Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) Near Miss is a voluntary, non-disciplinary officer safety initiative that allows law enforcement personnel to read about and anonymously share stories of close calls or “near misses,” which provide lessons learned that can protect fellow officers in similar situations.
Event summary
Two armed suspects robbed an individual and stole the victim’s vehicle. A patrol officer located the vehicle being driven on a city roadway and attempted to conduct a traffic stop. The driver refused to stop, and a vehicle pursuit ensued.
Two patrol cars, a K-9 unit and a helicopter pursued the vehicle for 20 minutes. The vehicle pursuit ended in a rural area, and the suspects fled on foot in different directions. The sun had set during the pursuit, so the foot pursuit occurred in darkness.
The K9 officer pursued the driver on foot and quickly apprehended him. The helicopter directed me and a third officer toward where the helicopter had lost visual with the fleeing passenger. I deployed with my shotgun.
We ran to the area where the passenger was last seen – a small house with a carport and shed. I took a covered position and visually scanned the area. We moved deliberately to look in the carport that was cluttered with all sorts of stuff.
Failing to locate the suspect, I again took a covered position behind a tree and continued to scan the environment. The other officer holstered his weapon and stood next to the carport. We were soon joined by the K9 officer and his dog. The K9 officer walked up to the other officer and asked where the suspect was last seen so he could start tracking. Suddenly, the dog jumped into a bush 6 feet from the chatting officers and took the hiding suspect by the leg. The suspect was quickly apprehended.
Lessons Learned
Several lessons were identified:
- When contact with a suspect is likely, use high-risk tactics, even if no suspect is located after an initial search.
- Officers should take covered positions when stopped, move together and provide over-watch for each other’s movement across open areas or when near places a suspect could be hiding (i.e., concealed positions).
- When there is reason to believe a suspect is armed with a firearm, deploy with your most effective long gun to enhance officers’ ability to engage a suspect effectively and at greater distances.
- Officers should consider withdrawing from an area while ensuring a perimeter is in place, to regroup and discuss a plan to continue a high-risk search for an armed suspect, versus remaining in a location where a suspect could be hiding and waiting to ambush.
HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR NEAR MISS
Support this critical officer safety initiative by reading and sharing the near-miss stories and lessons learned that your fellow officers have shared, and consider sharing your own near-miss experiences at LEOnearmiss.org.