The Effect of acute exercise-induced fatigue on pistol shooting performance in police officers

Duties of police officers include apprehending suspects, which may involve foot pursuit and firing a weapon at a suspect. Previous studies in biathletes and soldiers suggest that shooting performance is compromised when fatigue is present. Purpose: To investigate the effects of exercise-induced fatigue on shooting performance in police officers. Methods: Nine police officers fired five rapid-fire shots at three targets each with a fifteen second rest period in between each trail. Officers then exercised on a cycle ergometer to 85% maximum heart rate or voluntary fatigue. The pretest shooting was repeated post-exercise. Distances of 4 shots from the center of the target and diameters of tightest 4-shot grouping were measured. Results: No significant differences in distance or diameter were found. Conclusions: Fatiguing exercise had no effect on shooting accuracy or precision in the subject population