By Chuck Remsberg
Senior Police1 Contributor
Sponsored by Blauer
Hostage rescue is dangerous in any circumstance, but it’s probably most dicey when the hostage-taker physically controls his captive and is using her as a human shield.
A tactic called “the L Configuration” may improve your odds of success when you face that high-risk challenge.
This rapid, aggressive maneuver was taught recently at the annual conference of the Assn. of SWAT Personnel-Wisconsin by three veteran operatives with the Los Angeles County (Calif.) SD’s Special Weapons Bureau, Mark Schlegel, Rick Rector and George Creamer. Through their private training organization, FTF Tactics, the three instruct SWAT and patrol personnel throughout the U.S. in the latest street-proven strategies for controlling high-risk emergencies.
The L Configuration, Schlegel explains, can allow a two-officer team to focus a hostage-taker in a triangulation of fire, divide his attention so he’s vulnerable to surprise assault, neutralize him if necessary, strip away the hostage, and hustle her to safety—all in a matter of seconds.
Ideally, here’s how it works:
Hard intelligence may have convinced you that a single offender is holding his hostage with an arm around her neck in a given room at the target location. Or you may discover this scenario during a room clearing.
Either way, you and your partner approach the room and visually clear as much of it as you can from outside the entry point, then quickly penetrate into it as near to simultaneously as possible. “The first officer in focuses primarily on the suspect,” Schlegel says, “while the second operator scans the room for additional threats.”
“If you stay at the door and try to shoot, you’ll likely hit the hostage and you’ll likely get lit up yourselves,” Rector points out. “You’ll have to close in.”
So as you enter, you and your partner immediately branch out in an “L” configuration. This separation splits the suspect’s attention and makes it difficult for him to watch—or fire on—both of you at the same time. Both of your guns, however, are pointing at him without creating a cross-fire for yourselves. Advantage: officers.
“One of you may give verbal commands,” Schlegel says, “but you are not there to create a stand-off. If you don’t have a shot initially, put pressure on him, moving in toward him if necessary to open up a precision shot. You’ll know quickly if he’s going to give up or if he’s in it for a fight. He determines what happens.”
Because you’re split apart, you force him to make a decision. He’ll have to focus his attention—and his weapon, if he’s noncompliant—on one or the other of you to protect himself. “He’ll track one, not both,” Rector explains. This will often allow the one he’s not concentrating on to “move in strong” and take a targeted shot to neutralize him.
“A head shot preferably,” Schlegel says. “His body may not be much exposed if he’s hiding behind his hostage, plus body shots are slower to take effect. Shooting his head will probably be a very difficult shot because of the proximity of the hostage. You may have to get up close and personal”—contact range—to deliver it.
Once the shooter eliminates the active threat, whichever of you is best positioned to do so peels away the captive, potentially actually ripping her from the suspect’s grasp. While one of you monitors the suspect, the other may shelter her in place momentarily, providing security while you assess the situation. If there are multiple suspects who may inflict threats from other locales, you may need to plan her strategic withdrawal to safety.
“Avoid rushing the hostage out,” Schlegel advises. “Take a moment to confirm the status of the threat. You don’t want to move through areas that are not cleared or where the possible existence of a threat is unknown. Remember, in a hostage rescue the hostage is the prize. The focus has to be on that person’s safety.”
Some fine points to consider:
• If you know you’re going into a hostage rescue, consider your choice of weapon system. In some cases a handgun might be the preferred choice because of its close-up maneuverability in tight quarters and its control in the event you need to take a head shot. An MP-5 or M-4 can be harder to maneuver. “It’s definitely not a job for a shotgun,” Rector says.
• “You’re going in with justification for deadly force because of the circumstances,” Schlegel says. “If the suspect is using a hostage as a barricade he’s already notified you of his intent. Of course, if he pushes the hostage away and surrenders, that’s a different matter.”
• If possible you should be supported as the rescue team with critically timed diversions from inside and/or outside, such as flash bangs and window porting. Even your discharging a flash bang “within a 3-foot radius of the doorway may provide a psychological and physiological diversion and give you a couple of extra seconds to get in,” Schlegel suggests.
• Don’t mark your entry with a lot of screaming, as seems to be in vogue with some SWAT teams these days, the instructors advise. That tends only to confuse the situation. Short, specific commands are better. “We’re looking at mere seconds from entry until contact,” Schlegel says.
• Your execution of the attention-splitting “L” formation may not be perfect because of impediments from furniture and other barriers and the suspect’s reactive movements, but you want to keep your movement as fluid and continuous as possible. It’s important for the first officer to quickly make a decision to move left or right to allow the second officer a clear line of fire. One officer shooting from behind another can have tragic results. You do not, however, want to move faster than you can process information and shoot accurately, Schlegel cautions. Practice frequently in a variety of environments with marking cartridges to hone your teamwork.
• Regardless of who the hostage-taker focuses on, each of you should be watching for the opportunity to make a precision shot. Although the typical suspect seems most likely to concentrate on the first officer in, he may suddenly shift his attention or move in such a way that either of you could end up in the best position to take him out.
• Remember that full protective gear is essential. “It’s not hard for the suspect to go from a gun on the hostage to a gun on you,” Rector says. “In fact, he very likely will get one or more shots off. Yes, closing in on a desperate suspect at a 5-foot distance is extremely dangerous. But if you stay at the doorway and try to deal with him, you are even more of a sitting duck.”
• “Even if you do get shot, keep fighting, continue with the mission,” Schlegel urges. “A hostage rescue is not a best-case scenario for us. But when innocent lives are at stake, you may need to take unusual risks. These are winnable situations, and part of good training is to imbed the mind-set, realistically, that we will win.”
Note: A 4-day course on Hostage Rescue Operations, hosted by the Milwaukee County (Wis.) SO, will be presented by Mark Schlegel and other FTF Tactics instructors April 2-5 in Milwaukee. To register or to learn more about FTF training programs, go to www.ftftactics.com. If you have questions, contact George Creamer at george@ftftactics.com or call toll free (888) 602-8228.]
