“One Officer”

“One Officer”

 

Let’s get something straight: Cops are not paid to die. They are a part of a government authority, and the nature of the job can, and too often does, result in the death of an officer, but self-sacrifice is not part of the job. Period.

The reason for my direct approach to this concept is how often I read comments by people who felt the police in Uvalde, as well in other shooting situations, should just go “charging in” and shoot the guy and get the kids out. As if it were that simple.

I can assure you; it is not.

According to the training I received, backed up with 15 years of law enforcement experience, the first rule of law enforcement is to go home alive. You may think that in the light of stories describing how brave the children were, in begging law enforcement to save them and “no one came”, that my position is rather cold. Granted the situation in Uvalde was different, and there was a significant and fatal delay. I’m addressing policy, not practice. My position is no colder than the idea that a single officer should be expected to just run into a school building and “confront the shooter”. To me, that is suicide. The perception of what should happen overtakes the general public, as they are caught up in the emotion of the times. The reality is, there’s a way to do it right, and a policy can be put in place that describes how. It may already be, depending on where you live. Policy often doesn’t make it into the field. That has to stop.

Contrary to what you see on television, where the bad guy is supposed to lose and almost always does, police work is cold and dangerous. It has been said law enforcement is 97% boredom and 3% panic. I can tell you I spent more time driving around watching the public go about their daily lives than I spent solving crimes and catching criminals. I did my share, though.

Here’s the situation. An officer is dispatched to multiple reports of a gunman in a school The dispatcher reports “shots fired”. You’re the closest responding unit. You have the training, you have the experience, you even have the weapons to go in. What do you do?
 

There is an aspect of these emergencies that has been overlooked. One officer responding even with backup is going to get there and be first on the scene. It is his job to immediately put aside everything except the situation itself. He cannot consider anything else, even if he has family inside. He’s not just going to run in with his uniform, his badge and his sidearm and when he finds the gunman, shoot him. After arriving on the scene, the officer must report what he can see and hear. He must make contact with witnesses if any are immediately available. He uses his own eyes and ears to determine if the shooter is still active, meaning there is still a risk to innocent life. He must determine as closely as he can where the gunman may be, and is he stationary or on the run. And, he has to do all of this and more without consideration for emotional factors such he may know someone in the building.

Of course, his safety is a consideration, but it cannot stop him from acting. It must, however, influence his decision on HOW he will act, not if.

These are some of the first actions he must take:

• Update dispatch and all incoming responders of the immediate situation, including any risk factors they may face on arrival. 
  
• He must maintain radio contact with those officers and announce that he is initiating a response to locate and neutralize all threats. 
• If another officer has arrived, an instant decision is made to wait and go together, or proceed alone, again without delay. The strategy is, again, “neutralize the threat” and to do so as quickly with minimum injury or loss of life to “civilians first, injured individuals second, and the officers third, and the suspect(s) last” in that order. 
• His location must be known to all responders at all times. Backup cannot reach him if they do not know his approximate location.

These and other considerations are part of the training. The tactics he uses to proceed have been practiced. He may be alone, but other officers must be able to reach him as soon as possible. Then, the response is coordinated. There is no “busting doors and going through walls”. If a SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team is available and responding, they will take up support positions for the officers inside, or intercept them and assume the front line.

 There is no guarantee any of this will work. The gunman has a plan that could virtually be anything from targeting a single individual, to taking out as many people as possible, to what is know as “suicide by cop”. Having been challenged by police, the gunman may make a deliberate move to cause a reaction from officers to fire.

 There is yet another circumstance the officer may face: When NOT to fire. The gunman is more than likely a student, or someone who belongs in the facility in question, giving them the advantage.

• The gunman may have concealed himself, and another student is mistaken for the suspect. 
• There may be armed staff who are also attempting to find the gunman. 
• There may actually be parents who have entered the building on their own in an attempt to rescue their own children. 
• Students may be attempting to escape on their own, many of them trying to tell the officer information. 
• There are published recommendations to students that when they encounter law enforcement, they are to lay on the ground. I’m not even going to address why this is stupid. 
• The gunman has taken a hostage or hostages.

 Not so simple, is it?

         The civilian emergency services are comprised of dangerous professions. “There was never a day when I put on my uniform without the thought that someone else might have to take it off me”. I would like to take credit for this quotation, but I can’t. I will tell you this idea was never far from my mind. Every shift, every squad call, every fire alarm, the risk is the same, and yes, it’s part of the job.

There are those in law enforcement who exploit their authority. Many who react with fear, forgetting their training and their compassion. I won’t deny it. I am often embarrassed for my profession. But I believe there are far more good cops out there than bad ones.

 So should you.