offi cer down Slowly Developing Threats:
Tell Us About It! Police Marksman intends to run an “Offi cer Down” ar-
ticle every few months. In order to obtain incidents that provide clear and relevant case studies, we would like to draw from our largest available resource—you, the reader. If you have, or can obtain, factual information on actual incidents you think we can use, please contact Brian at:
7412 Lynn Grove Ct. Hazelwood, MO 63042 E-mail:
pmbrianod@charter.net Tel. 314/921-6977 (call collect) Cell: 314/941-2651
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brian McKenna is a retired lieutenant from the Hazelwood (Mo.) Police Department, where he served in patrol, traffic, mobile reserve and training. He is a 32-year police veteran, with a strong background as a police trainer at both the recruit and in-service levels, and served his department as lead firearms instructor as well as in various other training functions. He is a state certified police instructor, a certified force science analyst, and holds a Master’s Degree in human resource development. Brian is a member of ILEETA and IALEFI, writes extensively on officer safety topics, and trains police officers nationwide in winning mindset and other topics related to officer safety. His book, Offi cer Down: Lessons from the Streets, is based on this column and is only available for purchase on his website. Contact him at
pmbrianod@charter.net or visit his Web site at
www.we-training.com.
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The Kyle Dinkheller Incident
the rifl e out of the cab. If he had gotten in even closer, he might have even been able to use non-lethal force to stop Brannan before Brannan got ahold of the rifl e, which brings to mind another disadvantage of long guns. When within contact range, their length makes them hard to bring into fi ring position quickly, and the long barrel is easy to grab and/or defl ect. Handguns, by contrast, can be quickly drawn and fi red from the combat tuck position with little chance of being defl ected or grabbed. T is suggestion goes counter to instinct to some extent, and is therefore off ered with some reservations. Still, it makes a lot of sense from a tactical perspective, and should be seriously considered. Con- sideration also should be given to working the tactic into reality- based training scenarios and mental imagery exercises. Return to Question 6
Firearms Training Under the incredible stress of Brannan’s relentless attack, Deputy Dinkheller fi red with great rapidity but very disappointing accuracy (one hit out of 33 shots). Outgunned as he was, it is easy to see why this happened, but there is no denying that he may well have sur- vived if he had returned fi re more eff ectively. T e importance of frequent and realistic range training, including stress courses, cannot be overemphasized. As offi cers develop ever greater skill and confi dence, they should be required to shoot increasingly more stressful courses of fi re. T e diffi culty and stress level should not exceed their abilities to the point that it becomes frustrating or erodes their con- fi dence, but it should be challenging enough to stretch their capabilities. Offi cers should also be trained to engage targets that are behind
cover. An adversary who is behind cover usually leaves parts of his body exposed at various times, either intentionally or unintention- ally, and offi cers must be conditioned through training to capitalize on this. A hit to even a non-vital body part may distract, discourage or weaken the attacker, and several will multiply the eff ect. Offi cers should also be trained to anticipate their opponent’s movements be- hind cover, so they can be ready to shoot as soon as he, or any part of his body, emerges into their line of fi re. Shooting at the suspect’s feet and ankles under vehicles and other barricades with gaps at ground level should also be taught (a technique that might well have ben- efi ted Deputy Dinkheller), including ricochet shooting. In addition, training should include a practical assessment of the resistance of various materials to diff erent rounds, so offi cers will be aware of the possibility of shooting through cover made from those materials. Similarly, offi cers should be trained in barricade shooting tech-
niques. It appears from his wounds that Deputy Dinkheller used cover well enough to protect his head and torso for the most part, but he left his arms and legs at least partially exposed. Although it is seldom pos- sible to stay behind cover without some exposure to incoming rounds, the appropriate barricade shooting techniques will maximize the pro- tection aff orded by various items of cover. Training should emphasize these techniques, but it should also teach offi cers to shoot accurately from various cover positions. Most offi cers are not used to fi ring from behind cover, and the required fi ring positions are often awkward and uncomfortable. It can be diffi cult to shoot accurately without practice, especially when using a position that minimizes the offi cer’s exposure to the fullest extent possible. It is not possible to determine with any certainty how much Deputy Dinkheller’s accuracy was aff ected by
42 The Police Marksman May-Jun 2014
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