Have you prepared for a three dimensional response to the active shooter? That is on-duty while armed, off-duty while armed, and the last and least desirable: anytime you are unarmed and next in the killer’s path. Before we explore this topic further, consider this scenario:
The active shooter burst into the courtroom and three people were dead in an instant. The estranged husband — eyes as black as his soul — turned his weapon on his next victim, a police officer. The officer had been disarmed by a courtroom policy requiring that officers be unarmed testifying in court. The killer slowed his pace as he leveled the handgun directly between the officer’s eyes. The gunman confidently walked to within one foot of the officer and said, “I always wanted to know what it feels like to kill a...”
In a blur of movement, the officer swept the muzzle away from his face and drove his hand into the suspect’s trachea, crushing it with the intensity that can only be conjured while standing in the mudroom between life and death.
The officer had hoped this moment would never come, but nevertheless trained for it on his own time, on his own dime. Because he did, he will live the rest of his life. So will the other 27 people in the courtroom.
This was not an actual event, but can you imagine an incident like this happening? I ask again: Have you prepared for all three dimensions of active shooter response?
The First Dimension: Armed While On-Duty
Most active shooter training prepares officers for the incident they are dispatched to. They are armed and train to be on the outside as first responders moving to contact. The trainers teach valuable techniques for these eventualities and prepare officers for responding to the in-progress active shooter incident. Officers need to continue to train like this and prepare like this, because it may happen just like this.
The “Riding to the Sound of the Guns” approach to an in-progress active shooter saved lives last year in places as diverse as the massive compound at Fort Hood in Texas and the tiny town of Carthage in North Carolina. This approach will continue to save lives.
The Second Dimension: Armed While Off-Duty
Officers need to look beyond the one dimensional possibility that you may have to respond to the active shooter on duty, while possessing all the tools of your profession. There are other possibilities to mentally prepare for and physically train for.
The second dimension of the active shooter response is off duty, while armed. This is another aspect of the active shooter response which is trained often around the country, but much less frequently. It is the type of instance we all saw happen in Salt Lake City in 2007. Many officers have made the decision to carry off duty, and even carry a well equipped “go-pack,” in the eventuality that you might find yourself in a position to stop a malevolent killer and save his desperate victims.
The Third Dimension: Unarmed and Next
The Third Dimension of the active shooter response that must be considered is what would your unarmed response would be to any shooter about to take your life?
First and foremost, if you are unarmed and have an opportunity to do so, the best practice and most reasonable response is to exit quickly and report what is happening, where it is happening, while on the move away from the shooter. You are not in a position to take effective action against an in-progress active shooter.
You must, however, answer the question, “What if I am unarmed and escape is not an option?”
You’re Next
There are many venues that require you to go unarmed. Because it is an imperfect world, even in those places you might find yourself facing a gunman who is armed. Here are some questions that should be asked:
• Has there ever been a firearm missed in a search at the jail?
• Does your court disarm you before you enter the court room?
• Are there federal buildings into which you cannot go armed?
• Are there locations that you go to which prevent anyone from entering armed?
• Are there schools you attend or visit that prohibit the carrying of weapons?
• Do you sometimes disarm yourself because it is not practical to go armed?
• Are there times you have just decided to not go armed off-duty?
• Does your department prohibit you from carrying a weapon off-duty?
If the answer to any of these questions is “yes” then it is possible that you might find yourself unarmed and facing an armed suspect intent on killing you.
Taking action while unarmed against an armed assailant is not what one would call a position of advantage, but if you were facing death at the hands of a madman who does not intend on stopping after he finishes you, do you want to go “quietly into that good night” or do you want to fight?
Even if there seems to be no other options you can give yourself options. Not everyone can train extensively in martial arts, but you can find a trainer with the expertise and seek to possess some empty-hand deadly force options. Many of these can be learned in a limited amount of time and be subsequently available to you under the worst of circumstances.
Many agencies balk at offering this type of training because of the “L-word” (read: liability). Here are some more “L-words” to consider. They are great options to have available as a last-resort to avoid receiving last-rites.
Environmental Weapons
Under the worst circumstances there are often items within reach that can be used as a deadly weapon under dire circumstances.
Stop right now and look around your current environment. Identify the innocuous items within your grasp that under dire conditions could be used as a weapon to defend yourself from imminent death or great bodily harm. Now do a when-then exercise. Picture yourself under attack and using each item to save your life. It could be a pen with a sturdy barrel, a chair, a laptop computer, a stapler, a paper weight, a scissors, or a Leatherman tool.
Once again, this would only be attempted when you decide that escape is not available and death is not an option.
Make Your Move
There is no time when you are unarmed that is a “good” time to make a move on an armed person, but as a last resort here are some moments that present an opportunity:
• When he is talking, in the middle of a sentence
• During a gunman’s weapon malfunction
• During that time he’s trying to reload
• As he is taking aim at another target
Imagine...
The third dimension — unarmed and the next target of an in progress shooter — is not a position you want to imagine yourself in. In a world that has produced the likes of Harris, Klebold, and Hassan it is a possibility for all and an eventuality for some. Can you imagine it happening to you?
Noted SWAT trainer Dennis Justus of the Milwaukee Police Department once said, “If you can imagine it, train for it.”
