And yet you'd be making these decisions in the heat of the moment, when your adrenaline is pumping? That's the problem here: it's very easy to look at a situation as an outsider, comfortable in your home and say how awesome you'd handle any given situation, but things are very different in the heat of the moment.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9HQoRw4DP84/TNNXAQvwTaI/AAAAAAAAAA8/wveJsDjwOPg/s1600/captain+hindsight.jpg (Unsupported image host)

And anyways, shooting the ground is not protocol. Officers don't(or shouldn't) put their finger on the trigger unless they intend to shoot someone. And they definitely shouldn't be shooting at nothing.