At the end of 2016, I penned a short article predicting better times for LE officers in the US. I called 2016 the “year of the ambush” because of the many violent attacks against officers. Surely, I wrote, with a new pro-police president taking over, our lives should get better. And things did improve under the first years of the Trump administration. Then the long, hot summer of 2020 blew up my 2016 prediction.
My second “law” of law enforcement explains what we have seen since the death of George Floyd: “It is never so bad it can’t get worse.”
As we begin what promises to be an even longer and hotter summer in 2021, there are three areas we must address with policies and training:
1. Prepare for a new level of violence against police officers
For more than 20 years I have tracked the phenomenon of police ambush attacks and seen the numbers steadily rise, along with a parallel of officers being killed with rifles. Often these two factors are combined, an ambush attack using an AR or AK style semiauto rifle, an especially dangerous combination. Through teaching ambush survival sessions and analyzing incidents where officers were ambushed but won the fight, I have formulated a simple set of six actions that can help you survive.
Threat awareness is the first thing to address. Ask yourself, if I were planning to ambush arriving cops at this location, where would I be? Based on the likely location of a shooter, what is the most dangerous area I will encounter responding to this call? Plan your approach to avoid that kill zone.
Firearms and tactics instructors must find range time to teach counter-ambush tactics. Range sessions should include strings of fire where the officers steadily advance TOWARD the threat while engaging the target(s) with maximum firepower. What, you say? Move TOWARD your attacker? We have been trained to get off the “X” and move on the range, but usually, we have been trained to move away from the threat, toward cover if available. Infantry tactics dictate an instant counterattack when the enemy springs a close ambush. Attack the ambush. My article here shows how a violent counterattack put several officers in the win column.
What is worse than an ambush attack with a rifle? How about an ambush attack with a Molotov cocktail? On April 16, 2021, in the small Missouri town of St. Genevieve, an officer was responding to a loud motorcycle noise complaint. This was not the first late-night call for the same issue to the same address. However, after the previous time that an officer had told the subject to stop disturbing the neighborhood, the subject had made a Molotov cocktail. As the officer approached the address on this night, the subject appeared with a lit Molotov and threw it. The bottle broke on the officer’s forearm, plunging him into an instant version of hell on earth. The officer survived and, miraculously may eventually be able to return to work…if he wants to.
The next day, a man in Brooklyn, New York ran a red light in front of a squad car. During the traffic stop, the man threw bleach into the officer’s face and took off. As the officers attempted a second stop on the suspect’s vehicle, a lit Molotov cocktail was thrown that bounced off the squad car windshield and broke on the street. When finally captured, officers found additional Molotovs in the suspect’s vehicle. Another ambush by fire.
https://twitter.com/NYPDnews/status/1383525282041139207
I started out life as a firefighter. For almost seven years I was one of those first responders who ran INTO burning buildings. The idea of a flaming Molotov cocktail arcing through the air toward me makes my heart stop. As a firefighter, I wore a full suit of Nomex, a material that will not burn and will insulate you from an incredible amount of heat. Police officers mostly wear uniforms made from synthetic fabrics that will both burn intensely and melt into your skin.
A product known as Cold Fire is available in small, personal-size fire extinguishers. Several police agencies carry Cold Fire extinguishers in squad cars and have used them to save lives in burning vehicles. Cold Fire is also widely used in the car racing industry. Do you have room on your utility belt for another pouch, holding a 12 oz Cold Fire spray bottle? Probably not, but running back to your vehicle for an extinguisher may use up what little you have left of your life or a partner’s life.
2. Current threats dictate different response strategies
I think in major cities we are approaching the point where police enforcement activity and response to service calls will have to take a back seat to officer safety. This is not cowardice, it is simply a matter of keeping officers safe. An officer who goes down is not available to help anyone.
High-crime areas are already at a point where police on patrol and responding to calls should ride double with automatic additional backup rolling on every call or stop. Traditionally, only large, urban agencies routinely field two-officer patrol units. However, even simply doubling up is not enough. Statistics from the FBI’s Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) reports suggest that a two-officer car is only marginally safer than solo patrol.
To enhance the safety aspect of two-officer cars, we must train the technique of contact and cover. One officer addresses the issue at hand while the other officer focuses out, providing 360-degree protection for the team. If the situation is too dicey for a two-officer unit, then they should hold back or attempt to withdraw until more help arrives. In a worst-case situation, two officers back-to-back with their sidearms drawn should be able to repel threats within a 25-yard radius. See, we should still practice at the 25-yard line.
[READ: Calling for backup: Changing LE culture so officers are not afraid to ask for help]
Officers who work deputy sheriff, state police, highway patrol, park ranger and game warden assignments rarely have a second officer quickly available. Small town officers also frequently work alone. If attacks on police officers rise dramatically in your locale, you must consider delaying your response until backup arrives. Will a delayed police response endanger citizens who desperately need your help? Yes! But to repeat what I said above: An officer who goes down is not available to help anyone.
3. Don’t be complacent about personal and family safety
Every year at least one officer is attacked at their own home. Every year at least one significant attack occurs at a police station. Even if we draw back and limit our enforcement response to calls, our foes are not afraid to bring the fight to you. In a small community, the bad guys know who the police officers are and where they live. A simple internet search will result in home information on most of us.
While it galls me not to hold myself out as a police officer, these are not the times to be bold and daring. Remove the thin blue line flag from in front of your home. Replace the blue porch light at your door. Refrain from wearing obvious “police” shirts when off-duty in public. Carry a concealed weapon and a reload at all times.
Do you park a marked patrol car at your home when off duty? Can you park it in a garage or behind the house? In an apartment complex, park the car away from your building.
[READ: 3 ways cops can protect a take-home vehicle]
Does your family have a plan for dealing with an armed intruder at home? Can your significant other and older children defend themselves if you are not home? These are situations we should not need to plan for, but prudence demands we prepare for worst-case scenarios.
[READ: 6 steps to making your home your castle]
Keep yourself, your family and your fellow officers safe. The Ferguson effect has now been writ large as the Minneapolis effect, and some officers may hesitate too long to act in the face of a deadly threat and lives may be lost. Remember that the huge silent majority of our population still supports us. Sergeant Phil Esterhaus said it best: “Hey, let’s be careful out there!”
