A .50 cal for sniping is not inusual, for police action ..... the main purpose is to kill "immediately" the target, also avoiding, if possible, automatic reactions from muscles that can shoot their weapons also if they are "technically dead" ..... this can be obtained both hitting them in precise points (usually base of the head, where spinal nerves exit from brain), or if impossible, using a so high energy bullet that the impact move the target "away from hostage line of fire" as maximum as possible, so also if the gun shoot for involuntary muscolar contraption, there's a good possibility that the bullets loss the hostages ..... also, consider that usually they shoot through windows glasses ..... glass is fragile, but is not air, and for a precision shoot, it can change the trajectory of a more precise, but more light, bullet, especially for double glasses, or "infrangible" glasses used for offices and public places ..... a .50 have enough energy for pass a wall, so a glass panel don't change enough its trajectory.
And, after all, they don't care too much about the criminals, when they are shooting them, right ? (uhm, they only need to hope that also the criminals don't have a sniper with a .50, then .....
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