Recently, the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney’s office released a report of its investigation into the July 17, 2016, ambush attack in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. While more legally oriented than a typical law enforcement after-action report, we can glean some important lessons learned.
First, understand my deep and abiding respect for the officers killed and wounded in this terrible incident. It is never easy to second guess the actions of officers caught up in such an event, especially when lives were lost. However, I feel by analyzing the details and disseminating information that could save lives in the future, we honor our fallen brothers.
Those who regularly read my column know I have written about the explosion of ambush attacks on U.S. police officers. Over the last few years I have researched this subject and taught counter-ambush tactics to many police groups. Since the tactics I present were primarily learned from officers who lost their ambush fight, it has been gratifying to recently analyze the actions of some ambush winners. The details from the Baton Rouge ambush further illustrate how some police actions can make you more vulnerable to the attacker’s actions and, more important, how some of our recommended tactics can put you in the winner category.
A breakdown of the Baton Rouge attack
The Baton Rouge attack began with a citizen report of a man with a rifle at the B-Quik convenience store. At the time of the call, three officers were already at the B-Quik, one working a hire-back security detail there, one purchasing a drink and the other washing his car. The suspect was in and out of his vehicle in the vicinity, scouting how best to launch his attack.
As two of the officers worked together, searching outside the building and adjoining parking lots, the killer shot both of them from behind with a 5.56mm IWI Tavor semi-automatic carbine. Both of those officers died without returning fire. The third on-scene officer had taken cover by a dumpster when the shooting began, then left the cover to approach one of the first downed officers. The assailant, possibly waiting for another officer to approach his first two victims, then opened fire on the third officer. That officer retreated from the fight while firing 13 rounds from his handgun, but was fatally wounded.
Four additional officers quickly arrived in response to the calls for help, one two-officer unit and two solo officers. Three of the four were engaged and severely wounded by the attacker.
Six members of the Baton Rouge PD Special Response Team were at a nearby police facility and responded to the scene, two officers in each of three vehicles. The attacker engaged one arriving SRT team, who immediately returned fire, putting the suspect down. The other two SRT teams made tactical approaches to the downed suspect’s location, which enabled arriving patrol officers to rescue one severely wounded officer and get him to medics. The downed attacker was still moving, attempting to reach his carbine, so the SRT officers opened fire until the killer was no longer a threat. Three officers killed, three additional officers wounded and one killer neutralized in 13 minutes, 55 seconds.
Traditional response plays into an attacker’s plan
Cops patrol, respond and react primarily as lone wolves. Even when several officers gather at the scene of a dangerous call, we often see each officer doing what they think most important, rather than acting as a cohesive team.
The three on-scene officers hunted the “man with a rifle” as a solo officer and a two-officer team. Yet the two-officer team was taken by surprise and killed from behind, so they must have both been focused forward. The solo officer left cover to check on the first downed officers and was also taken by surprise. The next three arriving officers were wounded as they arrived on scene, even though they had multiple radio warnings of “shots fired.”
I have long taught that officers must form teams when responding to potential ambush attacks, as the killers expect us to arrive in our typical staggered response pattern – one at a time. When those teams are formed, they must adopt Rapid Deployment/Active Shooter Response contact team tactics, which requires a rear guard to avoid being surprised from behind. If only two officers are available, that buddy team must still have one officer covering their rear. Teams of three or four are far more effective in this situation, when more officers become available.
If there are reports of shots fired, and especially when officers are known to be down, do not respond into the kill zone. Stop a safe distance out, gather officers at your location and form a contact team, advancing with bounding overwatch tactics.
Key considerations during an ambush attack
- Always wear your vest. One of the three on-scene officers had to retrieve his vest from his vehicle before beginning the search.
- Take a rifle to a gun fight whenever possible.
- Communicate out as much location/suspect info as possible (succinctly – don’t jam up the radio channel with needless rambling). Pay attention to the radio traffic. “Shots fired” and “officer down” reports mean you need to change tactics! Responding directly on scene as solo officers merely feeds a killer a supply of targets. Do the unexpected: Form teams outside the kill zone and move using infantry tactics.
- Teams vastly magnify your effectiveness. The SRT officers worked as three, two-officer buddy teams and quickly ended the incident. SWAT equipment and training are great to have, but not necessary. Buddy teams of rifle-armed patrol officers could have accomplished the same result.
- If caught in a close ambush, like the third on-scene officer, do not retreat while firing. Use military ambush survival tactics and attack into the ambush using all the firepower you have available. Put your attacker on the defensive.
We can win ambush attacks. Read my last two Police1 articles that outline the winning tactics we saw in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, Bristol, Tennessee and St. Louis, Missouri. Stay alert, watch your six, pay attention to all available information, and be prepared to launch an instant and overwhelming counter-attack.
Not here! Not today! Today we will win the fight.
