Officers responded to the report of an armed robbery at a grocery store. When they arrived, witnesses pointed to a vehicle leaving the parking area. The officers pursued the vehicle into another jurisdiction but lost sight of the suspect vehicle.
Officers in that jurisdiction located a motor vehicle accident a short time later. One of the involved vehicles matched the description of the vehicle leaving the armed robbery. Witnesses said the driver had left and pointed him standing at a nearby gas station.
Officers went to the gas station and contacted the suspect. The officers ordered him to the front of their squad and told him to put his hands on the hood. Officers also saw a pistol in the front right pocket of the suspect.
Despite repeated commands not to reach toward his waist the suspect did so several times. He was finally told to stop, or he would be shot. When he made a motion toward his waist again, he was shot multiple times by the officers.
Here are some points to consider when examining this situation.
High-risk stop tactics
There is little doubt that the officers would have conducted a high-risk stop if they had located the suspect driving. However, in this case, the officers didn’t follow the usual procedure for a high-risk contact.
Hands up
Ordering a suspect’s hands up in the air accomplishes two things. First, it gets their hands as far away from the most common places a suspect hides a weapon, the area between the hip and navel on the dominant side, a front pocket, or behind the hip.
Second, depending on the clothing, it can either tighten the clothing to make a hidden weapon more visible or raise a covering garment up to expose the waistline.
Turn away
By having someone turn away from you, they lose sight of your exact location. Not having that known target location can reduce the speed of an attack.
Visual frisk
When dealing with a potentially armed subject, whenever possible have them raise their clothing so that you can visually inspect the most common areas suspects will carry weapons. Keep their hands high and have them grab the back of their shirt or jacket and raise it high enough to see. Clothing and body type will require different specific orders to accomplish that task. Make sure you have them raise their clothing before having them turn.
If you see a weapon, you have two options on how to deal with it: Either direct the suspect to remove it slowly following your directions or bring the suspect back to you and remove it yourself. Both have risks and benefits
Distance is your friend
According to the FBI’s LEOKA study 2010-2019, the distance between the suspect and the officers killed played a major role in those deaths: 46% occurred at five feet or less, 20% at 10-6 feet, 14% 11-20 feet, 9% at 21-50 feet and 9% at 51 feet and above.
Force Science Institute research shows that novice shooters’ firearms accuracy was only 10% less than expert shooters at close distance and the novices shot at the head more frequently with over twice the accuracy rate than the trained shooters.
Distance is situational based on the environment, the call type and the actions of the suspect, but when dealing with potentially armed suspects, get as much cover as the situation allows.
Deny cover, get cover
Whenever available, seek something that will stop a weapon during a high-risk situation. By doing so, you increase the likelihood of surviving a gunfight by 80%. Remember that what works for us works for them, too.
In this case, the officers and the suspect all had cover provided by the hood of the squad. Stopping a suspect a distance away would give you cover and deny them cover.
Hands on the hood
Based on action and reaction, placing a suspect’s hands on something doesn’t really create an advantage for you. What it does provide is an ILLUSION of an advantage. How fast can a suspect reach into their clothing, grab a gun and fire? It depends on the clothing. Force Science Institure research shows that once a suspect gets their hand on a gun they can draw and fire in around 0.25 of a second depending on what position they choose to shoot the gun.
How long does it take for officers to respond to that action from a low ready? Research shows 0.42 to 1.02 of a second if they don’t aim, longer if they do, with 0.51 of a second on average if the weapon is on target with the trigger finger indexed.
Understand that those times were measured in the lab, not on the street under stress and low light conditions that would likely make their response times longer.
Do the math and you will see why time, distance and cover add up to safer high-risk arrest situations.
