By the time I realized what was happening, I had already been hit by several bullets. Though they took me completely by surprise, I soon realized my colossal mistake in the seconds that followed. But by that time, it was too late.
After responding to a call for a disorderly guy who was breaking windows, turning his apartment upside down, and scaring the neighbors in the process, I got fixated on getting this guy to stop. Not in the big-picture sense — as in resolving the issue and restoring the peace — but in the sense that he wasn’t listening to me and I was ticked off. After all, I was the one in uniform with all that authority and stuff. How dare he?
Sucked In
He retreated into a back room in yet another complete and utter disregard of my lawful orders. So, I did what any self-respecting rookie officer would do, I went after him. I figured I would just muckle onto him, throw him in handcuffs to put an end to this thing, and then move on with my day. But that’s where I went wrong.
I had been addressing him from outside his apartment door and I couldn’t see where he went or what he was doing. I let myself get sucked in and crossed the threshold into his world to bring justice to him since he wouldn’t bring himself to justice. And by doing that, I broke the one rule, and I paid for it.
Better Than This
His plan was simple. All he had to do was wait for me to walk in, which is exactly what I did. The moment I darkened the doorway of the back room is when I heard the loud pops and felt the impact of the rounds. It was a decision I couldn’t take back or undo. I was at first confused, and then when I realized what I had done and what was happening, I was angry — angry and embarrassed. I was supposed to have been better than this.
Then the announcement came to end the scenario and it was time to debrief what had happened. With blue and red paint on my chest and stomach, I stood dejected like an old pool noodle as we went over what went wrong, step by painful step. But that’s what training was for — to learn lessons, to get better, to live to fight another day. And that was one lesson I would not soon forget.
Crossing The Invisible Line
Any area uncleared is unsafe. It is a potential kill zone. Whether it’s a house, an apartment, a room, a car, or around the corner of a building or fence line, if you can’t see it then you can’t go there without clearing it first. If you imagine that there is an invisible line between you and anything on the other side of your field of view, that’s your limit of advance. Don’t go beyond it without a partner or a plan. It’s that simple.
So what happened to me? I got sucked in. I got sucked into the vortex by a scenario that was designed to suck me in. It struck at my emotions, got me frustrated, and I was reactive instead of proactive. I crossed that invisible line and I did it all on my own.
In my experience there are four things that can suck us into a danger zone: the lust for the bust, tombstone courage, impatience, and emotion — all of which can get us killed.
1. The Lust for the Bust
We can become caught up in the moment and the desire to win (the lust) and be so focused on the outcome we want (the bust) that we exclude the means, the methods, and the tactics to get us there and then do dumb, unsafe things. This is what I call the lust for the bust.
2. Tombstone Courage
Just because something bad has never happened when we’ve made egregious tactical errors in the past doesn’t mean that it never will. There is something about human nature that causes us to rationalize our past bad decisions and then justify them when we make them again by relying on the outcome of the last time. That is essentially leaving our lives to chance — much like Russian roulette — not to logic or tactics. Tombstone courage is an act of ignorance or stupidity dressed up like bravery and carried by luck, and it can get us killed.
3. Impatience
Few scenarios are truly exigent, meaning if we don’t act instantly then someone will get hurt. Oftentimes there are steps we can take to contain the bad guy, gather more information, open up a dialogue or start negotiations, and gather tools, resources, and manpower before we have to press the issue. Being impatient invites trouble and increases the likelihood of making a bad decision which can needlessly put ourselves or someone else in jeopardy. There are times we need to act immediately, but that’s not the same as impatience.
4. Emotion
The scenario I laid out in the beginning is an example of making decisions by emotion. The actor in my training scenario got under my skin, wouldn’t listen, and committed the heinous crime of Contempt of Cop. Then, I got all hot and bothered and chose to enter an uncleared room and promptly got myself shot. There was absolutely no reason for me to go in, other than my ego. The actor in that scenario wasn’t hurting anyone but himself and his Rent-A-Center furniture. I shouldn’t have let my emotions control me.
The One Rule
The one rule to follow that will help you avoid a tactical faux pas* is to never cross the invisible line into the uncleared or unknown; to not get sucked in. That includes entering houses and buildings, entering rooms, walking up on cars, rounding corners, cresting hills, and navigating obstacles like trees, dumpsters, or anything large enough for a human to hide behind. Don’t let the scenario draw you in like a moth to a flame. Let’s break it down:
Entering Rooms
Entering a room is last on the checklist. Utilize other tools like dogs and robots and mirrors before sending in people. Before entering, perform threshold evaluations, also known as combat clearing or slicing the pie. It’s better to clear as much as possible before going in, and if necessary, it’s better to fight from outside the room, not inside. Then, have a minimum of two officers enter a room when clearing, no exceptions. Going in by yourself is a fool’s errand.
Running Up On Cars
We’ve all seen it: the pursuit that ends in a crash and then watch as all the cops run up on the car and drag the driver out. Or the felony motor vehicle stop that has the driver get out and lie down next to the car as the officers walk up and bend over with their backs to the car to put handcuffs on. These are bad tactics. Treat a car like a room or a house. Instruct the bad guy to come to you and then clear it with at least two officers on the same side of the car – none of this clearing on opposite sides of the car, pointing guns at each other nonsense. I don’t know why, but we as cops get careless around cars.
Rounding Corners, Cresting Hills, & Navigating Obstacles
Foot pursuits are super dangerous. Well, thanks Captain Obvious. But it needs to be said again and again because they can become routine and we tend to get fixated on the hunt. We forget that the moment we lose sight of our quarry is the moment they can stop, turn, and wait for us to round the corner or crest the hill. And then it’s Blammo! Good night, nurse.
When you encounter corners of buildings or large obstacles like dumpsters, swing wide and slice the pie just like you would a doorway. Don’t cut it too close because by doing so you limit your visibility and shorten your reactionary gap (the space between you and them that gives you time to react). Yes, it slows your progress a little, but it will make you safer.
Off My Soapbox
Look, this isn’t meant to preach, it’s meant to make you think. Please believe me when I say I’ve made all the mistakes. All of them. I just don’t want you to make the same ones.
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- Have you made any of these mistakes?
- What was the outcome?
- What could you have done differently?
- How has experience changed you?
- Have you become sharper or more complacent over the years?
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*If you know how to pronounce faux pas and know what it means, you get 5,000 points.
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