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 was coming onto shift and was told to transport a person with a warrant to the local county jail.
I was getting all of the paperwork together when the arrestee began yelling at me. He was only yelling to get my attention.
Knowing he was handcuffed to a table in an interview room, I told him, “Wait, let me get stuff organized and we will be on our way.” He replied, “No it’s really important.”
I stepped into the room and he had a very large switchblade in his hand.
He said, “Brother, I just wanted you to know I have this, and I didn’t want to get in trouble with it.” He handed it to me.
After he handed it to me, my stomach dropped. I locked the knife away, re-searched him, and continued with my job. The arrestee was very polite and asked, “Am I gonna get charged with the switchblade?” I smiled and said, “Nope, I’m just thankful you were honest and didn’t slit my throat.” He assured me he wasn’t a bad guy, just made some bad decisions along the way.
I took a picture of the knife and notified the arresting officer. Bottom line, always assume everyone is armed, even if they were searched by another officer. Thankfully, this arrestee wasn’t a bad guy and was honest with me. Because of that, I went home to my wife and son that night, and now everyone gets searched two or three times.
Lessons Learned
- Go into a prisoner search expecting to find a weapon or contraband. If you happen to locate a weapon or contraband, don’t assume that is all the individual has concealed; keep searching until you’ve completed a thorough search. Remember, your life and the lives of fellow officers depend on you completing a thorough search.
- When taking custody of a prisoner from another officer or from a holding facility, immediately conduct a thorough search of the prisoner. Don’t assume the officer or facility that had possession of the prisoner did their job by conducting a thorough search. It’s your life on the line, so don’t make assumptions.
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.