Houston officer disarmed during Verizon robbery

[Rex G]

The armed robbery stats for the neighborhood codes along Houston’s North Loop must be alarmingly high. When in uniform, anywhere in that area, one MUST be switched-on. We (HPD + other agencies) have killed some few armed robbers that work that area, so I would be concerned about a revenge hit, if nothing else.

[jnc36rcpd]

Cypher, you're absolutely right that many bad guys will decide to take on a private security officer when they wouldn't try the same with someone they identify as public law enforcement. That's what encourages the complacency seen in this and other incidents. Most times, the LEO gets away with it as the bad guy just bypasses the Verizon store and heads down to Sprint. Unfortunately, some bad guys are motivated enough, crazy enough, or evil enough to risk throwing down with the police.

Many business (and both public and private officers) assume "presence" is enough even if switched off.

[BehindBlueI's]

I work with a guy who is a top notch cop. He's not in love with being a cop, but he is damn good at it.

However he has a variety musical ringtones for the different people who call him. They are LOUD! It comes across as very unprofessional to have that on duty.

I've really enjoyed having a smartwatch for that reason. I can see who's calling, read texts, etc. with my phone completely silent. I couldn't feel the vibrate mode through my vest, but the watch vibrate is very noticeable. I'm generally well behind the curve on adapting technology, and this was no exception. I'm glad I finally did it, though.

[Lester Polfus]

Sorry....that requires the outdated and no longer required warrior attitude. Best to hope they don’t take your iPhone. (Insert horribly depressing truth icon)

Never give up, die trying and take the SOB with you isn’t a bad way to go. Proned out and executed isn’t what I want carved on my tombstone.

I am alive today because of this attitude.

[TheNewbie]

Unfortunately, many officers just switch off when working off-duty gigs. They just assume these jobs are easy money and why pay attention?

I agree on the extreme risks of submitting to a suspect, especially when you've been identified as law enforcement. That said, one theme of Wambaugh's "The Onion Field" was that many officers survive hostage-taking incidents. Indeed, I have two friends who were disarmed by prisoners and survived. That said, one began taking a shotgun out every day because she really could have used one as her prisoner scampered off into the distance. The other officer, who prided himself on his lightening fast presentation from his personally owned :death from behind"holster was wearing his department's issue security holster (which I wore as a personal purchase) when next I saw him.

I understand that security gigs are usually boring, but both the business and the officer would be better served if the officer standing post for hours was not immediately approachable. I would agree that being on point for the entire off-duty gig would be preferable, but it may not be realistic for many officers.

What is the "death from behind" holster?

[jnc36rcpd]

My friend wore a single-snap release holster. I don't recall if it were thumb-break or required the index finger to release the snap. He was quick on the draw, but speed needs to be balanced with security. His department had transitioned to the Bianchi Hurricane at the time, but my friend stayed with his old holster. That said, when I saw him after his disarming and kidnapping into the District of Columbia, he was wearing the county-issue holster.

Not that the Hurricane was perfect. While it protected the revolver from a perhaps unseen attack from the rear or side, the revolver would certainly come out if drawn from the front. My other colleague was transporting a prisoner in the front seat of her uncaged vehicle. Since he had a cast on one arm, he was only in leg irons (the same situation as the bad guy in the first incident). He made a grab for the gun. The officer was attempting to bring the car to a stop and protect her revolver at the same time, but lost the struggle for her weapon.

Fortunately, both bad guys elected to escape rather than murder the transporting officers. The allied agency also made procedural changes as a result of these incidents.

[fixer]

I bet that store was 30.06 too...

[Kyle Reese]

Complacency is a thing, unfortunately.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

[GardoneVT]

One of the problems with “conspicuous security” is the bad guys can neutralize it with enough preparedness. As stated earlier no one can be 100% alert 100% of the time. The bad guys movements -to my uninitiated eye- illustrate a familiarity with the layout and sightlines of the place. They scouted the place before moving in, which means they took the LEOs presence into account . Had she been squared away they might have come in shooting instead, or had an accomplice pose as customer.

Just one civilians take on this is all.