The fusillade of shots fired by cops at the foot of the Empire State Building — which wounded nine innocent bystanders — has many wondering whether this is a case of excessive force and poor aim.
But experts told The Post that the Bronx cops on counterterrorism patrol were not only justified in firing 16 rounds when murderer Jeffrey Johnson pulled a gun — but they actually minimized the danger to the public.
“There could have been even greater collateral damage had the officers fired all rounds from their weapons,” said Kenneth Cooper, a veteran firearms instructor and an expert in the use of force.
“It’s not like in the movies. The fact that seven of those rounds hit the guy that was trying to kill them is pretty amazing.”
Of the bystanders wounded by police, he said, “That is the price you pay when you have a homicidal maniac.”
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Officers Craig Matthews and Robert Sinishtaj both had 16 shots in their weapons.
“The fact that they didn’t empty their weapons shows great restraint, maturity and professionalism,” Cooper added. “These guys were able to deal with the ultimate cop nightmare under extreme stress, deploy their guns, and accurately fire. I’m impressed.”
Cooper explained that the reaction time to seek out a threat is about 2.5 seconds — with another 2.5 seconds to interpret it. It takes another 1.5 seconds for a police officer to pull a firearm from a holster, giving the gunman nearly a seven-second advantage.
Even if the suspect is gravely wounded, “it only takes 3 to 5 pounds of pressure to pull the trigger, so he is still a danger,” Cooper explained.
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A veteran law-enforcement officer agreed: “We’re trained to shoot until the threat is over. As long as that guy is still standing with a gun in his hand, the threat is not over.
“If you just fire a few rounds then stop to assess the situation, you’re a dead man. They’ll be zipping you into a body bag. You fire until the threat is over.”
The law-enforcement source hailed Friday’s shootout as “classic textbook training.”
“Even . . . aiming under the most ideal situation at a firing range at an immovable paper target is difficult. In a gunfight on the street the target is moving. You have a gun pointed at you and the world has gone crazy. People are running and screaming.”