Editor’s Note: This week’s essay comes from PoliceOne Member Joseph Hood. In PoliceOne “First Person” essays, our Members and Columnists candidly share their own unique view of the world. This is a platform from which individual officers can share their own personal insights on issues confronting cops today, as well as opinions, observations, and advice on living life behind the thin blue line. If you want to share your own perspective with other P1 Members, simply send us an e-mail with your story.
By Joseph Hood
Police1 Member
I want to preface this article with humility. I am a relatively new officer, and still have a ton to learn about every aspect of the job, including room clearing. However, it doesn’t take a ten-year plus veteran to recognize glaring safety concerns, and so I continue with my observations.
One night, I was dispatched to back an officer from another nearby agency on an open door call. Upon my arrival, I saw that the building was a small warehouse with an open roll-up door. I also noticed that the other officer had parked his patrol car directly in front of the open door with his headlights on. That was my first clue of the cluster that was to come.
As I exited my vehicle, I hurried to catch up with the officer, as he was already entering the open door. Completely backlit by his headlights, I caught up with him just inside the building. I then realized to my horror that the guy hadn’t even bothered to draw his weapon. Instead, he strolled right on in with his flashlight, stopping in doorways to turn on the lights and have a casual look around.
At one point, while peering around the edge of an open doorway, he managed to drop the one thing he had bothered to remove from his duty belt: his flashlight. He cursed loudly as he watched his light roll away deep into the dark, uncleared room. It was at that very moment that I promised myself I would develop some tactics to help me deal with reckless and/or inexperienced officers when clearing buildings.
In my short time in law enforcement, I’ve encountered many similar situations where I — as part of a small team of responding patrol officers — have had to clear buildings. These instances have stemmed from a variety of circumstances, from routine open-door calls, to a disturbed mental patient actively stalking and stabbing members of his own family in their home with a steak knife.
Every time I participate in a building clearing, I like to debrief myself on what happened, and what I could do to make the next time safer and more efficient. What I have found to be most unsettling is the complacency, and sometimes pure carelessness, of some of the officers I have had to clear with. Here are some tips that I have found useful when assembling an impromptu entry team in the field.
Train
It sounds obvious, but a lot of officers balk at spending time on training. However, it really is the most common sense approach. I was blessed to go through an academy that spent a lot of time on high-risk training and tactics. It was drilled into our heads by our instructor to “train like we fight.”
On my shift, I have found and become good friends with several other like-minded officers that always look for training opportunities. We work together so well that we are able to be very efficient with minimal communication when clearing through buildings. While finding a “battle buddy” is great, what if they are on another call, or even off work that day? You have to learn to be adaptive and dynamic when working with other officers in building clearing scenarios.
Be a Leader
If you fear inexperience or carelessness on the part of your clearing partner(s), then take control of the situation. Sit down and develop a quick pre-entry briefing to use in these situations. It is imperative to keep this briefing short and sweet, and to practice it often, as it will sometimes be used in the middle of haste and confusion.
This is a simple run through that I use on occasion:
• Communicate
• Clear through the fatal funnels. Don’t stop in doorways or windows
• When moving, stay close to your partner, touching them if you can
• When entering a room, cover what the officer in front of you is not covering
• Remember to hold long security on hallways and rooms with multiple passages
• Communicate!!!
Remember, you will most likely be talking to officers of varying skill level and interest in tactics. Try to avoid specialized terminology like “buttonhook” and “crossover” techniques unless you are working with officers that you have trained with using such vernacular.
Chances are if you have taken a leadership role, you will be expected to be the first one in. Have your team stack accordingly, and reiterate to the person behind you to stay right on your back and to cover the opposite of what you cover.
Once inside, the situation may dictate that someone else enter the next room first. Be prepared to stay in command of the team regardless of your location in the stack, though if the lead man steps up to the plate, adjust accordingly. Remember to communicate clearly and efficiently as you move, and regroup your team as necessary during the clearing.
My academy instructor taught room clearing on the basis of Bruce Lee’s famous quote, “Be like water.” Have your team flow in and out of rooms, careful to cover all the gaps and prepared to adjust dynamically for whatever situation exists inside.
Be Humble
If there is someone else on scene who is more experienced or more capable of leading the team, then be humble and follow their lead. Your job then becomes to be their number 2; back them and help them look after the team. Clearing a building for potential threats is no time for pride or hurt feelings. Always do what is best for the well-being of the team.
If you have the misfortune of making entry with someone who is insistent on leading the mission (higher rank, senior officer, lead officer, other agency you are assisting, etc), but whose tactics or abilities are questionable, your job becomes a lot harder. Your responsibilities then include picking up their slack. Once inside, you still have to communicate clearly when something is not right and when adjustments are needed. You also have to be prepared to take control if a questionable leader freezes. However, you must be careful to communicate in a way that does not create confusion, especially when another officer has established themselves as the leader.
If you are working with an especially reckless officer, such as the one I backed in my opening story, then I advise hanging back a bit and holding long security while he bumbles about. I will never again hesitate to inform an officer like that that I will be standing by until another unit arrives so we can clear the building safely.
Hurting feelings is far below going home to my family on the priorities list.
Encountering Threats
When a threat is encountered during building clearing, you can find yourself at the mercy of other officers’ training. If the officer is doing things right, then back him appropriately. If you notice something going horribly wrong, remember to communicate. Such circumstances are so dynamic that I cannot begin to examine them in this article.
Just remember, communication is your best tool in maintaining safety for yourself and your teammates.
The Debrief
After the building is clear, take the time to gather everyone involved. Don’t be afraid to go over what happened during the clearing. Make humble suggestions if you saw problems, and be sure to explain why you would do it differently. If you saw guys doing a great job, let them know that as well! Also, always ask for feedback on your own performance. I’ve found that accepting constructive criticism is one of the best tools that I have learned in becoming a better officer.
The Takeaway
There is only so much that you can do to prepare yourself for entering a building with people you do not routinely train with. That’s why I encourage training with as many different officers as often you can. Treat every open door call as serious as a known threat, and always focus on how you and your partners can improve. Remember to keep your ego in check, and encourage everyone else to do the same.
Remind your fellow officers that it is all about learning and making sure everyone goes home at the end of the shift.
Stay safe!
