It's along the lines... I was simply trying to point out that many of the earlier posts, mine included, seemed to imply that preemptive action equals direct force against a potential aggressor. But that's not the case; sometimes, preemptive action means denying the aggressor the opportunity to be aggressive. For example, tonight I assisted another officer in arresting someone. I don't know if he'd have been a problem or not; when it came time, I already had one arm while he was cuffing the first. He never had the chance to become a problem... Or, my very first night out of the academy, I was about to arrest a guy. As I'm talking to him, I note his change of tone, changes in his body language, and realize he's considering hitting me. I shifted my position slightly, to buy more time if he did, and changed my grip on the flashlight I was holding so that if he tried to hit me, I'd be striking him first. I don't know what deterred him -- but he didn't try to hit me and he calmed down, so that I was able to arrest him without any real use of force. Or... to move off the street for a moment... I was working with a student in a sparring exercise. He was supposed to attack me, but I could see him decide it's time, and would just lay my hand against his, or step in on him... Very, very frustrating for him, but I never hit him.
Once again, I'm just trying to stress that there are many ways to preempt an attack, and that we're not limited to "do unto him before he does unto you" direct attacks.
