Keep Out of Trouble

Document, document, document. One of the best things you can do to stay out of trouble is to document everything that happens at an incident. More detail is usually better than less detail. Explain why you did what you did. The suspect generally initiates any violent action. Document what the suspect said or did that needed you to respond with violence.

Suspects will generally telegraph what they are going to do to you or to others. Document those telegraphed actions and words. Paint a word picture of your experience, tell others exactly what happened that caused you to have to use force. Police work is frequently reactionary, based on the suspects actions. Police use of force is generally predictable, we use force when it is legal and our agency policy and training tell us it it a good idea to use force when a specific situation happens.

If the suspect says "I am going to kick your fucking ass." The quote him exactly, as best as you can remember. Indicate the tone of voice the suspect was using, he was loud, firm, strong voice. He was less than a foot away from my face when the shouted that to me. He was pointing his index finger at the center of my chest when he yelled at me. The suspects face was flushed red and the veins were bulging out of his forehead and he was spitting as he screamed. Is there any doubt that that suspect needs to be brought under control? Document what happened, that's what the SGT Says.

Do Your Job Right

The Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund

Sgt. Chris Edmondson, Officer Dominguez, and Officer Baca have all been indicted for the involuntary manslaughter of Jesse Saenz. They responded to a domestic dispute, during which the suspect was violent and had to be Tased. The suspect was arrested and transported to the station. When at the station, they realized he had stopped breathing and the paramedics were called.

The autopsy revealed that Jesse Saenz had high levels of cocaine, nemzoylecgonine, cocaethylene and hydroxzione in his blood and died as a result of cocaine intoxication. Over time the community complained and eventually the three officers were charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Every day officers risk their lives trying to keep our communities safe. Sometimes they have to kill people to stay alive or save others. Sometimes people die in custody. Officers have a difficult job to do and they should not be subjected to prosecution for doing their jobs in the manner that they have been trained to do them; that's what the SGT Says.

Gear

My friend Terry sent the following email to the folks at LAPoliceGear.com

"Dear Mr. Frank,

I hope this find you well.

I am writing concerning an order I placed online in 2006. (details follow below)

To sum things up, I placed an order online for 3 shirts.

I never received the items I ordered.

The payment for the order cleared my bank account.

I contacted customer service regarding the matter and was advised they would have to research the matter.

They never called me back.

Since the shirts are probably all gone, I wanted a refund.

I would still like a refund or store credit.

I hate to say it, but I have refused to do business with your company ever since.

I would like to be a satisfied customer and place repeat orders, but the first order I placed went poorly and the issue has yet to be resolved.

I am writing to you to request you verify my concern and issue me a refund or store credit.

Thanks for your time.

Cordially,

Terry "

Naturally, I only have the messages from my friend and like Terry, have not heard from the folks at LAPoliceGear. After reading this message, they won't hear from me either; that's what the SGT Says.

Wounded

Once three or four first responder police are on site, they should form a team and move to the sound of gunfire, immediately. They need to communicate to their dispatch the nature of the even and their response. They need to coordinate follow on units, but the next unit to arrive should take over that task from the team to allow them to concentrate on neutralizing the threat.

If there are thought to be multiple suspects in multiple sites, then multiple teams should be formed to deal with each one. A command post needs to be set up very soon to coordinate additional responding units. Medical personnel should be escorted or only allowed into cleared areas. This may delay medical treatment but there are ways to speed things up.

Set up a triage area in a secure spot near the command post. Have medics coordinate the treatment and transport of the injured. Once enough law enforcement arrive, additional teams can penetrate the danger zone and extract the wounded. Some law enforcement vehicles may be needed to snatch and grab some of the wounded and race them to the hospital. Wounded are the second highest priority, that's what the SGT Says.

Leave the Wounded

As the initial responders to an active shooter the primary duty is the stop the active shooter. That may be by shooting them, taking them into custody, or even driving them to ground so that the incident becomes a barricaded suspect. Stopping the shooter means that the initial responders must focus on finding the shooter and taking rapid action to stop his violent actions.

That means that the team must bypass locations where additional suspects may be hiding as they move towards the sound of gunfire. It also means the team cannot stop to render aid to victims or even downed officers. This certainly flies in the face of what we have been trained to do in normal situations. You have to focus on the goal of stopping the active shooter to prevent more victims from being created.

How can you justify leaving wounded people, perhaps to die? You have to stop the active shooter. If the initial responders stop to treat wounded, then as they are doing that, other wounded or dead will be created. It is the job of the secondary responders to aid the injured. Leave the paramedics or additional police the job of treating the wounded, go for the shooter; that's what the SGT Says.

Active Shooter Response

The first officers to arrive at an active shooter scene must determine the nature of what is happening and coordinate the responding units. Try and find out how many suspects there are, the nature of their weapons, their descriptions, and where they are located.

Time is essential and so once three or four officers are on site you need to move rapidly towards the shooter. The team needs to concentrate on stopping the shooter, not rescuing victims; leave that for follow up officers and paramedics.

The team must rapidly stop the active shooter to stop more people from becoming victims. Once the shooter is located, if he does not surrender, then you must engage him in accordance with your agency shooting policy. Generally, if he is continuing to threaten people with a deadly weapon, then the shooter should be shot until he stops being a threat. Once the threat stops, take the suspect into custody; that's what the SGT Says.

Formations

A team of four officers in a diamond formation, one officer on point, one just to the rear and right and left of the point and a rear officer. The officer to the right rear is the unit commander. The point officer watches to the front, the two side officers look to their respective flanks and the rear officer looks to the rear.

The advantage is that the unit can give three officers weapons to any direction. The disadvantage is it is a bit more ponderous to move around than the T formation. This is an excellent formation when you are not really sure where the threat is located. It moves slow, but works well in areas where there are many rooms to check.

The final formation is the stack. Four officers one behind the other, close to one another, the last officer facing to the rear. The stack is best for very narrow areas. It only allows one officer to the front or rear, the second and third officers face to the front, but can look to the side if there is space to check. This works well for a balcony on an apartment building or motel. Pick a formation to use that fits the nature of the threat and the terrain; that's what the SGT Says.