Officers responded to a report of a fight at a funeral and that the occupants of a black Tahoe had displayed a gun. A traffic stop was initiated on the suspect vehicle. The driver was removed. Another officer moved to the passenger side and asked the male inside to exit to be patted down. The suspect, holding a cellphone in one hand and a bottle in the other, exited the vehicle but then fled on foot.
Officers pursued the suspect, drawing their TASERs and ordering him to stop. The pursuit continued with the suspect losing his shoes, being fired at by a TASER with no effect, and dropping the bottle after falling. The suspect turned and ran up a driveway, then drew a pistol. The pursuing officer fired a single round, stopping the suspect.
Let’s watch the video and then review critical training points from this situation officers can learn from.
Vehicle stop tactics: Standard vs. hybrid
If you don’t have sufficient cause to execute a high-risk stop, perhaps consider an intermediate stop. Rather than conducting an approach up to the door as you would on a normal traffic stop, stay back and order the suspects out of the vehicle one at a time. The hybrid between a standard traffic stop and a high-risk stop can be used on those calls that don’t rise to the level of a high-risk stop but have sufficient officer safety concerns (furtive movement, known resistive subjects, gang members, etc.) to preclude a standard walk-up approach. This provides a time, distance and cover advantage over a standard traffic stop.
Watch the hands: Objects can become weapons
Both a bottle and a cellphone can be used as a weapon. Consider having the suspect lay those down inside the vehicle before exiting. If they are believed to be armed, handcuffing and then searching them would be a good course of action. Some might suggest cuffing the suspect while still seated inside the car to avoid them fleeing. That strategy has advantages and disadvantages. If they are seated in the car, they still have quick access to any weapons stored in the center console, and their body will hide their motion. Having them exit the vehicle and turn toward the open door allows you to limit their mobility with the open door and where you position yourself. Again, they still have quick access to any weapons close in the vehicle. Regardless of the method you choose, they are still able to flee until positive control is achieved.
Foot pursuit: Manage distance and purpose
A pursuit is always a balance of risk versus reward. It is also a battle between instinct and training. If you are pursuing a suspect who is potentially armed with a gun, you want to try to keep distance and cover. What is the purpose of a pursuit? Whether it is a foot or vehicle pursuit, your objective should be to follow the suspect at a safe distance until either sufficient backup is on scene to try and stop it, or the suspect stops of their own accord.
TASER deployment: Hand choice matters
In the video, you see two officers deploy their TASER with the non-dominant hand from that side. One transitions it to their dominant hand; the other retains it in their dominant hand. Again, each method has tradeoffs. Switching to the more practiced dominant hand, as the first officer did, improves the potential performance of the officer. However, that hand is now full if the situation changes to a deadly force threat. Using the non-dominant hand can have an adverse effect on the ability to arm, aim, deploy and reload, which reduces the capability of the tool. This may have accounted for the TASER not being effective in this case. However, it appears that officers who use this method frequently retain the TASER when drawing their firearm, which has obvious disadvantages. The officer in this case discarded his TASER prior to needing to draw his weapon.
Transitioning between force options
Regardless of the method of carry, you need to practice transitioning from your gun to your TASER, TASER to gun and every other tool on your belt. That practice needs to be done regularly to ensure a quick, well-executed change in level of force. In a recent study by Dr. Paul Taylor, 70% of the participating officers had never received training in weapon transition. That is a training gap that needs to be filled by trainers and practiced by officers.
Understanding the threat: Clues before the draw
Watch the hands. Pinning an arm or hand to the body during a pursuit indicates that a suspect may be trying to hold a weapon in place as they run. A Force Science study shows that a suspect can turn and fire a gun in well under a second. In this case, the officer had his gun out before the gun was visible. If you understand the threat, you understand why deadly force was reasonable in this situation.
Please take these considerations and apply them in your training in order to make you and your fellow officers safer.
| NEXT: A chainsaw attack in a nursing home offers lessons in perception, stress and decision-making
