offi cer down: Slowly Developing Threats: The Kyle Dinkheller Incident
ous, and more insidious, than any of the other causes we have mentioned so far—the slowly developing nature of Brannan’s attack. Brannan didn’t attack all at once, or as suddenly as one would expect. T is kind of slowly developing threat is unusual, but not as rare as it may seem. In one case, three Mid- western offi cers, all with their guns pointed at their adversary, were held at gunpoint by a suspect who approached them with a shot- gun at port arms and then slowly lowered it into fi ring position. One of the offi cers later commented that he withheld fi re because he was waiting until there was a direct threat to his safety or the safety of one of the other offi cers. T en, before he realized it, it was too late. T e shotgun was pointed directly at his face and he feared that even a lethal hit could cause the suspect to fl inch and fi re his weapon. Fortunately, the incident ended with only the suspect being injured (he re- sisted arrest after throwing the gun down), but the threat was very similar to that faced by Deputy Dinkheller.
As further evidence of this threat, the au- thor once included a scenario based on this case in a reality-based academy class, and every trainee who participated in the scenario withheld fi re until it was too late. Similarly, when this case was discussed with a group of veteran offi cers, all but one stated that he would have waited until the suspect started to point the gun at him before he fi red. Apparently, the problem here is that we are conditioned, either through instinct, ex- perience or both, to expect threats to appear suddenly. When the threat develops more slowly, it just doesn’t feel as threatening. Even worse, as the situation gradually un- folds, there is plenty of time for disbelief and doubts to creep in, to worry about possible legal consequences, and to wonder whether the situation has reached the point that le- thal force is necessary. In short, a slowly developing threat gives you too much time to think. T is can be exceedingly dangerous when facing a life threatening situation. A key element in dealing with this kind of threat is to understand that it isn’t nec- essary to wait until a gun is pointed at you before shooting. Depending upon the cir- cumstances, an imminent lethal threat can be present as soon as a suspect reaches for
41 The Police Marksman May-Jun 2014
a weapon, and it is undoubtedly present as soon as he starts to draw one. In this case, however, the fact that Brannan took the time to load the rifl e created a confusing gray area for Deputy Dinkheller. Nevertheless, it is clear that even with the apparent delay in the action, Brannan’s actions presented an im- minent threat to Dinkheller’s life. Brannan had already displayed a great deal of hostility, and it was abundantly clear that he was not simply ignoring Dinkheller’s commands, but aggressively acting contrary to them. Once he grabbed the rifl e and started to load the fi rst round against Dinkheller’s commands, what other reasonable conclusion could be drawn from his actions than that he intended to shoot and possessed the means to do so? Who could reasonably question the need to shoot under such circumstances? When confronting a slowly developing threat, it is absolutely essential to mentally draw a line in the sand that you will not allow your assailant to cross, and you must have the commitment and moral courage to shoot as soon as he starts to cross it. Never- theless, it can be hard to determine where to draw that line under the stress of a life- threatening encounter. Fortunately, this process can be greatly simplifi ed by issuing the proper verbal commands. As soon as you perceive a developing lethal threat, order the suspect not to move. T e command “DON’T MOVE OR I’LL SHOOT!” leaves no room for doubt. It fi rmly establishes in your mind, as well as his, where the line has been drawn, and it makes it abundantly clear what will happen if he refuses to comply. It also clearly communicates to any wit- nesses that you are in fear for your life and that you gave the suspect ample opportunity to avoid gunfi re by complying with your command. If he chooses to move at that point, it is only reasonable to assume that he intends to attack, because no reasonable per- son would have any other reason to disobey. In addition, this simple command avoids the problem of having to try to convince him to drop his gun. Strangely enough, some people are so reluctant to drop their prized fi rearm that they will argue with you about it, which can create a sticky problem.
Once you have frozen the action by or- dering him not to move, you can proceed
with issuing commands that will further de-escalate the danger without signifi cant additional risk. T ese will vary depending upon the situation, but they will usually go something like this:
“Don’t move until I tell you to, and then do exactly what I say!”
“When I say, ‘Do it now,’ slowly raise both hands straight up into the air! Do it now!” “When I say, ‘Do it now,’ turn away from me very slowly, and stop when your back is to me! Do it now!”
“When I say, ‘Do it now,’ slowly put the gun down! Do it now!”…
“When I say, ‘Do it now,’ slowly raise your hands straight into the air! Do it now!” Again, you must be committed to take appropriate action if he makes any sudden moves or otherwise threatens your safety. T is tactic stops the action as soon as you perceive a threat, thereby avoiding the need to decide how far to let him go before you feel threatened enough to shoot. It is also applicable to just about every conceivable slowly developing threat, and it is simple and direct. As such, it will go a long way in helping offi cers safely handle this diffi cult
and dangerous problem.6 Return to Question 5
Safe Distance from Rifl es When confronting an assailant who is armed with a rifl e, there is a strong impulse to re- treat to a position as far away as possible. T is can be dangerous, because rifl es have a far greater eff ective range than handguns. Consequently, if you increase the distance while armed with only a handgun, you se- verely limit your own ability to get hits while simultaneously enhancing your adversary’s ability to hit you. Conversely, when within eff ective handgun range, superior long range accuracy no longer off ers any real advantage, and speed becomes the more critical factor. When close enough to obtain reliable hits with your handgun, the handgun’s greater maneuverability is likely to give you the edge on speed, especially when in confi ned spaces and/or within contact range.
In this case, for example, if Deputy Din-
kheller had moved in closer, he would have been in a good position to use pistol fi re with great eff ect as soon as Brannan started to draw
www.policemarksman.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46