Swat 4 Unauthorized Use of Deadly Force Drawing Weapon

The Rules of Lethal Engagement (ROE) is an important gameplay mechanic in both the single player and the coop game modes of SWAT 4. It is a set of rules that dictate when lethal forces can be applied on a suspect. The primary aim of these rules is to value the worth and sanctity of an individual's life to preserve it. When combined with the mission score system, the rules will define most of the difficulties when playing the game, while seperating the gameplay from other contemporary shooter video games on the market.

The purpose for adhering to the ROE is clearly specified in the game. SWAT is essentially a life-saving organization and hence it would be ironic if SWAT itself recklessly ended the lives of others regardless of their moral status. However, how the ROE is implemented in the game has some drawbacks while also generating controversies.

Description [ ]

The Rules of Lethal Engagement, also referred to as the ROE, are predominant in every single player and coop missions in the SWAT 4 series. The ROE cannot be ignored in the game from the Normal diffculty and above, hence discouraging the player from killing every suspects on sight.

In the game, lethal force can only be justified under one of the following conditions below:

• A suspect is aiming their firearm at any person. This is the most common occurrence in the game which demands quick reflexes from the player.
• A suspect has fired their weapon after the mission starts. Since this act of hostility was capable of injuring or threatening the life of another, the player is entitled to return fire immediately in order to end the threat.
• A suspect has caused the injury, incapacitation or death of any individual after the mission starts: The individual responsible for such acts of hostility is a potent threat to the life and safety of nearby people and therefore it is deemed necessary to exercise lethal force to prevent any further casualties.

However, the player is not authorized to use lethal force under the following circumstances explained below:

• An armed suspect has chosen to flee but has not shown any acts of hostility prior to this. Since the suspect has not chosen to endanger the life of the people around him, the player must refrain from using lethal force on this subject.
• An unsuspecting suspect scans the horizon with their firearm without actively targeting someone. This instance may often occur when a suspect inspects a new room or open a door. Since the suspect's motivation for raising their firearm is not for engaging in hostility, the player must refrain from using lethal force on this subject.

An important caveat that is worth mentioning here is that the ROE places the emphasis on the consequence of firing a weapon rather than the act of firing a weapon. In another word, if the suspect subjected to lethal force is not incapacitated or dead as the result, the ROE restrictions do not apply. This side effect serves as a valuable opportunity to force compliance on suspects through non life-threatening injuries.

Another distinction to note here is that the ROE only governs the interaction between the player and the suspects. Injuries inflicted by the player on civilians and AI SWAT officers during the course of a mission will invite penalties regardless of where the damage is coming from or whether the subject is still standing at the end of a mission.

Exemptions to ROE [ ]

Given that the ROE is implemented based on the consequence of firing a weapon, it cannot be applied to non-lethal weapons that deals no damage. Less-lethal weapons like flashbang, stinger, grenade launcher and melee attack that are capable of injuring suspects still falls under the purview of the ROE. Also using snipers against suspects are exempted from the ROE. Finally the AI SWAT officers will always be incapable of breaking the ROE, regardless of the weapons they are carrying.

Penalties [ ]

When the player violates the ROE during a mission, the violation is considered a penalty and points are deducted from the mission score as compensation. If breaking the ROE results in an incapacitated suspect, the "Unauthorized use of force" penalty will be applied. Otherwise a dead suspect will invoke the "Unauthorized use of deadly force" penalty. The penalty will then be multiplied per suspects neutralized while breaking the ROE. On Normal diffculty setting in the vanilla games, killing four or more suspects without obeying the ROE will be more than enough to fail the mission despite meeting all mission objectives.

Drawbacks and Controversies [ ]

How the ROE is implemented in the game has generated some drawbacks and controversies against the gameplay. The main sources of controversies can be categorized as the following:

• The ROE places restrictions on the consequence of using a weapon rather than the actual usage of a weapon. The ROE implementation in the game allows the player to legally apply lethal force as long as the suspect is not incapacitated or dead as the result, whereas in reality the court of law will actually examine the intention to apply lethal force via pointing or firing a firearm regardless whether the target is hit. Also under the eyes of the law, someone carelessly pointing their firearm at random directions has demonstrated ample intention to be a threat, regardless whether the motivation behind such action is mundane or not.
• The ROE places restrictions on the types of weapon used rather than the types of force used. The ROE implementation in the game specifically exempts the use of non-lethal weapons like Less Lethal Shotgun, Taser Stun Gun and Pepper-ball Gun, despite the concept of non-lethal weapon is a misnomer and they can cause serious injuries in real life. Also the reckless usage of lethal weaponry like the sniper rifle is encouraged to bypass the ROE restrictions.
• The ROE is not flexible enough to accommodate real life scenarios. In reality, the SWAT ROE is usually loosened for active shooter scenarios like the A-Bomb Nightclub, St. Michael's Medical Center or Fresnal St. Station, where the mere refusal to disarm is more than justified for applying lethal force. Also the player is not authorized to employ lethal force on an armed suspect "fleeing" specifically in the direction of the player, whereas in reality such a scenario would be legally justified.

Changes in Elite Force [ ]

In SWAT: Elite Force, non-lethal weapons such as Less Lethal Shotgun, Taser Stun Gun and Cobra Stun Gun are now capable of doing damage and thus have been placed under the restriction of ROE. Also the snipers have been put under the purview of ROE as well. Finally the score penalty for "Unauthorized use of deadly force" has been doubled.

SWAT 4 Gameplay Mechanics
Vanilla	Combat	Rules of Lethal Engagement - Bullet Types - Shotgun Ammo Types - Projectile Penetration - Off Map Support
	AI	Command Interface - Archetypes - Morale
	Character Status	Character Damage Model - Incapacitation
	Game Difficulties	Mission Score - Mission Difficulty
	Multiplayer	How to Run Multiplayer - Multiplayer Game Modes
SEF	Combat	Projectile Ricochet - Armor Shredding - Traps
	AI	Personalities
	Character Status	Cardiac arrest - Weight and Bulk

Swat 4 Unauthorized Use of Deadly Force Drawing Weapon

Source: https://swat-4.fandom.com/wiki/Rules_of_Lethal_Engagement

Share this post