Oh, honey, it’s not about protecting people…
When you don’t intend to kill rubber bullets are still very dangerous.
If you have to kill (armed and attacking) they are not dangerous enough.
Then you have the issue of less than lethal weapons having a much lower threshold for when they are used and then accidentally killing or maiming someone.
Many in Northern Ireland were killed or blinded by rubber bullets used by British military.
They’re rubber -coated and can and do maim and kill.
So called “less than lethal” weapons can and do still kill people:
Non lethal munitions/weapons are not so non lethal as people think.
Crowd control or demonstration control is another complex problem that can’t be solved by some magic bullet. It is more psychology game when the police tries to look threatening in place where people can easily overpower them.
Aside from the “cops aren’t out there to save lives” points that others have mentioned… In case you were not aware:
“Rubber bullets” are lead slugs covered in semi-malleable resin/plastic/rubber. They can - and do - kill people when used improperly/carelessly. For instance, a headshot with one of those can kill, or leave the victim with a permanent severe TBI.
Also, they’re WAY bigger than 9mm pistol bullets, meaning they can’t be used in a pistol (generally you need a special weapon to fire them), and clip size is severely limited, and semi-auto action is (afaik) basically a non-starter.
Putting holes in people is what guns are for. If you don’t intend to do that, don’t use a gun - that’s what hand-to-hand combat training, batons, tasers and pepper spray are for.
There’s also a moral-hazard problem: rubber bullets can still be lethal, but the threshold for using them is lower, which could actually lead to more deaths, not fewer.
They’d probably be even less hesitant to use their firearm than they already are, resulting in more deaths. We’ve seen plenty of TASER Deaths™ when those became a big thing
So much is explained about policing in the USA with a simple one liner an older friend once told me: cops are just guys who want to drive fast and shoot guns.
And aim for the bushes?
The cruelty is the point.
Individual human lives are no longer considered things of value. Only the ideology and the nation are allowed to have value. Welcome to fascism. Enjoy your stay.
Some US police use bean bag guns. However, at <10ft, they hit the victim with more energy than a shogun blast. Lethal at head or chest.
Welcome to the Forum “Many things that Europeans keep wondering about Americans”
The typical cop will never use his gun except during the mandatory training exercises. When they don’t need lethal force there are better tools for the job. Their uniform alone is often enough, in more difficult cases their baton is used regularly - while it could be lethal it is a lot easier to control the force to ensure it isn’t, once in a while a Taser, though the cops I’ve known never needed their taser outside of exercises.
We need cops to have all the tools they need on hand for their job, but each one adds weight and so limits their ability to the the job. Since there are already several good non-lethal tools they use, adding one that isn’t going to be used often isn’t worth it. They still should have the last resort lethal force tool - but typically it is a backup they never need. (TV shows do not show the reality of being a cop)
The answer is no.
Heavy clothing can essentially stop rubber bullets. Not really what you want when trying to stop someone.
A better option than any weapon is more officers. I don’t care what a cop is armed with, full military kit and they can still be taken down one on one. More guys always wins, and is so obvious in the moment that people don’t even get violent in most cases.
A better option is actual deescalation training.
