Why securing the high ground is critical for officer and public safety

Overwatch is essential at large events — here’s how agencies can deny attackers the advantage and protect the public

September 24, 2025 11:03 PM •

Election 2025 New Jersey Governor — Snipers from the Lawrenceville Police Dept. on the rooftop across from Rider University gymnasium before a gubernatorial debate with Democrat Mikie Sherrill, D-Montclair, and Republican Jack Ciattarelli, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Lawrenceville, N.J.

The attempted assassination of President Trump in July 2024 and the assassination of Charlie Kirk in September 2025 are stark reminders that securing the high ground is a key part of effective overwatch in executive protection, crowd control, area searches, and tactical operations.

A historical imperative

There are many peacetime examples of one angry man with a rifle who was able to wreak havoc and even change history by identifying and controlling the high ground in advance of an event. Here are a few examples:

November 22, 1963: Lee Harvey Oswald shot and killed John F. Kennedy from an upper window in the Texas Book Depository in Dallas, Texas.
August 1, 1966: In Austin, Texas, Charles Whitman shot and killed 15 and wounded 31 in a 96-minute shootout with police.
October 1, 2017: Steven Paddock, from his 32nd-floor room in the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, shot and killed 60 and wounded 413, while an estimated 867 were injured in the pandemonium of the crowd attending a music festival trying to escape the gunfire.

The easy fix is too often overlooked

There are simple steps agencies can take when planning for stationary events such as a street carnival, political rally, or large demonstration. The commander should visit the site in advance to identify potential risks.

When possible, bring a team sniper to survey the area and select the best position for protective overwatch. This should provide a clear bird’s-eye view of the event and cover all surrounding high points. Securing this vantage point allows police to control the high ground.

At large events, position a counter-sniper and observer with radios, optics and weapons on roofs, ramps, ridgelines, or even structures like a grain elevator. From these spots, they can detect threats, report disturbances, and identify endangered persons, fights, and crimes in progress. These teams are valuable assets for both protection and peacekeeping.

Counter-sniper ground support team

To support the counter-sniper-observer, assign ground teams specifically tasked with checking out what the observer identifies. These two-person units should have access to different radios when multiple agencies are involved, ensuring threats can be relayed and addressed without delay.

The counter-sniper-observer positioned on the high ground not only provides protective overwatch but also denies that vantage point — and all others within view — to a potential attacker.

Drones

Drones cannot replace the effectiveness of a counter-sniper-observer physically controlling the high ground. However, they can continuously monitor a wider area during an event.

To be effective, operators must be skilled and fully aware of their drones’ capabilities and limits. A pre-event rehearsal — ideally with the event commander present — ensures everyone understands what the drones can and cannot do.

The value of the drone depends entirely on the skill of its operator.

Air support

Helicopters are valuable assets when available. They can detect snipers, track violent demonstrators on the move, identify traffic jams and alternate routes, locate hiding suspects, or even find a lost child.

Most agencies do not have their own helicopter, but large events may justify mutual aid requests that bring one in for demonstrations, area searches, or political gatherings.

Commanders should also check ahead of time whether helicopters from nearby military bases, state patrol units, or medical transport companies can be called in to support law enforcement during emergencies.

Police the high ground in advance

Before an event, the high ground should be checked and secured. Riot organizers often pre-position items such as bricks, fireworks, or frozen water bottles in advance. Inspecting rooftops beforehand allows officers to find and remove these hazards before they can be used against them.

Night-time

Thermal imaging devices are expensive, but they are also priceless. Equipping an observer on the high ground with this tool during a night operation gives officers a significant advantage. Some systems can detect images from as far as 2,800 feet.

Know how to occupy the “military crest of a ridge”

During wilderness operations, controlling the high ground — usually along a ridgeline — is equally important. In these situations, counter-sniper teams should understand and use the “military crest.”

The military crest lies just below the top of a hill or ridge. From this position, officers gain maximum visibility of the slope below while avoiding the risk of being silhouetted against the sky.

For officers to be most effective at being protective, they must BICHH

For the best results, everyone involved in the operation must BICHH.

This means officers must adopt the mindset: believe it can happen here.

When a unit truly plans and operates with that belief, it is far more likely to prevent an attack from ever occurring.

History underscores this point. The European terrorist group Baader-Meinhof embraced Sun Tzu’s principle: “When the enemy is unprepared we surprise him. If he is alert we leave him alone.”

Conclusion

Being and looking prepared may involve using all the resources and tactics described here.

But sometimes it can be as simple as placing a “BICHH” officer on the high ground with binoculars, a radio, and a weapon — someone who believes it can happen here and is determined it won’t.

Anytime you are assigned a protection detail, do BICHH — and always remember to secure the high ground. Look up to look out.

Tactical takeaway

Before every operation, identify and secure elevated positions. Doing so turns potential sniper nests into your own overwatch posts.

How does your agency ensure the high ground is secured during large-scale events or tactical operations? Share below.

Police1 event security resources

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Lt. Dan Marcou

Lt. Dan Marcou is an internationally-recognized police trainer who was a highly-decorated police officer with 33 years of full-time law enforcement experience. Marcou’s awards include Police Officer of the Year, SWAT Officer of the Year, Humanitarian of the Year and Domestic Violence Officer of the Year. Additional awards Lt. Marcou received were 15 departmental citations (his department’s highest award), two Chief’s Superior Achievement Awards and the Distinguished Service Medal for his response to an active shooter.

Upon retiring, Lt. Marcou began writing. He is the co-author of “Street Survival II, Tactics for Deadly Encounters.” His novels, “The Calling, the Making of a Veteran Cop,” “SWAT, Blue Knights in Black Armor,” “Nobody’s Heroes” and “Destiny of Heroes,” as well as two non-fiction books, “Law Dogs, Great Cops in American History” and “If I Knew Then: Life Lessons From Cops on the Street.” All of Lt. Marcou’s books are all available at Amazon. Dan is a member of the Police1 Editorial Advisory Board.