Photo: CBS 12
There have been four officer-involved shootings in the Palm Beach-Treasure Coast region over the past month.
The most recent happened on Saturday when Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputies ordered a man to stop stabbing his father to death, but the suspect refused. Both the suspect and victim died.
Florida Police Benevolent Association President John Kazanjian tells CBS 12 News that these incidents occur despite lengthy training.
"We constantly train. Once a month, 40 hours a year we do for training for this. And we do scenarios."
He explains that officers have only a fraction of a second to react in an attempt to save a life. Often times the life their saving is their own.
"If that suspect is like 15, 20 feet away, he's gonna be on you."
Dominick Mesiti, Master Sergeant with the Port St. Lucie Police Department says law enforcement officers get no satisfaction out of shooting suspects.
"It's a traumatic experience for everybody involved. Not just the other party, but also for the officers."
Another recent shooting happened in Port St. Lucie, where a man was killed while running towards officers with a butcher knife.
Mesiti says officers are humans and despite training, they still have that human response in a stressful situation.
All of the officers involved in the recent shootings are on paid leave while the incidents are investigated.