They’re a part of the rapidly expanding world of so-called less lethal weapons, named such as they are because they are ostensibly less likely to send you to the ancestors when used against you. These weapons come in many different varieties, ranging from “smaller” 9 mm rounds designed to be fired at a person’s legs or torso, to the much bigger, pop-can-sized 40 mm rounds that are designed to be “skip fired” by ricocheting off pavement or other hard surfaces towards their target (police historically do not do this, and simply fire at the target).
I do not for one second buy that they were “designed” to be bounced off the ground. It’s an idiotic concept from the get-go: it’s hard enough to aim a conventional firearm. Expecting any kind of accuracy from a ricochet fired by an untrained and easily frightened moron is a fever dream. Fucking no one expected rubber bullets to be bounced into people’s legs; it was always an excuse for pigs to shoot into crowds. The casualties are a feature, not a bug.
Bouncing off the ground serves two plausible purposes. One is good and one is bad.
It discourages aiming at specific body parts. Sure, the risk is still there, but officers who shoot at the ground are not able to intentionally aim for people’s faces and bouncing off the ground means it is good for scaring crowds with less lethality than regular bullets. This is a good purpose, because it discourages intentionally targeting people and body locations.
Second, it gives police a cover to say they weren’t targeting anyone in particular. If multiple cops shoot in the direction of someone in particular they can still effectively aim, but legally they can use it as an excuse. This is a bad reason that encourages overuse.
Both are far less important than the real problem which is using rubber bullets in situations where they wouldn’t normally need live ammunition. Rubber bullets are supposed to be an alternative to shooting someone with bullets. They are not supposed to be tools to encourage compliance any more than tasers, which are also less lethal and not non-lethal.
And most importantly, it dodges any corporate liability, the company providing the ammo can say it wasn’t used as directed, and police can fall back on qualified immunity, and provide a vague statement about additional training.
I do not for one second buy that they were “designed” to be bounced off the ground. It’s an idiotic concept from the get-go: it’s hard enough to aim a conventional firearm. Expecting any kind of accuracy from a ricochet fired by an untrained and easily frightened moron is a fever dream. Fucking no one expected rubber bullets to be bounced into people’s legs; it was always an excuse for pigs to shoot into crowds. The casualties are a feature, not a bug.
Bouncing off the ground serves two plausible purposes. One is good and one is bad.
It discourages aiming at specific body parts. Sure, the risk is still there, but officers who shoot at the ground are not able to intentionally aim for people’s faces and bouncing off the ground means it is good for scaring crowds with less lethality than regular bullets. This is a good purpose, because it discourages intentionally targeting people and body locations.
Second, it gives police a cover to say they weren’t targeting anyone in particular. If multiple cops shoot in the direction of someone in particular they can still effectively aim, but legally they can use it as an excuse. This is a bad reason that encourages overuse.
Both are far less important than the real problem which is using rubber bullets in situations where they wouldn’t normally need live ammunition. Rubber bullets are supposed to be an alternative to shooting someone with bullets. They are not supposed to be tools to encourage compliance any more than tasers, which are also less lethal and not non-lethal.
And most importantly, it dodges any corporate liability, the company providing the ammo can say it wasn’t used as directed, and police can fall back on qualified immunity, and provide a vague statement about additional training.