Watching this drives home the fact that Situational Awareness needs to be worked on minute to minute, no matter where you are in your LE career. Even though I knew the outcome of the video, the killer gave me the chills. There was something definitely off with that POS.
Mods, my apologies if this has already been posted or not posted in the correct forum.
This sad video reminded me of one of the points covered in SN's managing unknown contacts: at 45 seconds into the video, the killer displayed the "grooming behavior" - touching his face - one of the signs that an attack is imminent. The fact that this POS had his hands in his pockets is something I'm surprised didn't draw a stronger (and more quick) reaction from the officer. Here's the link to the video;
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/01/15...cmp=latestnews
RIP Officer Stewart.
Mod Note: I copied this post from a thread in Mindset and Tactics to prevent redundant threads.-- BOM
Last edited by JDM; 01-15-2015 at 08:30 PM.
These lessons are not new, and every officer has heard them before. The problem is that most don't believe "it" will every happen to them. "It" always happens to others. This is the mind set killer and why officers ignore pre-assault clues, do half ass pat downs, and fail to immediately gain control of a situation instead of reacting. They just aren't thinking worst case. It's a sad thing, but most officers really don't have a warrior/gun fighter mind set. And unfortunately, that's just how most administrations like it.
The speed that life and death encounters occur at makes prevention and action better strategies than reaction. But you have to believe that bad things will happen to you before you try and get ahead of them.
A somewhat related video with a happier ending.
http://bearingarms.com/hands-dont-sh...paign=baupdate
Quoted for truth.Originally Posted by LSP552
And this is my greatest challenge as a Relief Sergeant, trying to convince young officers that bad things can happen to them. And that they need to be ready to act appropriately if things are heading in a bad direction.
It seems that this (bold above) might have been the last point at which the officer could have pre-empted the attack.
As a civilian, I didn't really "flag" the shooter's going back to get something before coming out. But, the blading away of the shooter during the interview coupled with that right hand in the pocket scared the crap out of me.
As others have expressed, I feel kind of funny MMQB'ing things like this, but I definitely see the value as well as the need to do so.
Rest in Peace Officer Stewart.
If you can't taste the sarcasm, try licking the screen.
Gettin’ old and blind ain’t for sissies. ~ 41Magfan
One never, ever, allows someone to go into another room and not monitor what they are doing. That is Cop 101 stuff.
Last Thursday night I was just leaving some dog training and was driving to a local QT for a break. There is a mental health/detox center across the street from it. I was at the light for the QT when a call came out for unknown trouble at the center. It was a transfer from a neighboring agency and all they had was a male was on a cell phone asking for help.
When I pulled into the center I saw a counselor talking to a male who appeared somewhat agitated. As I got out of my car the counselor pointed to the male. I saw he was wearing a brown vest and I noticed right away he had his right hand in the vest pocket and the pocket had a rectangular bulge. He was shaking and moving his left hand all over the place. His right arm wasn't moving at all.
I stopped about 12 yards away from him and challenged him telling him not to move and asking if he had any guns or weapons on him. I hadn't drawn my pistol but my hand was on it and I remember feeling like my stance was "pre draw" mode. I was squared off on him and I was even lifting my heels slightly (old HK sub gun training coming through). He said no. I told him to turn around, keep his right hand in his pocket, and put his left hand on the back of his neck. He complied with my orders. I started to walk up to him and the counselor told me he was in a Meth psychosis. I stopped and considered that I was still by myself and did I really want to go hands on with a guy who might have a weapon in his hand in his pocket.
I stopped and waited for backup which didn't take to long to arrive. When the other Officer arrived I told him what was going on and had him cover me while I took hold of the suspect's right wrist and removed it from his pocket. I immediately saw he had a semi-auto pistol in his pocket. I took the pistol and my backup cuffed him up. It turned out to be a Jimenez 9mm with a round in the chamber. He also had a second magazine in one of his pockets.
Afterwards I talked to the counselor. This guy had been there for an hour and a half. He didn't think the guy had the gun on him when he was in the center but who knows. The counselor thought he'd stashed it in the parking lot. About 40 minutes before there was a prior call for the same guy at the center. Fire had been checking him and there were Officers out with him too. Did he have the gun on him or have it stashed nearby. Who knows. Under Miranda the suspect said he lied because he was trying to hide the gun from me because he had fired two shots twenty minutes before. We couldn't find any casings but two patients told us they thought they heard two shots earlier.
I think this thread was a great help to me to have disarmed this suspect without getting involved in a shooting. It reminded me of a couple tactics I might not have remembered if not for the freshness of reading this one. This guy, while compliant, wasn't in a right state of mind. It makes you think about the what ifs. What if I hadn't challenged him from a distance? What if I hadn't waited for another Officer? I have the feeling if I had let my guard down on this guy it might have ended badly.
So thank you for all the great tips in this thread!
Just a dog chauffeur that used to hold the dumb end of the leash.
Perfectly handled Coyotesfan. Well done.
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