When is it appropriate for a police officer to draw a gun on someone?

A friend was on national forest land, target shooting legally. He was shooting into a target using a hill as a backstop. A cop entered the woods, drew his gun and demanded that my friend drop his weapon. Needless to say my buddy was scared to death, having a gun pointed at his chest for no apparant reason. The officer took him into custody explaining that it 'must be illegal' to shoot there. When asked what he was charged with, the officer responded 'the closest thing I can think of would be reckless endagerment'. A forest ranger was called in who confirmed that nothing illegal had taken place, the shots were fired in a safe area and no one was in danger. My friend was then released. My question is, when is it considered reasonable for a police officer to draw their weapon? This seems like an unnecessary and dangerous show of force. Does a police officer reserve the right to draw a gun on someone even if there is no apparant threat to the officer?
Additional Details
Ok, so its perfectly reasonable that the officer is within his rights to pull a gun, and should pull his gun once he deems it necessary to investigate a situation in which a suspect is armed. The question then is whether it was poor judgement for the officer to approach my friend in the first place, considering the officer was unsure of the laws in the area, and approaching my friend would require him to create a dangerous situation where none existed. If my buddy makes a wrong move, or the officer misinteprets his actions, my friend winds up dead. My friend was wearing hearing protection at the time, so it would have been easy to not hear the officers demands. I know no officer ever wants to accidentally shoot someone, this is probably the second worst thing that can happen to an officer. So why take a chance when its not apparent that anyone is in danger, for the purpose of enforcing a regulation that your not even sure of?

hubaeck2004

Too bad that happened to your friend.

The question is easy to answer though :
Are there many delicts in your friends neighborhood?

Don't forget your friend had a weapon in his hands, and could have used it against the Police Officer, for whatever the reason is.

The Officer is not supposed to know your friend is really a good fellow...

The fact your friend had that weapon in his hands, is the main reason why the Officer drew his weapon.

And last but not least :
A Police Officer has experienced many, many times that an ordinary verbal fight can lead to shotgun crimes.

Conclusion : The Police Officer was aware of any potential danger. No risks at all may have been taken.

BTW : again, I a sorry for what happened to your friend.
F.Y.I. : I'm a Belgian Federal Police Officer.

Have a great day, sir.

pinky

your friend did have a weapon.. the cop probably should have told him to drop his weapon first and if he didn't follow then draw down on him.. but technically if they fear they are in danger, then they can draw... but in response to your final question... if there is no apparent threat then no he should not have pulled his weapon but it's a hard thing to determine.

fredthedog52

Your friend had a GUN!! How much more do you need?

FocalBlur

They can only draw their weapon when they feel that they are in danger, but in this case I see reason because your friend was armed.

Truth Hurts

the officer had every right to pull his gun on your friend. i am an officer. your friend had a gun and so therefore, the officer had a gun and he pulled his out.
your friend could have been holding a brick or a knife and the officer would have been justified in pulling his gun for that too.
good thing your friend dropped the gun or your friend would be dead.
obviously the officer didn't know what was going on because as you said, your friend wasn't doing anything illegal, but the officer didn't do anything wrong as far as pulling his gun is concerned.
anytime an officer feels threatened, he has a right to pull his gun. especially when there is some object that can be used as a weapon (in this case, a gun) involved.

Stargate SG-1

If perp resists or runs away.

Toddacanda

If a cop feels there is potential for danger, the cop will draw the gun.

swifty1234561

your friend had a guyn out. cops have the right to pull out their weapons if they feel in danger. and cops arent pigs. they protect the citizens

mrsdebra1966

Not in that case! That is for sure!

go UCLA bruins!

He gets out his gun when he feels his life is in danger. Either he's going into a dark room, or he sees someone with a weapon in his hand. By reflix he will pull it out because he sees a gun and for all he knows, someone wants to kill him. If there is no apparent threat, he can still take his gun out. Notice how when they enter a dark building, they have their guns drawn, just in case. They will mainly pull it out when they feel their life, or someone's life is being put at risk.

rexski

In this case, the officer was correct in drawing his weapon. The suspect, your friend, was armed and in a position that he could have easily turned and shot the policeman.

Scottyboy's post above mine confirms that the officer was correct.!

I personally think that the officer should have taken cover behind the police car, instruct your friend to put his gun down, then approach him his gun holstered.

An officer may draw his weapon whenever he feels it's necessary to do so.

trainer4663

While firearms and deadly force policy may differ from agency, it is widely understood that ANY officer, local, state or federal may draw their weapon when they feel that their life or that of another is in danger. The officer was conducting an additional investigation and would hv been right to have his weapon drawn as he approached you and your friend. The officer's weapon would've been secured or returned to the holster once the threat of the other gun was minimized or contained. Additionally, this is all under the presumption that the officer had legal standing, the authority and was "scoped" to react to the situation with deadly force if it was necessary. Alot of police officers have state authority in their respective states, fed's have authority all over the US. The officer irregardless took prudent action in order to conduct his additonal inquiries, afterwhich the friend was released. I'm sure the officer would hv been also required to notify his department that he in fact had drawn his weapon in this situation. Also, pls know that countless officers including myself would rather take disciplined and professional action to remedy a situation and be judged critically afterwards rather than take no action, get shot and not live to go home. It happens....be thankful for cops that do their jobs.

orangemike

To protect himself or other persons, he not only can but must; it's his job. For all he knew, your friend was a criminal or lunatic; since your friend was already armed, the very first job of a cop was to get him disarmed, and the drawing of the cop's gun was the way to do it.

I lost a good union brother who was a forest ranger, shot by a local kid with a legal gun. (Turned out Andy was the kid's gun safety instructor a while back.)

GOODARMYSOLDIER

if the officer feels threatened, or a citizen appears to be a possible victim of aan assault the the officer can pull hi/her gun.

jduck1979

Like has been said, when they feel threatened.... when dealing with someone holding a gun, you don't get any second chances so drawing the gun to get the situation under control is an appropriate response + unlike the average gun owning member of the public, they're trained to keep their cool in these situations to minimise the chance of accidentally blowing someones brains out.

GorgThePenetrator

A cop may draw his weapon any time he feels threatened. For all the cop knew, your friend might have just smoked some PCP, and was practicing his aim before going on a rampage. Cops cant always assume people have the best intentions in mind.

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