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Like other professional law enforcement trainers, I conduct on-going research to identify situations that frequently result in peace officers being seriously injured or killed in the line of duty. Utilizing this information, I try to identify dangerous trends in criminal activity and offer recommendations that officers can employ to minimize the threats that they face in the field.

Based on this research, I wrote about police suicide, traffic accidents and vehicular assaults in previous Live to Retire articles, identifying these as the most prolific of cop killers.

In this offering, I’d intended to quote recent statistics and write in general terms about the traditional activities that all too often result in cops becoming the victims of violence. But while reviewing the circumstances surrounding officer murders that have occurred as of late, an alarming commonality in several such events screamed for immediate attention: officer disarmings.

Tragic Examples
On The Officer Down Memorial Page (www.ODMP.org) it’s reported that 146 officers suffered line of duty deaths in this country during 2003, 47 of which were slain by felonious gunfire. The alarming fact is that 12 of those 47 officers were murdered by suspects who’d gained control of a peace officer’s sidearm! These events occurred in Alaska, Alabama, Montana, Oklahoma, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and the state of Washington. Two officers were slain in this fashion both in Alabama and Washington, while the South Carolina law enforcement community suffered three loses after officer disarmings.

Not surprisingly, most of these tragedies began in typical fashion, with cops responding to traditional calls for service, interacting with persons about whom they knew little, and during subsequent attempts to apprehend offenders willing to do anything to avoid a prison stint - or in many cases, another prison stint guaranteed to be longer than their last one. Until the point that precious blood was spilled, some of these situations, including the following examples, might even have been classified as “routine” by those who haven’t yet figured out that there is no such thing in police work.

• In Abbeville, South Carolina, a sheriff’s sergeant was taken hostage, disarmed and executed by a father and son duo after the deputy went to their residence in an attempt to resolve a dispute between them and highway workers. The suspects were outraged that a small parcel of their property had been seized through eminent domain in order to widen a state highway. A county constable was also shot and killed upon arriving at the scene after one of the suspects called an acquaintance to report that they’d shot a cop. After a lengthy standoff and gunbattle, during which the father was shot, both suspects were arrested. They later claimed, “A right of revolution.”

• In Christiansburg, Virginia, an officer responded to a convenience store regarding a reported shoplifting. Unbeknownst to the officer, the man standing in front of the business was the suspect. The man brutally attacked the officer before he could exit his patrol car. After the officer fought his way out of his unit, the suspect knocked him to the ground, took his sidearm and shot him dead. The suspect was killed shortly thereafter during an exchange of gunfire with a deputy sheriff.

• After breaking up a fight involving three people, an officer in Federal Way, Washington, pursued and caught one of the combatants who’d fled on foot. During a struggle with the suspect, the man gained control of the officer’s duty weapon and fatally shot him.

And if what you’ve read so far hasn’t caused you sufficent concern, consider this: before the first six weeks of this new year had passed, 14 officers died in the line of duty across the nation, and disarmings resulting in officer murder had happened again…not once, but three times!

• An Orleans Parish, Louisiana, deputy sheriff was shot and killed during a robbery while providing security at a bank on January 8th. Three suspects entered the business and disarmed the deputy at gunpoint. During a gunfight between the suspects and a second officer in the bank, the deputy sustained a fatal gunshot wound to his chest.

• On 1/30/04, a 24-year-old narcotics officer with the St. Louis, Missouri, police department was disarmed and fatally shot as he and his partner were attempting to arrest a man after a drug transaction. Although the suspect also shot the slain officer’s partner, he was able to return fire and kill the assailant. The murdered officer, who left a 13-month-old boy without a father, was the son of a 31-year veteran of the St. Louis P.D.

• In Riverdale, Illinois, the arrest of a man for home invasion, aggravated kidnapping and attempted murder ended tragically when the suspect overpowered a police detective, took his sidearm and used it to kill the officer on February 4th. The initial attack and disarming occurred in the police station while the suspect was being escorted from an interview room to a holding cell by the detective. Because the man, a felon with multiple prior convictions, had been cooperative with investigators, he wasn’t handcuffed. The offender left the station with the detective as a hostage and then shot the 14-year veteran in the head, execution style. The desperate suspect also shot an elderly man during one of three attempts to commandeer a getaway vehicle. The suspect was killed soon thereafter when he aimed the gun he’d taken at three Riverdale Officers.

The Illinois case and a similar one occurring last year in Fayette, Alabama, serve as grim reminders that arrested persons, even those not exhibiting outward signs of aggression, may just be biding their time, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

o In the Alabama attack, occurring on June 7th, two officers were booking a cooperative 18-year-old auto theft suspect when the man grabbed one of the officers’ pistols and used it to kill that officer, his partner and a police dispatcher. The suspect then stole a police car and drove it to Mississippi, where he was taken into custody. It wasn’t common practice in this small town for officers to secure their sidearms before processing arrestees

Train to Survive

The frequency with which peace officers have been murdered following ‘gun grabs’ is unprecedented, certainly in recent years. It’s painfully obvious that academy, in-service and roll call training sessions must immediately focus on weapon retention.

It’d be wonderful if more politicians followed the lead of three members of Washington State’s 58th Legislature. Earlier this year they introduced House Bill 2379, titled The Saul Gallegos Peace Officer Survival Act of 2004, named in honor of a Chelan County Deputy Sheriff killed with his own gun during a car stop in June 2003. The measure is intended to provide $1 million to The Criminal Justice Training Commission for the sole purpose of providing Washington peace officers comprehensive training in weapon retention and survival techniques. Deputy Gallegos, by the way, was the second of three Washington cops killed in the 14-month period ending in August, ’03.

Though emergency funding of this sort likely won’t be made available in other states, in-house trainers, field training officers, peer leaders and patrol supervisors can, and certainly should, provide on-going survival-based training.

If such training is not provided within your department, find it elsewhere. Even if you must attend a class on your own time and at personal expense, if that instruction saves you from being injured or killed, your sacrifices of time and money will be richly rewarded. The training will be a better bargain still if you bring back what you learn and share it with your brother and sister officers.

No Holds Barred

Under what conditions are you likely to face a disarming attempt, and how should you respond when it happens? I don’t think those questions can be answered any better than they are in The Saul Gallegos Peace Officer Survival Act: “Most of these incidents involve rapidly evolving situations, close quarters, and hardened high risk subjects. If an aggressor attempts to strip an officer of his or her weapon it should be considered a deadly force issue and dealt with accordingly.”

Accordingly, in my book, means that officers must first try to lock their sidearm in its holster with one or both hands and twist their body violently in an attempt to break the suspect’s grip, simultaneously launching a vicious counter attack using any weapons at their disposal, to include not only fists, forearms, elbows, and knees, but their baton, flashlight or even a big stick or a rock within reach. A forceful head butt to the suspect’s face, a thumb gouge to his eye or a strike to his Adam’s apple may also have the desired effect of providing you a small measure of time and distance. And since no court has ever banned any specific tactic, technique or weapon when lives were at stake, an ink pen from your shirt pocket or a knife kept handy for just such emergencies can be thrust into the suspect’s chest, throat, temple or eye socket.

While these options may sound barbaric to some, remember that there’ll be no fouls called and no penalties assessed for fighting as vigorously as you must to save your own life. Thus, biting, scratching, screaming and kicking are also permitted.

If a suspect should grab the muzzle end of your drawn weapon, or if it’s wrested from its holster and you’re still fighting for control of it, have an immediate action plan in your tactical tool bag with which to instantly respond. A technique commonly taught involves dropping your center of gravity and driving the weapon in a two-handed grip into the suspect’s face with all the explosive power you can muster, and then snatching it forcefully back to your chest. While practicing this in instructional scenarios (with a deactivated training weapon, of course) I’ve never seen a ‘bad guy’ who could hang on.

In a real world situation this action likely won’t be anticipated by the suspect, which may well result in the muzzle impacting the aggressor’s face with sufficient force to knock him down, or at least temporarily stun him. After the cuffs are applied he may require a trip to the dentist, but much better that he go to the hospital than you go to the morgue. But even if this technique gets the attacker off of you, the fight may not yet be out of him. Be prepared to follow up with additional applications of force, never losing sight of the fact that the individual just tried to take your gun – and your life.

Should any law enforcement officer of any rank doubt whether a gun grab constitutes a deadly threat, please read this article again from the top, and also consider this:

• In a study conducted by the F.B.I. titled, “In the Line of Fire: Violence Against Law Enforcement” forty distinct cases of serious assaults on police officers were evaluated. In that review, which involved 52 victim officers, all of whom survived violent attacks, 7 of them were disarmed by their assailants. In every case, the officer’s firearm was then used against him or her. *

Equipment Issues

There is no doubt that proper equipment often plays an important roll in personal survival. Backup guns, for example, have saved the lives of many officers over the years, while the lack of a second firearm has cost police lives. Being able to quickly get to your secondary weapon is crucial, and officers should carry them where they are accessible to either hand. A popular backup gun holster system is one that affixes to the trauma plate pocket of the officer’s ballistic vest. The uniform shirt is altered with a Velcro closure so that it can be ripped opened with either hand to access the weapon. +

Unfortunately, some are still of the opinion that disarmings would never occur if every officer would simply invest in a good security holster. I can assure you that some of San Antonio’s finest would argue that point. Last year in The Alamo City, four officers were shot by a violent parolee using a pistol he’d ripped from an officer’s level III security holster…and it was a very popular model made by a reputable and well-known manufacturer. Thankfully, the officers survived their gunshot wounds. The suspect wasn’t so lucky.

The Bottom Line

The proper survival mindset should be built with this axiom as its foundation: “I know it’s going to happen. I just don’t know when.” “It” of course, is a confrontational situation during which you’ll have to use deadly force to save your very life. On the means streets of modern America, such threats may face you several times over the course of your career. And while you may not be able to predict with any certainty how the scenario will begin, you must prepare yourself mentally and physically to the extent that you know damn well how it’ll end – with you as the victor!

* The “In the Line of Fire: Violence Against Law Enforcement” study, as well as the annual LEOKA Report and another one titled, Killed in The Line of Duty, can be obtained by calling 304-625-4995.

+ Many law enforcement agencies strictly prohibit by policy the carrying of secondary firearms. Permission is granted to print this article and provide it to those who may still doubt the need to allow this practice.

Until next time, dedicate yourself to do what you must so that you can “Live to Retire!”

Doyle “D.T.” Wright
"DT" retired from the Riverside County, California, Sheriff’s Department, and since 1998 has traveled throughout the country to provide law enforcement training related to officer survival, high risk warrant planning and execution, police action shootings and tactical response to dynamic events.

If you have an immediate need for information, please contact us by phone at: 317-733-1971 or we can be reached by email at: dtw169@livetoretire.com