammed a police vehicle following a chase. One deputy had to reload his weapon during the
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mistakenly fired at least 100 rounds at a truck occupied by three people, none of whom had any connection to the suspect. Each of the two women injured received $ 2.1 million in a settlement with the city of Los
107:
2011: On
Memorial Day in Miami Beach, several police officers fired until their magazines were empty on a stopped car after the driver smashed into other cars, killing the driver and injuring seven bystanders.
616:
Man who died in a fusillade of more than 40 police bullets in Queens on
Thursday had shot and wounded one deaf co-worker and kidnapped and raped another hours before the fatal confrontation, the police said
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2012: NYPD officers responded to a report of shots fired with one victim killed in front of the Empire State
Building. Officers fired sixteen rounds, wounding 9 bystanders and killing the shooter.
651:
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involving contagious shooting, "a gun was shot before any officers fired", and thus "the officers involved began shooting because of fear or because of the sound of a colleague firing".
236:; August 12, 2010; Defined as "officers firing because others are doing so… The simplest culturally accepted definition … is that 'cops shoot because other cops shoot.'"
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Law professor Eugene O'Donnell was once quoted describing the notion as "debatable" although in the same interview he agreed with its existence, saying that in
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that "it appeared to go on, as a solid volley, for perhaps a full minute or a little longer". The question of why the shots were fired remains widely debated.
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147:, fired 110 rounds at a suspect, Angilo Freeland, who had killed an officer earlier, hitting him 68 times. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told the
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In the Diallo era, the NYPD patrol guide explained that the first shot 'sets off a chain reaction of shooting by other personnel.'
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Photo taken from the perspective of where the Ohio
National Guard soldiers stood when they opened fire on the students
276:; March 10, 1999; "A lawyer for one of four cops who shot Amadou Diallo hinted yesterday that a phenomenon known as "
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consultant Edward Mamet explains, "If one fires, the rest fire ... People start shooting; they don't even know why."
302:: "he targets turn, or the whistle blows, and all the officers shoot together until a cease-fire signal is given."
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2006: Three officers fired 26 shots at a pit bull that had bitten a chunk out of an officer's leg in the
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246:" may have played a role in a deadly New York incident when five officers fired 50 rounds at a man.
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caused by a .30 caliber round fired by the Ohio
National Guard at Kent State on May 4, 1970
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Besides the above examples, the phenomenon has been observed in other contexts. A former
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fired 11 shots at Daniel Reyes and three other basketball players in their car in April.
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assigned to an anti-gun squad struck Amadou Diallo with 19 of the 41 shots they fired.
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2009: A man threatening officers with a rifle was shot 59 times in what was ruled a "
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574:"4 Officers Hurt (One by Pit Bull) as Police Fire 26 Shots to Kill Dog in Bronx"
516:"Bystander Injured in Harlem Episode Cites 'Contagious Shooting' in Plan to Sue"
823:"Full History of Familiar Kent State Sculpture Comes to Light after Decades"
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133:, including 31 by one detective—who reloaded his weapon during the incident.
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398:"Can "contagious shooting" explain what happened in New York this weekend?"
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he had raised his hands and was pleading as a trooper shot him four times.
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364:"Guns Gone Wild; NYPD gunfire goes up while crime goes down. What gives?"
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2005: Eight officers fired 43 shots at Brian Allen, an armed man in
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258:," Mamet said. "People start shooting; they don't even know why."
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254:; May 24, 2006; "If one fire,, the rest fire. It is called
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ended up tearing a hole in a homeowner's hat)." —ABC News.
452:"Empire State Building shooting leaves 2 dead, 9 injured"
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2013: In California, officers involved in the search for
652:"Lawyer Says 4 Officers Accused of Second-Degree Murder"
357:
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42:
684:"Catch and Shoot. The perils of 'contagious shooting'"
541:"6 officers fired 59 shots in 'suicide by cop' case"
427:"2 women hurt during L.A. manhunt to receive $ 4.2M"
242:; November 27, 2006; Police experts had suggested "
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608:"Police Say Man They Shot Terrorized 2 Co-Workers"
340:"50 Shots Fired, and the Experts Offer a Theory"
514:Rivera, Yar & Baker, Al (August 12, 2010).
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715:"Troopers' Version of Shooting Is Disputed"
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796:"4 Kent State Students Killed by Troops"
606:Rashbaum, William K. (January 8, 2005).
739:. Kent State University. Archived from
374:from the original on September 26, 2007
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650:McFadden, Robert D. (March 26, 1999).
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173:1999: Four officers fired 41 shots at
125:2006: Five officers fired 50 shots at
591:Mikkelson, David (26 December 2006).
7:
877:How Stuff Works: Contagious shooting
338:Michael Wilson (November 27, 2006).
771:. September 8, 1975. Archived from
362:Gardiner, Sean (December 5, 2006).
634:How Common Is Contagious Shooting?
572:Santos, Fernanda (July 24, 2006).
470:"Police Gunmen Open Fire On South"
396:Layton, Julia (28 November 2006).
151:, "That's all the bullets we had".
14:
820:McDonald, Kyle (April 21, 2014).
593:"Suspect Shot 68 Times by Police"
110:2010: A bystander was injured in
36:to comply with Knowledge (XXG)'s
763:"TRIALS: Last Act at Kent State"
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713:Hanley, Robert (June 2, 2000).
425:Michael Winter (23 Apr 2013).
163:Los Angeles County, California
1:
850:Chuck Joyner (29 Jan 2010).
122:" in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
892:Law enforcement terminology
794:John Kifner (May 4, 1970).
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240:United Press International
637:ABC News. Nov. 27, 2006.
177:, an unarmed man in the
81:killing of Amadou Diallo
49:may contain suggestions.
34:may need to be rewritten
186:New Jersey State Police
115:the threat of gunfire."
74:phenomenon observed in
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181:, on February 4, 1999.
682:(November 30, 2006).
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193:Kent State shootings
16:Concept in sociology
775:on November 7, 2012
737:"May 4th Memorials"
278:contagious shooting
273:New York Daily News
266:contagious shooting
256:contagious shooting
244:contagious shooting
68:contagious shooting
917:Popular psychology
800:The New York Times
719:The New York Times
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578:The New York Times
520:The New York Times
345:The New York Times
262:The New York Times
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98:Christopher Dorner
251:The Baltimore Sun
145:Lakeland, Florida
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458:. New York.
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661:2006-11-29
526:2010-08-27
456:Daily News
407:2007-09-25
378:2007-09-25
325:References
285:More views
140:, in July.
667:shooting.
617:yesterday
431:USA Today
219:Don Drumm
166:incident.
127:Sean Bell
87:in 1999.
47:talk page
546:NBC News
372:Archived
319:Memetics
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101:Angeles.
91:Examples
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83:by the
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184:1998:
112:Harlem
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228:Usage
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295:FBI
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