Most of the time we survive these wake-up calls, but some of us do not.
I wasnt so lucky.
Let me share my story and what I did to win the confrontation.
There are lessons here for both police officers and armed citizens alike.
My first six months had been on day shift, and Id recently moved to the afternoon watch.
As an eager young cop, I enjoyed the faster pace of the later shift.
When we came on duty at 3pm one Saturday in mid-August, the temperature was sweltering.
As if the heat wasnt bad enough, we were understaffed: just a lieutenant and two officers.
Two calls were holding: an accident with injuries and a shoplifter in custody at a local supermarket.
I arrived at the supermarket and spoke with the manager, witness and suspect.
Everyone was cooperative, and I was able to establish probable cause for an arrest.
I handcuffed the suspect and put him in my patrol car.
Both men stared at the suspect I had arrested as they walked by.
It was obvious that the men knew the suspect, and the suspect confirmed my suspicion when asked.
I drove my patrol car over to where the two men were beginning to get into a car.
I developed reasonable suspicion with articulable facts that the two new men had also been shoplifting.
Things Get Exciting
Without back-up, this rookie continued his investigation.
Both subjects gave me consent to search them for stolen property.
At this point, I had probable cause to believe the second subject stole the cheese from the store.
I took his left arm into an escort position and began walking him back to my patrol car.
As I did, I asked him if he has any weapons on him.
He responded:
Um.
I recognized immediately that he was armed and began to act.
I turned the subject sideways and slammed his body into the front wheel well of my car.
It seemed he stabbed a cop there and fully intended on killing me to make his escape.
My primary mistake was not having a back-up officer available.
He responded to my question about being armed with Um.
You know… and with that response, I knew he was armed.
I had seen the nearly identical response from Richard Blackburn just before he murderedSouth Carolina Trooper Mark Coatesin 1992.
I immediately acted and used my car as a hard surface to effectively disarm and stun the subject.
The key to this successfully working was being physically fit and having trained to perform similar maneuvers.
Mine was not the only possible solution to the armed criminal.
It is possible I could have shoved him away from me and drawn my pistol.
Someone adept in Brazilian jiu-jitsu may have employed a grappling technique.
Other methods may have been just as effective.
First, recognize a bad situation.
If you cannot leave, get help coming your way.
Key up your radio or call 911 and let someone know where you are and what is happening.
Second, understand when it is an appropriate time to fight.
If you wait until an attacker is stabbing or shooting you, you have failed to anticipate the violence.
Most attackers will reveal their intention through body language and other cues.
When this man made his move, I was already in motion.
Lastly, it is impossible to know how any attack will happen.
The criminal decides the when, where and how.
You might have to use any of the tools and skills you have at your disposal.
The better you are with them, the more flexibility you will have when responding to an unexpected attack.
Maybe Im a little smarter because of this incident.
I hope you could be a bit wiser.
