Pistol-whipping
To
pistol whip someone means to hit a person with the butt or
barrel of a
handgun (
pistol), typically in the head or shoulder area. This is usually done in order to knock them
unconscious or as a method of torture, sometimes to
elicit information and sometimes to
punish.
Pistol whipping is a well-known
cliché in
American popular culture, as it appears to be a simple method of asserting
dominance. One of the best examples where pistol whipping is seen as a method of asserting dominance is in the
Martin Scorsese film
Goodfellas in which Henry Hill (played by
Ray Liotta), outnumbered three-to-one, pistol whips an adversary and as a result, the other two take no action. It was prominently featured in the film
Equilibrium as a component of the fictional martial art of
Gun Kata.
James Bond also seems to be especially prone to pistol-whipping.
Contrary to fictional portrayals, there is no clear boundary between the force needed to render someone unconscious and the force needed to
kill them, and all such blows to the head must be regarded as potentially fatal.
*
Traumatic brain injury*
Less-lethal
