I remember the first time I went to the USA from the UK and saw police with guns. I did not know whether they were real guns or fancy dress. The guns were real! I was very wary of police, very polite, very careful not to do anything which might attract their attention.
I just read in July 2023 a sad story about an event in France where a young man drove away from a police stop and was shot dead. As the British royals famously said, accounts vary.
Naturally, if somebody points a gun at you, or threatens you, your instinct is to run away. Is this the safest action? If the person with a gun is a policeman?
Only if you can be sure of getting away.
I used to be puzzled when reading of similar incidents again and again. People were chased by the police and killed.
They were chased by animals and killed. In the USA. In the UK. All around the world.
People run from the police and get overtaken and shot. People run from bears and get killed. People run from dogs and get attacked.
Then I read a story about bears and another about dogs which cast a new light on danger and safety.
Some dogs are attack dogs and are trained to run after somebody fleeing. Some dogs, terriers I believe, instinctively do this. Stay still and they do not attack. But turn and run and they jump.
The same might apply to cats and mice.
I have also read about a lion on a leash, jumping at a woman who was going to pose for a photo, but she slipped on wet leaves and fell in front of the lion. The sudden movement made the animal leap at her. (This happened in Malaysia. I never pose for photos with a wild animal.)
Think about such situations. Imagine you are the person holding a weapon. Somebody who you suspect, or don't suspect, suddenly jumps, either towards you or away from you. Your instinct is to run after them and throw something at them to stop them.
Why not let them get away? You might give up, from inertia, or hope that trouble has been alerted.
On the other hand, with adrenalin and instinct, you might still be in fight mode.
Using rationality, you might say, danger averted, stop chasing and fighting.
On the other hand, using rationality, or instinct, you might think this is just a ruse, a lull, and that it is an omen of worse to come or an ongoing fight. What if a person on foot who has burgled your house leaves the front and comes round to the back or side of the house? What if they are now in fight mode and come back tomorrow, or tonight after dark, intending to take you by surprise, to continue whatever trouble they were up to (if no trouble they would have stopped and smiled and spoken softly or politely). What if they come back, angry, bent on revenge? Or just to prove that they are better, having been the victim or lose once, they now want to be the aggressor or winner?
If it's a traffic stop and they race away, maybe they are a criminal or terrorist. Maybe they have guns or weapons in the car. Maybe they have a bomb. A dead body. A kidnap victim. Burglary tools. False documents, lack of insurance, a stolen vehicle. Under age. Drunk driver. Subnormal. A nutter.
An experienced person, or a trained person, knows that to calm a situation you should remain calm, listen to the other person, be polite, agreeable, helpful, co-operative.
Unfortunately, the opposite view also prevails.
One thing echoes in my mind. Fight or flight? If you cannot fight, keep still and quiet and do not antagonize the animal or human being. Do not make sudden movements which will make them instinctively jump at you.
At least, with extra knowledge, you have more options.
