Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) Near Miss is a voluntary, non-disciplinary officer safety initiative that allows law enforcement personnel to read about and anonymously share stories of close calls or “near misses,” which provide lessons learned that can protect fellow officers in similar situations.
Event Summary
I showed up for my “routine” off-duty security shift at a major hardware store. I say routine because I had done this type of shift several times before, but we all know what happens when we let things become routine.
This particular shift, I arrived at 1530 hours and started walking around the store when my phone rang. I answered, and the loss prevention supervisor informed me he was following a black male out of the store who had concealed what looked like a battery. I walked toward the exit, thinking to myself that this would be another quick theft report.
I walked out of the store without putting my patrol gloves on and found the loss prevention guy trying to stop the male subject from riding away on his mountain bike. I immediately grabbed the suspect by his left elbow. I told him to stop trying to pedal away and to pull out whatever was concealed in his jacket. The male complied and pulled out a box containing a power drill.
I told the suspect he was under arrest and ordered him to place both hands behind his back, which he did. However, when I attempted to control his wrists, my hands slipped right off of them. (I wasn’t wearing my patrol gloves as I should have been, and the suspect’s skin was slippery from what felt like a mix of lotion and sweat.) The suspect took the opportunity to push the bicycle at me and run.
I advised dispatch I had an uncooperative theft suspect and pursued him. After about 25 yards through the parking lot, the suspect stopped and put his hands up. I drew my TASER and told him to get on the ground, but he just stood there. I told him three more times to get on the ground, but he kept saying, “I’m not going back to jail!”
I was going to use my TASER, but with the leather jacket he was wearing and the way it was opened up in the front, the prongs wouldn’t have hit him. So I waited.
The suspect then decided to run again. This time he ran to the edge of the parking lot, which borders a busy highway. He stopped, put up his hands, and when I told him to get on the ground, he turned to run again. As he turned away, he presented a perfect angle for a TASER deployment.
I got him in his left leg and right buttocks and he went down. He laid on his back yelling, “Okay, okay.”
I told him to roll over onto his stomach so I could handcuff him. Instead, the suspect rolled completely over twice breaking the wire leads to the TASER. He then stumbled forward to get up (next to the edge of the sidewalk leading to the busy highway).
My thought at that point was, “What would the public think if I let this guy stumble into traffic and get killed?” So I finally went hands on.
I took off the spent TASER cartridge and grabbed him with my right hand. I pushed him to the ground, telling him to get down and, with my left hand, I delivered a TASER stun to his left upper leg. This freaked the suspect out. He flung around, punched me in the jaw, and grabbed my TASER.
I rolled with him while he was trying to twist my TASER around and, at one point, he was able to get it turned on me and pushed the trigger. I was able to deflect the tip of the TASER away from me, but I could see the TASER sparking about 2 inches from my upper chest.
I kept yelling the whole time, “Stop resisting!” so people nearby could hear.
My finger got bent backwards, allowing the suspect to ultimately gain control of my TASER. We both stood up, and the suspect backed away until he was about 10 feet from me. With my TASER in his right hand, he pointed it at me and pulled the trigger. I can only assume he thought it would fire prongs at me because he looked at it strangely. He then started moving toward me.
I pulled my sidearm and told him if he continued toward me, he would be shot. I yelled to him to put the TASER down and get on the ground. With my gun drawn, the suspect threw my TASER down and ran. Luckily, my backup had arrived, and we were able to get him down and arrest him. I looked at my watch. I felt like I had been fighting a lifetime, but it was only four minutes from start to finish.
Lessons Learned
- Never think a call or assignment (on- or off-duty) is just routine. I should have mentally prepared for the possibility that something could go wrong with the arrest, and I should have put my patrol gloves on. Had I been wearing them from the start, I probably would have had a better grip on him.
- When someone tells you that they aren’t going back to jail, that is a clue there will likely be a fight.
- That day I put my concern about what the public might think over concern for my own safety, and that was the wrong call! I was way too nice, and gave the guy like 12 chances to get on the ground, with him ignoring me. If I had put my safety first, I would have gone hands on much sooner and ended it.
- With the subject on the ground from the successful TASER deployment, I should have kept him there under the control of the TASER until my backup arrived. Instead, my alpha male instinct took over and I wanted to put him in cuffs. This gave the subject the opportunity to roll and break off the TASER probes.
- Don’t rely solely on your tools, and be prepared to transition to a different force option if a tool is ineffective. I pulled my TASER and when I noticed it wouldn’t be effective, I should have put it away before going hands on with him. He was a squirrely guy, and I needed both hands to control him. You can’t strike someone if you don’t have free hands, and there is less risk of you being disarmed if your tool is secured.
- Practice weapon retention. Remember these techniques apply to TASERs, batons and OC spray.
HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR NEAR MISS
Support this critical officer safety initiative by reading and sharing the near-miss stories and lessons learned that your fellow officers have shared, and consider sharing your own near-miss experiences at LEOnearmiss.org.