How to survive an ambush attack

By Robert King

On Wednesday, October 12, 2022, at about 10:30 p.m., officers from the Bristol (Connecticut) Police Department responded to a domestic violence call between two brothers. Sergeant Dustin DeMonte, 35, Officer Alex Hamzy, 34, and Officer Alec Iurato, 26, arrived on the scene and were ambushed.

Tragically, Sergeant DeMonte and Officer Hamzy were killed. Officer Iurato was shot but returned fire, killing the suspect. In news reports, state police officials indicated the call was an intentional act to lure officers to the scene. These officers responded heroically and selflessly in service to their community. Lt. Dustin Demonte and Sgt. Alex Hamzy were both promoted posthumously.

Ambush attacks are an extremely narrow slice of all police-community encounters but have shown to be the deadliest interactions. We must study and learn everything we can about ambush attacks and train to survive from the knowledge learned from past incidents.

| DOWNLOAD: This article is from our eBook, “Officer down! A tactical guide to ambush prevention and response.” Get your copy here.

Nature of ambush attacks

A long-established military tactic, ambushes are surprise attacks from a concealed position. There are two kinds of ambush attacks:

• Impromptu: Sudden and unplanned attacks can occur during foot pursuits and vehicle pursuits.
• Deliberate: A killer prepares the kill zone. They decide on premeditated murder and decide when, where and how, usually a bogus call, to lure law enforcement into the kill zone.

These are common characteristics of an ambush attack:

• Lures officers into a trap so they can execute an assault
• Killer uses the advantage of concealment with a line of fire
• Element of surprise
• Speed of action
• Violence of action
• Often employs, but is not limited to, a precision rifle
• Lack of provocation
• It avoids detection before the attack
• Undermines our center of gravity. The Department of Defense defines “center of gravity” as “the source of power that provides moral or physical strength, freedom of action, or will to act.” Thus, the center of gravity is usually seen as the source of strength.

Preventing ambush attacks

Our overall goal is to survive ambush attacks. Training plays a vital role in preparing our officers with the mindset, tactics and use of equipment to survive and should include:

Lesson planning and training delivery

• Develop lesson plans with specific learning objectives.
• Prioritize agency-wide in-service training with lectures, videos, discussions and scenarios to enhance awareness and situational understanding.
• Provide Roll Call training and distribute Training Bulletins highlighting lessons learned from ambush incidents.
• Incorporate ambush attack preparation into Field Training Officer (FTO) programs.

Skills drills and tactical awareness

• Conduct officer down drills, both with and without vehicles. Train to do an emergent officer down rescue, including the use of ballistic shields.
• Train officers to use a “tactical pause” on arrival — stop, look, and listen to gather critical information.
• Emphasize non-dominant hand shooting to prepare for injuries during ambush scenarios.

Understanding ambush threats

• Discuss the tactical advantages ambush attackers gain with accurized rifles, high-capacity magazines, and distance.
• Review and discuss deadly force policies, state and federal laws, and case law relevant to ambush scenarios.

Tools and equipment training

• Train officers in using bleed control kits, red dot reticles on handguns, patrol rifles with optics, and rifle-rated ballistic shields.
• Familiarize officers with portable stretchers for rescuing downed personnel.
• Demonstrate the use of police vehicle ballistic protection and other available resources.

Raising awareness

• Develop and distribute ambush attack prevention pocket cards.
• Use scenarios and tabletop exercises to ensure retention and shared situational understanding across the agency.

Actions to survive

Before arrival, on arrival, during an attack and post-ambush, what steps can we take to increase survivability?

Before arrival

• Communicate, be flexible, don’t assume and correct mistakes.
• Wear your body armor and be proficient with all your equipment.
• Do not be in denial or be complacent.
• Gather and evaluate call information before arrival.
• Consider call location history.
• Coordinate safe routes of arriving units.
• Notify a supervisor if something is out of the ordinary.
• If the information seems suspicious, trust your gut.
• Take threats seriously.
• Mindset: envision the end state; see yourself surviving.
• Always carry a tourniquet.

On arrival

• Stop, look and listen.
• Arrive a distance from the call.
• Identify and use cover and concealment on approach, and catalog cover for possible egress if necessary.
• Do not ignore the danger signs.
• Be deliberate about how you present to the danger zone.
• Remember that distance and time equal options.
• Consider contacting the complainant to call them away from their cover or concealment.
• Have a preprogrammed response for egress from the danger zone.
• If pursuing someone on foot, do not run around uncleared corners.
• Deploy patrol rifles.

On scene-strategies for high-risk situations

During high-risk calls, officers should prioritize proactive deployment by establishing an overwatch position and assigning a scout to provide real-time updates, identify safe routes and highlight available cover. Strategic response measures include using police vehicles, spotlights and loud hailing to minimize risk instead of approaching on foot, as well as considering delayed responses, non-response, or SWAT call-outs based on situational factors. Utilizing phone communication to call subjects can help de-escalate situations.

Safety and tactical measures should focus on using light to obscure an attacker’s vision, maintaining noise discipline or stealth during approaches, and leveraging distance and time to create safer options.

Medical and equipment preparedness is critical. Ensure officers have tourniquets, bleeding control kits and portable stretchers in vehicles for rapid evacuation of injured personnel. Throughout operations, officers should resist unnecessary urgency unless there is an immediate threat to life and maintain open communication to adapt effectively to evolving threats.

During an ambush

• Resolve to survive!
• Get off the X and exit the danger zone.
• Return fire when able to do so, consistent with policy, law and case law.
• If no cover is available, the best cover is well-placed fire on the threat.
• Use distractions! If possible, divide a subject’s attention.
• If attacked during arrival, consider driving out of the attack.
• If officers are injured and alive, we must formulate a hasty, exigent rescue of the downed officer.
• When an ambush attack happens, call SWAT but understand their response time varies; officers must be able to survive before a tactical team’s arrival.
• If a solo officer or initial responding officer(s) is injured by gunfire, maintain radio discipline. Instead, give the channel to the downed officer.
• One individual must get on the radio and coach/support the downed officer(s).
• Do a remote assessment of injured and down officers. Sometimes, tragically, officers will have injuries not compatible with life. But if a downed officer is alive, talk to them and encourage them.
• Coach injured officers on tactics to survive. Not surprisingly, shot officers go into overload, and they need our encouragement. We can be remote cover officers. For example, ask and instruct the injured officer with questions and directions like these: “I know you’re hit. Where are you? Are you behind cover? Can you safely improve your position by moving to cover? Are you taking rounds now? Do you know how many attackers? Do you know where the rounds are coming from? Where are you hit? Do you have your tourniquet? Apply your tourniquet.”

Unfortunately, even the best prepared and trained individuals can’t always prevent injury or death. Fortunately, injuries from gunfire are survivable! We need to strengthen our survival mindset and never give up. As well we need equipment that is easily accessible. Many gunfire injuries result in death because we do not stop the bleeding. Every officer on the street must always have a tourniquet on their person; their life or a fellow officer’s life may depend on it.

| WATCH: How police officers can detect, prevent and defend against ambush attacks

About the author

Robert King, currently Chief of Staff for the Chief of Police at Portland Police Bureau, develops and delivers law enforcement training programs nationwide. A retired Portland Police Commander with over 27 years of service, King held various roles, including SWAT officer, trainer, detective, union president and precinct commander. He also served as Mayor Ted Wheeler’s Public Safety Policy Advisor during the challenging period of 2020, marked by the pandemic and social unrest. King’s extensive experience and commitment to officer well-being drive his mission to improve training and support within the law enforcement community. King was the Director of National Training for Con10gency Consulting prior to returning to work at the Police Bureau.