All incidents are based on actual incidents submitted by Officers.
Please visit David’s Site at kibuninc.com for more information.Music Call on Stairs:
On this call an Officer responded to a music call in which a subject was playing his guitar outside of an apartment complex. The Officer and his trainee arrived on scene. The Officer contacts a subject who is sitting on stairs which lead to the second story of the apartment complex. As the Officer was talking with the subject the subject started backing up the stairs saying that he could play his guitar if he wanted too. The Officer, with his flash light in his hand, slowly followed the subject up the stairs.
The Officer gets about midway up the stairs, but does not notice that there is a balcony behind him now. Apparently there was a walkway at the top of the stairs that goes completely around where the stairs enter onto the second floor. Unknown to the Officer the subject’s brother was on the balcony and now above and behind the Officer. The brother jumped off of the balcony and landed on the back of the Officer. The Officer pushes the brother off of him and the brother falls down the stairs. The first subject with the guitar tries to hit the Officer with the guitar. The Officer blocks the guitar with his arm and hit the subject with his flashlight. The strike from the flashlight strikes the subject in the head and renders him unconscious. The Officer turns around and sees the brother running back up the stairs at him and the trainee just standing there. The Officer fights with the brother and after several strikes with the flashlight the brother is taken into custody.
In this instance the Officer trains in fighting and is skilled with his hands. The Officer chose to use an impact weapon. It is important to remember that just because we train in fighting, that does not mean that we have to fight using only our combat training. We have other tools available to us to use and should not think of it as being a fair fight. The trainee had never been in a fight and froze up at that moment. When we get into a fight we should never rely on anyone else. If you fight like you have no backup then you are less likely to concentrate only on the subject you are fighting and stay more aware of your surroundings.
Mentally Ill Person
In this incident three Officers were dispatched to a mentally ill person refusing to take his medication. The caller said her 25 year old son has not taken his medicine and tends to become violent when he does not take his medicine. Officers arrived on scene and contacted the subject’s mother to the front of the residence.
The mother told Officers that her son was in his bedroom and was becoming more violent. She told Officers that there were no weapons inside of the house. Officers entered the home to speak with the subject. Talking with the subject behind a closed door the subject told Officers to leave. The Officers decided to open the door to contact the subject. As the first Officer opened the door the subject threw a small vase at the Officers which missed them by inches. The first Officer closed the door out of reaction. The Officer had obtained a look at the room and where the subject was standing. The first Officer additionally observed a baseball bat next to the subject.
As Officers contemplated their options the mother contacted Officers begging them not to shoot her son, that he is mentally ill and does not know what he is doing. One Officer gets a 40mm from his vehicle and the other two Officers train together in ground fighting. The Officers decided that even if there were more Officers only three could get through the door. They felt that due to the mental illness of the subject, they were not going to be able to talk him out of the bedroom. The Officers discussed how they would enter the room and take the subject into custody.
The Officers opened the bedroom door and saw the subject raise the baseball bat above his head as if to swing it. The Officer with the 40mm stepped forward and aimed it at the subject. The subject saw the gun and immediately dropped the baseball bat. The second Officer in quickly shot in on the subject and took him to the ground. The third Officer came in and handcuffed the subject. The subject was taken into custody for mental evaluation.
In this case there were enough Officers to handle the situation. Some people may say why was a S.W.A.T. team not called. I believe we are Officers and are paid to handle dangerous situations. I believe in having enough Officers, equipment, and training to handle the dangerous situations. These Officers got a look at the room and subject prior to making full entry to the room. The Officers talked over a game plan prior to making entry. They used the two Officers who train as a team to go hands on with the third Officer using the less than lethal gun. Training as a team is a must for all agencies. When you have more Officers then the ones who train together then communication and good decisions to use the Officer where they are best suited for is very important.
Mentally Challenged
In this incident, Officers were dispatched to a call of a subject arguing with his mother. As in most instances, Officers have been to the location several times in the past and are familiar with the family. In this case Officers had dealt with the 30 year old son in the past and were aware that the son had a history of mental illness.
The first Officer arrived on scene and contacted the son to the front of the residence. The Officer was very low key in contacting the subject. The subject has always been non-violent so the Officer did not expect anything else on this call. The subject was answering the Officer in a low key voice but walking closer to the Officer. The Officer did not take a good defensive stance or order the subject to stop. When the subject was approximately 3 feet from the Officer, the subject suddenly punched the Officer in the face. The Officer was able to turn his face and part of the strike the glanced off of his face. The officer stepped backwards but the subject pressed forward towards the Officer. The Officer grabbed the subject and spun him around to the ground. With the Officer on top of the subject, the Officer took out his pepper spray and tried to spray the subject. The subject reached up and grabbed the pepper spray and threw it down the street. The subject then spun around and rolled the Officer onto his back. With the subject now on top, the Officer was now defending himself by trying to control the subject’s hands in order not to get punched.
At this time, the back up Officer arrived on scene. The second Officer ran up to the subject and struck him on the back with his baton. The subject fell off of the Officer and curled up into the fetal position. The subject offered no further resistance and was taken into custody.
In this instance the Officer was familiar with the subject and was too complacent with him. The Officer was caught off guard and in a fight with subject within seconds. The Officer admitted that in hindsight he should have recognized the signs that the subject was going to go off on him. The Officer was assisted by his partner who ended the fight. It is important to never take any call lightly and to have a back up when ever possible.
Constant training and not being complacent in the work force is what will save Officers lives.
Thanks to all Officers who have submitted stories to us.