Think about it: In order to control anyone else, you must control yourself. Mental preparedness is the key to any approach. Street Survival Seminar instructor Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith says that whether you’re on patrol, on foot, or in-car, “You need to mentally prepare before you do anything else.”
Consider the following:
Thoughts
Distracting thoughts need to be cleared from your head in order to focus outward and be alert and prepared for your approach. According to police psychology expert Dr. Bill Lewinski, your emotions will match your focus. “You are what you think,” he said.
Breathing
Adequate oxygen is critical to alertness and tissue function. When you’re stressed, your breathing can become shallow and irregular. Breathe deeply. Ask yourself, “Am I calm and ready?”
Game plan
Practice “when/then” thinking: When X happens, then I will do Y.
The premise of this philosophy is that police officers cannot afford the luxury of denial when it comes to the likelihood that they will be attacked. Therefore, they must prepare for the when both physically and mentally because, as the theory espouses, it’s not a matter of if you will be attacked, but rather when.
Control your noise
(AP Photo/Chris Gardner) |
Think of all the little modern conveniences you carry these days. Cell phones, Blackberries, pagers—they all make noise. Brantner-Smith recalled a moment during a stealth entry on a building when a colleague’s cell phone started blaring out a rap ring tone.
Stop the clattering and keep the following in check:
• Put the phone/pager on silent. Telecom devices should all be turned off for the approach itself then re-lit. “There are too many slip ups on this issue these days,” says James G. Smith, a 25-year veteran of the Milwaukee (WI) PD. “If this is important enough for ‘stealth’ then commit to it!”
• Keep your keys holstered.
• Make sure everything is tight on your duty belt. Tape your noisy stuff so it is quiet, and put your cuffs in a case.
• Make sure your shoes aren’t squeaky. As for other clothing, pull on a dark-colored knit cap add tinted glasses and remove the exterior badge. If that goes against regulation, turn so that your left shoulder and chest [badge] area is hard to see, and leave or carry your uniform cap.
NOTE: Many departments have only one shoulder patch. “Mixing up the visual cop profile will give you a momentary (seconds count) advantage while ‘they’ try to figure you out,” says Smith.
Squad car considerations
Squad cars are highly visible, so maintaining a low profile on a vehicle approach takes work.
| | (AP Photo/Pat Crowe II) |
“Your patrol vehicle is a tip off,” says Smith. For parking, he suggests either parking in a lot or a cluster of cars, as if you were a tenant or customer. If you’re in an alley, “try to park on an open slab down the way – and remember to move it after you stabilize your scene.”
Jim’s favorite spot is the abandoned and hopefully unoccupied garage that is still structurally sound. “Clear the structure first,” he says, “then back into it. This is a great spot for fixed point surveillance as well.”
When you’ve reached a safe distance, black out your car. Turn off all lights, inside and out. In determining your black-out distance, take into account not only the destination (the actual address) but also the surrounding area, where you might encounter suspects who are fleeing the scene. Cruisers can be equipped with a kill switch that’s connected to exterior lights, meaning your brake lights won’t come on when you brake.
Parking several blocks away, or on a different street entirely, not only puts your squad car out of view, but it also gives you the option of approaching through yards, which can provide quiet terrain underfoot and can give you the advantage of mixing up your approach. This is especially helpful with multiple responders: Each of you can approach from a different direction, thereby covering as many sides of the structure or location as possible.
If you know nothing about the location, it may be advisable to do a preliminary drive-by. If the call is not exigent, come in “casual style” then roll out of the area; return later on “stealth mode.” Remember, you need intel.
Whether you’re alone or with a partner, assess your nearest backup in terms of the time it will take for their arrival on your target. Keep in mind that, although they may be physically close, factors like radio traffic, different frequencies, road conditions or weather may cause a delay. It’s the time it takes that counts—not the distance.
The walk-upNotice the population. Are many people transiting on foot? By car? Are folks loitering in the area? Are there lookouts posted? How are they signaling?
No matter what area you enter, there will likely be a few people around who are simpatico with your target. (The bad guys have back up, too.) Keep an eye out during your approach—they may use a cell phone right after they make eye contact with you; whistling is also very common.
• Watch for young kids. Do four- to nine-year-olds run away from you? It’s likely they’ll either talk to you, or head in the direction of the target.
• Watch for cars slipping out and cruising along. They may be headed to warn the target.
Again, pay attention to what is underfoot. Stick with grass wherever possible, as most paved surfaces give a report. Ascending stairs? “Put your weight on the far sides of the stair surface,” says Smith. “The middle sags, is weak and pulls at the wood, making big noise.” The sides of stairs are the strongest, so in decrepit buildings, they will most likely hold you up. Rushing up the middle is loud, plus they might crack or even break, putting you at risk of injury.
Descending stairs without risers is risky, as a subject on the floor below can observe your every move, letting him time your arrival on his level. “If that person is evil, he can really hurt you,” says Smith. “It’s nasty, but easy to fix. Get on the ground and hang your head over the edge and take a preemptive peek.”
And speaking of peeking…eavesdrop first!
Try this:• The glass trick: Use a flat-sided clean glass (not a plastic tumbler), and put the open end on the wall and your ear on the other end, then listen. This works especially well if there’s an apartment adjacent to the target apartment.
• Another trick in an adjacent apartment is a comparative analysis of the living quarters. If it is a multi-unit building of recent vintage, all of the apartments are probably identical or very similar. If you can get in one, you have a great sneak preview of your “battlefield.”
If you arrive with one other officer (per contact/cover), you’re going to want to maintain a line of sight. Problem is, if one of you heads toward the front door of the house and the other heads to the back (where the target will probably run), you’ll lose sight of each other.
Solution: Have your partner start moving laterally away from the main door, to the point where he or she can see down the line of the structure (e.g., 10 feet out). “You need as much of an eyeball on the structure as possible,” says Smith. The second officer should, in most cases, flank out in the direction of whichever side of the structure has more windows (possible escapes).
Also, be aware of your entry point. Are you looking up? “Officers tend to sweep side-to-side, but forget to look up,” says Brantner-Smith. “The bad guy can be watching you from an upstairs window, like the guy who shot at me from a second story a few years back. Luckily, he was a bad shot.”
LightingHigh-intensity flashlight discipline is a must. Just because you can light up the night doesn’t mean you should! Smith says it’s not necessary.
“Your eyes are wonderfully adaptive to low light conditions,” he says. “I worked nights almost my entire career. You need a great light and a backup light, but you don’t have to use them!”
Be mindful of shadows and light, both day and night. Stop in the shadows to hold your position.A stealth mission
The best stealth is a mindset and the concealment of what you are truly after.
Take a target who is watching your every move: “Purposely go to the wrong address as a feint to get the target to drop his guard,” says Smith. “Then approach his location and possibly carry on the charade by asking for someone you are positive he or she doesn’t know.” (You could even show a “photo” of that person.)
“Focus on the fake target as you ease inside the door, then when your guy is right in front of you, do what you came to do.”A variation is to go directly to the target house and ask about a minor complaint in the area. Once conversation is established, segue into questions about the target and slide in there. Once inside, reveal the other part of your mission and seek compliance or assistance from occupants (Once you’re inside, the mother, siblings, or relatives may motion silently to where the suspect is hiding.)
Everyone sees cops. It is admittedly difficult to go stealth in uniform particularly in daylight, but concealing your intent and mission in the neighborhood is possible.
