Lessons learned from an off-duty officer involved in fatal shootout at a McDonald’s

 PoliceONE News  No Responses »
Oct 052010
 

P1 Special Report: Blood Lessons: Lessons learned from an off-duty officer involved in fatal shootout at a McDonald’s

by PoliceOne Contributor Scott Buhrmaster

Article submitted by PoliceOne member who would like to remain anonymous

In response to a recent Force Science News article ( Have Gun, Will Travel? ) discussing the issue of off-duty/concealed carry, a sergeant in California shared the following account of a horrific off-duty engagement he and his family unexpectedly fell into. The hard-earned lessons he shares may save your life in an off-duty encounter, so we hope you will take them to heart.

[Editor’s note: Because of the impact this incident has had on his family, this sergeant has asked for anonymity.]

He writes:

I had taken my family to a McDonald’s Restaurant on our way to a pool party. I was off-duty, in civilian clothes, and armed.

I was standing in line and oblivious (like all the other patrons) to the fact that an armed suspect had taken the manager hostage and was forcing her to open the safe in the restaurant’s office. One of the cashiers had seen this and I overheard her telling another employee that the business was being robbed.

At that time, I had approximately 15 years of experience and was a SWAT team member and use-of-force/firearms instructor. I had talked to my wife about such an occurrence and we had a preplanned response. When I told her to take the children and leave the building, she did not hesitate. I began quietly telling employees and patrons to leave. My thinking was to remove as many innocent bystanders as possible and then leave myself.

I thought that because I did not see the suspect enter he must have come in from a side door or employee entrance and I assumed (wrongly) that he would go out the same way. As I was standing near the front counter trying to get some of the kitchen help to get out, the suspect came from the office area and began running in my direction.

I immediately noted the large semi-automatic pistol in his hand. The distance was about 15 to 20 yards. I drew my weapon, announced myself and took a kneeling position behind the counter. Unfortunately, the suspect raised his weapon at me and the gunfight erupted. The suspect fired a total of 2 rounds in my direction. I fired 11, striking him 10 times.

My weapon was now empty and I ran from the line of fire to reload my spare magazine. I then approached the downed suspect and could tell that he was seriously wounded. It was right then that I considered that there might be more than one “bad guy” (the thought had not crossed my mind before this) and I began to scan the 360 to check.

I immediately noticed a small child lying behind me. I saw blood pooling under her head and knew at a glance she was dead. One of the bullets fired at me had struck this child. Unbeknownst to me, my family had tried to exit out the fire door, which was locked. My wife was still trying to get out when the shooting started and she pushed my kids under a table where they all witnessed the gunfight.

The end result was that the suspect died, I survived, but a 9-year-old girl did not.

I tell you this story because I think that this topic is of utmost importance. It is largely ignored in mainstream police training. I want to tell you some of the lessons I learned from this incident:

1.     If you are going to carry a firearm off-duty, you should carry extra ammo. Security camera video of this incident revealed that I fired all 11 rounds from my Glock 26 in about 2 seconds. My extra mag held 17 rounds. Words cannot describe the emotion I felt when I slammed that mag into my weapon and was able to still be in the fight.

Mostly because of circumstances (distance) and my training, my rounds were on target. It could have happened differently and the reality is that most of us miss more than we hit when involved in a gun battle.

2.     You cannot have the typical police mind-set in an off-duty situation. I ended up in this incident without a radio, without backup, without body armor, handcuffs, other force options and without taking the time to think it through. I was truly most frightened when the gunfight was over and I was standing there covering the suspect with my weapon in my T-shirt and shorts.

I was really worried that one of my own guys might not recognize me. I was worried too that there might be some other off-duty copper around who would think I was the bad guy.

The smartest, most responsible thing I could have done would have been to take care of my family first. I should have seen personally to their safety. If I had grabbed them and gone outside, I would have spared them this entire experience and that little girl would probably still be alive today.

Again, words cannot describe the emotions that we all went through after this incident. I recognized afterward that it could have been one of my children lying dead because of my actions. When you are off-duty your first responsibility is to your family. You should never forget this.

3.     I survived this incident. Partly due to my training and tactics. Partly due to God’s grace and blind luck. But the other side of the coin is that I got into this incident because of my training. I switched immediately into “cop” mode without stopping to consider that I was at a great tactical disadvantage. Most of us are driven and dedicated to the point of self destruction and I think good cops die because we are taught to place our personal safety second when others are in danger.

Because I had never trained realistically for a situation like this, I was unprepared. Most of the guys I worked with then and now carry off-duty weapons. But few of them, if any, have really taken the time to engage in realistic training and preparation for how to handle an off-duty incident.

Training can be as simple as discussing these types of situations with your coworkers. Since this shooting, I have devoted at least one quarterly range session with my students to off-duty encounters and the associated considerations.

4.     The responsibility of carrying a firearm is huge. I had devoted countless hours to training for the fight, but was not fully prepared for the aftermath. None of the training scenarios, books, films, etc. that I learned from touched upon the fact that when you take that gun out and decide to take action, 9-year-old kids can get killed. Even if you do everything by the book, use good tactics, and are within policy and the law, the outcome can still be negative.

You have to remember that the suspect does not go to the range and he does not practice rules of weapons safety. He does not care about what’s in his line of fire. If it’s you or him, you gotta do what you gotta do, but whether you’re on-duty or off-duty we need to train to look at the totality of the incident.

Letting the bad guy go because doing otherwise would place innocent people in grave danger needs to be more “socially acceptable” amongst our ranks. I think we’re starting to see more of this in the pursuit policies of most agencies and I have tried to carry this message over into my training and teaching.

I guess the bottom line here is that it’s good to be on “auto pilot” when it comes to tactics in these situations, but we can’t go on auto pilot in our assessment and examination of the environment and circumstances leading up to and during the event. On-duty mind-set and off-duty mind-set need to be strongly separated and the boundaries clear.

– A California Sergeant

Search First or Handcuff First? Neither!

 PoliceONE News, Safety  No Responses »
Oct 042010
 

By Sgt. Steve “Pappy” Papenfuhs, PoliceOne Contributor

A county deputy was shot in the face and killed by an auto theft suspect. A city police officer was shot in the face and killed by a subject trying to cash bad checks. A state trooper was shot in the upper body during a car stop. The trooper survived despite numerous bullet wounds. In all three events the officers were standing behind the suspects attempting to handcuff them when the offender pulled a hidden weapon and shot over their shoulders striking the officers.

Let’s list the “mistakes” some say these officers made. First, the officers did not correctly apply a control-hold while performing the handcuffing. Next, the officers did not put the suspect in a position of disadvantage. Third, the officers should have waited for a backup officer before attempting the arrest, and operating alone was the ultimate error. Fourth, the officers were all attempting to place the handcuff on the controlled wrist when they should have cuffed the uncontrolled hand first. Finally, the officers were shot because they were handcuffing before searching; and, had they searched first they would have discovered the weapon before the subject had an opportunity to access it.

To all these arguments I respond, “Maybe…maybe not.”

It’s human nature to go into denial when hearing of these tragedies. Cops are very susceptible to this trait due to our drive and controlling nature. When an officer is killed in the line of duty, we have an inherent emotional need to explain it by delineating the mistakes made, confident that we would not have made those errors. But, if we are intellectually honest, we will acknowledge that we all make errors every day; and we would admit that we have often operated in a similar fashion. There but for the grace of God go anyone of us.

How can we improve our odds in similar circumstances? First, after acknowledging that we are only human, prone to errors, and not invincible, we admit that:

  1. There is no “control-hold” that can absolutely control everyone.
  2. There is no such thing as a “position of advantage” or a “position of disadvantage.” The suspect almost always has the advantage. He has no rules of engagement. He has no need to follow any constitutional provisions or force policies. He usually gets the first move, forcing us to respond to his actions. We can only operate in a way that provides “less-disadvantage” to us and “less-advantage” for the suspect.
  3. Backup officers are not always available, or the immediacy of the action makes it imprudent to wait for backup.
  4. Grasping one of the suspect’s hands and cuffing the other hand does not necessarily control either.
  5. The belief that searching before handcuffing is the magic bullet is erroneous. In the case of the deputy, he did search first but missed a firearm concealed in the suspect’s rear pants pocket. Additionally, if you are conducting a full body search in close quarters with an unsecured subject, then you are exposed in both place and time. In other words, you have a divided-attention issue wherein you are trying to both control and search a subject simultaneously — and you’re doing this for a relatively extended time period. If the suspect is dedicating all his mental effort on developing a plan of attack while you are busy controlling, searching, scanning for other threats, listening to your radio, considering what you are physically detecting, determining whether you have the legal authority to continue your actions, etcetera, then you are seriously behind the reactionary curve — especially since you have virtually no reaction time due to the intimacy of the distance.

Once we recognize the disadvantages we face, we can then begin to formulate survival strategies. But, first we need to recognize one last idiosyncrasy shared by the three described events. In each case the officers had contact with only one of the subject’s hands during the cuffing process. All subjects had one hand free, and in each case it was the right hand. The vast majority of the population is right handed. Should we cuff that hand or control that hand? If you’re following the human factors under discussion, you know there is no good answer to this question.

Most officers when conducting a pat-frisk have the subject’s hands interlaced either behind his head or at the small of his back. Where you frisk will depend upon where you reasonably believe a weapon might be secreted. The law allows you to search the outer clothing from head to toe, including reaching under shirts and jackets when reasonably necessary.

Offenders generally carry their firearms in the waistband and pockets. They do so for ease of access. Therefore, most defense-tactics search patterns start with these areas before moving to less probable and less accessible areas. If you really believe that a subject is armed wouldn’t you be safer if he was handcuffed before you frisked him? Of course you would. But, in the process of handcuffing him you have the divided-attention issue discussed earlier. You are trying to control his hands while you are accessing your handcuffs, getting the proper grip on the cuffs, and then applying them to the subject’s wrists. Meanwhile, the subject might have a weapon of which you are unaware but is immediately accessible to him.

Tactics are a tradeoff — a balancing act. Every time you create a tactic to solve a problem, you create a new problem. Both the “search first” and the “handcuff first” theories have inherent dangers. I submit that we must find the reasonable “somewhere in between” strategy. That strategy is the Grip-Protective Sweep (GPS). Simply put, grip the subject’s hands either behind his head or behind his back. Know that there are pros and cons to each of these positions (in fact, that is a topic of discussion we will have at another time in the future).

Conduct a limited frisk of the areas that subjects are known to carry weapons and that are easily accessible to them. We call this a “protective sweep” to discriminate between this action and a full search. Once you have determined to the best of your ability that the subject is not armed with an immediately accessible weapon (and if he does have one, use your trained tactics to deal with that) handcuff him. After he is handcuffed, conduct your Terry frisk or your search incident to arrest.

We have used this strategy at the San Jose Police academy with good success. Is this the silver bullet? Probably not. After 29 years of law enforcement experience, the only thing I know is that the more I know, the more I know I don’t know. But, at this point the strategy seems to fulfill the needs of the “balancing act” between the search first / handcuff first extremes. You satisfy the “search first” proponents by establishing whether or not there is a weapon present in the “high-risk” areas before handcuffing. You satisfy the “handcuff first” proponents by handcuffing a subject prior to conducting a full-body search. You limit your “time in the hole” (that area in close proximity to a subject) with an unsecured suspect. And, you satisfy the human factors experts who correctly insist that it is extremely difficult to pay attention to more than one thing at a time.

I am open to suggestions from others, and always willing to learn something new. If you have a tactic that works for you I certainly would like to know about it. Please contact me and tell me about your experiences. Like most trainers, I steal from others without remorse.

Moscow Motorcyclist’s Crazy High-Speed Commute

 Motorcycle, News  1 Response »
Sep 292010
 

Driving to work in the morning can be a tedious and annoying affair. At least, we imagine it is, since we are chained to the wall of a basement staring at a computer screen for 23.5 hours per day. One vehicle that can make any commute quicker is a motorcycle… perhaps even a stupid-fast literbike like the Yamaha R1.

Combine a rider with a need for death speed, a 25-mile commute through Russian traffic and a powerful two-wheeled samurai sword, and you get a video showing the “quick” way to work. Sometimes this two-wheeler even becomes a one-wheeler as rare empty stretches of road disappear when the nose goes skyward.

According to our tipster Andy (Thanks!), the title translates to “A couple minutes of my life could be more interesting than the whole life of the other people.” It’s certainly interesting, but we prefer pushing vehicles to our limit on a track. Regardless, the music choice is excellent and the riding would make Trinity jealous. We don’t condone this type of action, but that doesn’t mean we can’t all check out the video, which you can watch after the jump.

I could name a few people who could do some of the same stuff.  However, maybe not in this kind of traffic.

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE.

Wait A Few Minutes Before Taking the License

 PoliceONE News, Safety  No Responses »
Sep 252010
 

Submitted by:
PoliceOne Staff

When you ask someone for their license, registration, and insurance documents during a traffic stop, do you take them out of the driver’s hand immediately after they’re presented to you? If so, you might be robbing yourself of a valuable behavioral observation opportunity.

Instead, consider waiting a few extra seconds, particularly if you think you might be dealing with someone hinky. As you know, a higher than usual level of nervousness can be a reliable indicator of possible problems. By waiting a little longer to grab the license or other paperwork you’re giving yourself an opportunity to watch for extreme shaking. One interdiction officer reported dealing with a driver who began shaking so badly after the officer hesitated before taking his license that he could barely keep it from falling out of his hand.

Sure enough, the guy turned out to be a mule.

Harley-Davidson Sidecars: A Thing of The Past

 Motorcycle, News  No Responses »
Sep 212010
 
Written by Taryn Kukucka
Thursday, 05 August 2010 08:49
With the new plans to increase sales, Harley-Davidson will eliminate the production and sales of sidecars. I know you’re all very disappointed since sidecars are such a hot addition to your motorcycle, but there just isn’t a demand in the market for them anymore.Harley first released the sidecar to customers back in 1914 as a solution to transporting belongings without having to sacrifice riding your motorcycle. It’s also a spot for another passenger to ride in or even a dog if you really need to. But I’m sure everyone would agree that sidecars aren’t that great of an addition to a Harley, which is probably why you rarely see em attached to many bikes. Financially, this is a great move on the manufacturer’s part to cut costs where money isn’t generating.It seems as though Harley really is taking their new marketing plan seriously, and hoping to bring a new wave of motorcycle buyers.

Laughlin Bash Public Safety M/C Rally

 Overnight, Poker Runs, Police  No Responses »
Sep 202010
 

The Laughlin Bash Public Safety Motorcycle Rally is September 29th – October 3rd.  I am a Co founder of the Rally and it would be great to get the Blue Knights out to the function.  The site is LAUGHLINBASH. The more Knights the better 🙂

I also attached a colored flyer which can be emailed and posted. Thanks in advance

John Knapp (aka Napstr)

Laughlin Bash Info/Registration

The Laughlin Bash is a non-profit Public Safety motorcycle event for ALL active and retired Public Safety personnel. (i.e. EMS, Police, Fire, Corrections etc). This Event is not to be confused with the Laughlin River Run, which is held in April.

The Rally is an opportunity for all current and retired Public Safety personnel to get together, make new and see old friends. If you don’t ride a motorcycle come on by anyhow.

Laughlin is a great place to hold this event.  It has the hotel rooms, casinos, outlet shopping and water sport activities on the Colorado River.  Let’s put it this way, there’s a lot to do in Laughlin and at the hotel.  There is the Beach…Paddle Boats, Jet Ski Rentals, the Comedy Club at 7:00 pm each night and Octoberfest on the Boardwalk for all of October!

The average temperature is in the low 90’s to 70’s in the evening, with no to very little humidity, and LOTS of sunshine……… the guaranteed great riding weather!

Our preferred hotel this year will be the Edgewater Hotel – Casino Resort.

We also provide links to the other hotels nearby if you prefer to stay somewhere else.

On the Saturday night, the 50/50 draw will take place for monies going to the winner’s favorite Charity.  The more people you have in your group attending and the more tickets you purchase, the greater chance of winning.  On your registration online for attendance, please list your Charity.

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Southern Az. Motorcycle Rally 9/25/10

 Poker Runs, Rally  No Responses »
Sep 192010
 

Presented by Americas Defenders.  America’s Defenders and the Southern Arizona Motorcycle Rally was created to show support, raise awareness, and to help our defenders and their families by giving vital support to those in need.  This year we are going to raise awareness for and provide assistance to homeless veterans.  We will be holding a poker run and all day event at the Holiday Inn Airport North with the proceeds going to Benefit The VA. Homeless Program at the Southern Arizona VA Hospital in Tucson, Az.   See Facebook page by clicking here for more information or visit our  8:00 A.M.

Americas Defenders

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Holiday Inn Airport
4450 South Palo Verde Road
Tucson, AZ
520746-1161

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