A Scientific Examination of the 21-Foot Rule

An officer can draw and fire a single shot in 1.43 seconds on average when under stress, while a person can cover 21 feet in 1.5 seconds on average, meaning that 21 feet is not a safe distance for officers. A suspect would have to be about 32 feet away for an average of 95% of officers to draw and fire a single shot. Various officer movements can help increase the survivability of such encounters, but movements are often dictated by the environment.