Policy Text
Roll Call Training Bulletin
Produced by: Captain Rudy Chan , Training Division Katherine Lester , Chief of Police
Prepared by: Officer Jeff Kuhlmann , PSU Volume 114
Deadly Force and Edged Weapons -Best Practices and the Twenty -one Foot Rule
10/10/2022
The “ Twenty -one Foot Rule ,” also known as the “Tueller Drill ,” was a range drill developed in 1983
demonstrat ing that an average attacker armed with a knife would be able to close a distance of twenty -one
feet before a defender could react and fire a holstered handgun. The reactionary drill soon became a “rule”
and was subsequently taught by police trainers and agen cies as the closest distance an officer should
allow a knife -wielding suspect before it would be too late to fire an effective shot to stop the threat.
Issue: Unfortunately, this drill resulted in an overly simplistic “rule ,” which became a problematic tac tic
because officers might be inclined to apply it in all circumstances involving an edged weapon and rely on it
to use deadly force without considering any other options. Based on b est practices and our Use of Force
policy , police officers should instead be taught to “slow things down ” and “create distance ,” attempting to
de-escalate an encounter before it be comes a confrontation. Instead of following an arbitrary rule that says
an officer can shoot if anyone with a knife is within a certain distance , officers should try to find cover , when
feasible . Additionally, i f deadly force is necessary from the onset of an attack due to the particular
circumstances, the officer can best articulate their use of force based on describin g the circumstances and
conditions unique to the situation at that time, rather than reciting an arbitrary rule based on an overly
simplistic mathematical solution that takes critical decision -making out of the equation .
Best Practice: In keeping with best practices and for the reasons articulated above, the Sacramento
Police Department has not taught the “Twenty -one Foot Rule” in use of force and firearms training for many
years . Instead, critical decision -making involving the totality of circumstances, objective reasonableness,
the immediacy of the threat presented, and other tactics and techniques in consideration of the particular
facts of an incident , are emphasized in the decision, employment and reporting use of force. Succinctly put,
the “Twenty -one Foot Rule” (Tueller drill) is an exercise on reaction time in a static environment
under unrealistic conditions and does not independently justify a use of force decision . Conversely,
officers ’ critical decision -making process , based on the unique circumstances presented to them at that
time, such as time, distance, cover and other relevant factors, should be the basis and articulated
justification for their use of force .