The dashcam video of a suicide-by-cop incident highlighted in today’s edition of Reality Training offers a unique tip for us to consider. Watch the tail lights — the entire rear end of the car for that matter — as a potential pre-attack indicator.
Officer Charles Lyons of the Knoxville (Tenn.) Police Department was following a red Chrysler PT Cruiser on Central Avenue Pike when the driver — 34-year-old Guy Ronald McDowell — stopped, exited his car, and brandished a pellet gun painted to look like a chrome-plated 9mm Beretta semi-automatic pistol.
Somewhat understandably, a debate raged in the comments area beneath our original news item on this incident about Officer Lyons’ “rapid rearward tactical movement” — he very quickly put distance between his squad and the gunman.
But seemingly lost in that conversation was what I felt was a very astute observation by one member who pointed out that “the car swerves and brakes suddenly as it comes to a stop — imprint that in your mind as a red flag.”
It’s subtle, and on first viewing, you might have missed it — the motion coincides with Officer Lyons’ self-talk in anticipation of the stop “Give me some sign you plan upon stopping.” — but once you’ve picked up on it, you almost can’t miss it.
Watch it closely and you’ll see that at around the 22-second mark, the car swerves to the left and onto the centerline, corrects slightly and swerves again. This very likely is when the suspect divides his attention between driving and finding that weapon.
A suspect trying to hide dope or other contraband could potentially demonstrate the same erratic driving.
