As a matter or pure percentages, how often do you dynamically clear a building (read: speed, surprise, and violence of action) compared with slowly, methodically, clearing a building? Unless you’re on a full-time SWAT team — and it’s your JOB! to do the former — most patrol officers responding to ‘building alarm’ or other such calls use the latter tactic. Perhaps 95 percent of the time, you’re deliberately moving from room to room to room, taking your time, looking thoroughly for the trespasser/violator. Right?
Unless you’re on the SWAT team — and you’re turning night to day with a flash-bang followed by multi-officer entry with weapons-mounted and shield-mounted lights — you’re probably working in as part of a two-officer team. Right?
Well, this one’s for you.
The Dark Side (of Light)
I recently attended an excellent one-day training on low-light and no-light building clearing tactics. Now, this thing was geared more for the “Responsible Second Amendment Civilian” type of student than for American law enforcers, but nonetheless, a number of really great reminders for LEOs were there for the taking.
The day was presented by Police1 Columnist — and personal friend of yours truly — Ken Hardesty of Spartan Concepts and Consulting, and co-instructed by my newfound friend Kyle Gentry (who works for a Bay Area law enforcement agency). We began with some classroom work to refresh ourselves on everything from post-incident legal issues to the proper way to utilize a half dozen or so “named” flashlight techniques. Toward the end of the initial hour, we viewed a couple of videos intended to “get our heads in the game” so to speak.
Following that brief setup, we spent about 85 percent of the session (my best guess) in a darkened, abandoned (but importantly, safety-sterilized) industrial building. We worked a variety of scenarios, debriefing our runs one-on-one as well as in the larger group — peer pressure drove us to succeed as much as our own individual desire to simply learn.
As I said, there were many great ideas illuminated (pun very much intended), but the first one I want to share here on Police1 is this:
Don’t backlight your buddy.
If you’re working in a team of two (or more) to search and/or clear a darkened building, let the lead officer be the light operator unless there’s an expediency which overrides that baseline tactic. As soon as you flash into a random corner from a position behind that lead officer, you’re lighting him or her up with a halo effect which could result in an actual, heaven-made, halo. Don’t do it.
It’s tempting to touch that torch, but resist the urge.
You wouldn’t muzzle your buddy, would you? Well, don’t turn him or her into a perfectly-lit silhouette either.
Admittedly, this is basic, Academy-class-level stuff, but as was discussed during the daylong training last month, this type of mistake happens altogether too frequently.
Blind (them) by the Light
While we’re on the topic of flashlight basics, while you’re conducting such an inside search — whether it’s night or day — remind yourself to be aware of the existing light sources around you. Those may be windows, ambient light from adjacent rooms, even that infernal blinking “12:00 AM” on the old VCR beneath the TV. Whatever. Cross that light and you’ve become that perfectly-lit silhouette. I won’t say don’t cross those light sources — necessity pretty much dictates that you must, in fact, cross those spaces — but please be cognizant of when it happens, and how it affects you in the situation.
In fact, you might consider using your light to shield yourself. You have the option of creating a wall of light in front of you when you know you’re crossing a space where some dim light might silhouette you.
Yes. Basic stuff. Yes also, altogether too frequently ignored.
Let me close thusly, because I can already hear some of you asking, “What if you’re in a single-officer scenario — SOS, NBA — and you find you absolutely must clear a darkened building by yourself?”
While it should go without saying, I’ll say it anyway — AS EMPHATICALLY AS I POSSIBLY CAN — whenever possible, please don’t clear a building by yourself.
Yeah, I know, it happens... but way more often than it actually really has to, so please, please, please (PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!) wait for backup if you can.
Stay safe my friends.
