Life in danger? Shoot to neutralize the threat.
Life not in danger? Don’t shoot and neutralize the threat non-lethally.
Simple.
As an armed officer, you do not get into a fisticuffs, rolling around on the floor, altercation. Losing control of your firearm is a statistical death sentence.
- Keep distance and require compliance.
- Once compliance is achieved, move in to neutralize the threat.
Compliance not occurring?
Use all available tools, in and escalating manner, to achieve compliance and neutralization of threat.
It’s not hard to understand, but it can be much harder to achieve, especially under stress and duress, not to mention physical threat. Adrenaline spikes, but the flight impulse is not available. That means all threats require a response.
Armed officers are trained to utilize that heightened state to their advantage, rather than detriment, understanding they’re officers of the state, not street brawlers with weapons.
Crossing lines, esp lines that feel like they’re blurring, can occur almost instantaneously, so that impulse has to be managed and the ability to neutralize using lethality has to be actively suppressed by a mental trigger that cannot be wrong even once.
Am I in fear for my life?
Is lethality warranted?
If not, am I putting myself in peril?
If so, I need to use non-lethal neutralization until I do fear for my life.
Am I in fear for my life now?
Is lethality warranted?
If so, neutralize the threat using lethal means, with the intent to neutralize not kill.
Now, go back and run that little decision tree through your head, on 10x speed repeat, while involved in an altercation, perhaps about to turn physical or already at that level, with lots of noise, the potential for more than one threat, and the real possibility that escalation can occur both instantaneously and without warning!
Welcome to being an armed LEO!!
During my own training, I was involved in a computer simulation training event. It was my first, no shit, “pull the trigger at someone threatening you” event, where I was “shooting” a real gun that fired a momentary laser burst that simulated the gun shot and made the sound of gunfire.
After I neutralized the threat and the simulation ended, we were to review the event on the 10 x 10 video wall upon which I was shooting.
Before we ran the replay of the event, I was asked questions about what happened, when, and how much…
1) Why did you shoot when you shot?
2) Why didn’t you shoot sooner?
3) Did you hit the person with every shot?
4) Where did you hit them?
5) How many shots did you fire?
My answers were easy…
1) Had clean shot based on my skill level
2) No clean shot for my skill level
3) Yes, I hit him with every shot
4) Center mass
5) Two
Reality?
1) Good decision.
2) Good choice. Had momentary head shot, but so far, you’ve only been trained to shoot center mass (basically, the chest) and the chance of success was slim.
3) No! One shot missed past right arm.
4) We’ll come back to that answer…
5) SIX, two bursts of 3 shots!!!!
Now, 4 again…
Burst #1: Center mass, center mass, missed past right arm as he moved back.
Burst #2: As he was falling to the ground, shoulder, belly and then, as he hit the ground and slumped back…shot his cock off!!
NO WAY! Didn’t believe I shot 6 times, thought “both” shots were good center mass shots and definitely didn’t believe I shot him in the bollocks while he was on the ground!
In short, I had so much adrenaline, that I just couldn’t remember, or visualize,what REALLY happened, because I couldn’t process it!
Thankfully, the exercise was early enough in the training that we learned how to calm the fuck down, take our time, FULLY realize what we’re doing, and be in full control of our faculties after before, during, and after drawing the firearm.
To bring it full circle, I can somewhat understand the adrenaline-soaked reaction of the cop who kicked and stomped on the perp while he was on the ground. I can understand it, because it may have been an almost autonomic response to the adrenaline rush.
However, what I cannot understand is how someone who is not in a life threatening situation, and is a trained firearms officer with airport duties, fails to control their emotions under the circumstances I saw in that video. Indeed, we are lucky he reverted to his basest instincts, rather than using his firearm, to address his anger.
At least he will only lose his job and maybe get smacked a bit by the system, rather than end up in jail for murder…unlike the Illinois cop who just shot an old black lady in the face when he had numerous other choices!
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