Legality of gunfights in movies- eg. HEAT

[Mandolin]

There'd be a ton of paperwork after the Heat shootout, but given the robber's massive firepower and how they shot up downtown like they did, I can't see any police officers actually getting in trouble.

[Lenny]

Thanks all. I was thinking, in relation to Heat, in some ways I agree with Mandolin that given Shiherlis opens fire first- in full auto no less- the response at that point by the police is probably justified and deflect any subsequent backlash for their actions.

But should Hanna have cornered them outside the bank anyway, given his prior knowledge that these guys are heavily armed and ready to 'rock and roll'?! Tracking them to a less populated location before a confrontation would have been a more sensible plan in retrospect.

Also- excuse my ignorance here- can regular detectives quickly equip themselves with rifles and be first responders in such a way? Wouldn't it be a tactical unit's role to turn up with the heavy artillery? I can't recall if there's an explanation why SWAT isn't there.

Nitpicking I'm sure- still an awesome scene in an awesome movie!

[funkychinaman]

Originally Posted by Lenny

Thanks all. I was thinking, in relation to Heat, in some ways I agree with Mandolin that given Shiherlis opens fire first- in full auto no less- the response at that point by the police is probably justified and deflect any subsequent backlash for their actions.

But should Hanna have cornered them outside the bank anyway, given his prior knowledge that these guys are heavily armed and ready to 'rock and roll'?! Tracking them to a less populated location before a confrontation would have been a more sensible plan in retrospect.

Also- excuse my ignorance here- can regular detectives quickly equip themselves with rifles and be first responders in such a way? Wouldn't it be a tactical unit's role to turn up with the heavy artillery? I can't recall if there's an explanation why SWAT isn't there.

Nitpicking I'm sure- still an awesome scene in an awesome movie!

If you recall, Hanna wanted to arrest McCauley's crew earlier, but couldn't hold them for anything bigger than B&E. They had to wait for them to act.