by:Duane Wolfe
1. ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS
Officers need to remember to identify the nearest and last point of cover during each and every call for service.
Are you mentally rehearsing your route to that point when something goes bad? The realization that you are under fire has a detrimental effect on your response time when you are standing there looking around trying to decide where you need to be.
If you are driving your squad car when you suddenly come under fire, do you have a pre-planned response? Do you drive through or out of the ambush? Do you drive over your ambusher? Do you stop and fight from inside or outside your squad car? Have you planned your response for the different directions the attack could take place from? Have you factored in dealing with an assault from above-bridge, parking garage or high rise?
Are you leaving enough room between you and the car in front of you at the stop light or stop sign to drive out? If you can’t see the back tires when you stop, you need to give yourself more room.
Do you have a response in mind when an assailant opens fire on you during a traffic stop, before you exit your squad, as you approach the violator vehicle and as you stand at the door?
2. PROPER USE OF COVER AND CONCEALMENT
Officers need to know the difference between cover and concealment.
Can you identify those positions of cover and concealment as you drive or walk up to each call location? How often do you practice shooting from behind cover? Live fire practice from behind cover and concealment is good training, but you never get any feedback from your assailant. Grab a couple of training guns and work with a partner in a realistic environment that involves movement and an attacker who can critique your performance. FX rounds are an even better teacher.
3. MOVEMENT
A moving target is harder to hit than a stationary one. Remember, lateral movement relative to your attack does more to increase their likelihood of missing than linear movement directly at or away from an ambush. Make sure to practice lateral and linear movements during your training.
4. SHOOTING ON THE MOVE
Shooting and moving is a critical skill.
As a firearms instructor for almost 20 years, I have always preached this response to coming under fire: move to cover, return fire when appropriate. All my trainees who survived their ambushes employed that training. Some, despite being shot in the vest or wounded, moved and returned fire, either killing the suspect or allowing for them to get to cover, with the suspects apprehended or killed shortly after.
My two trainees killed by gunfire both died in ambushes. Neither had a chance to implement their training because they died before they could take any action.
Ambush attacks on police are on the rise. Training to move to cover and return fire has a history of success. Make it part of your trained response when you come under fire to immediately take action to win the confrontation.
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