Sudden Assault

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Think Outside The Box.

Training and years of experience prepares you for your duty ride, but are you really prepared for what might happen in an instant? Reserve academies do what they can to prepare you with the basics, but sometimes the bad guys know those basics as well as you.

Last year, San Diego Police lost three good officers in sudden assaults. Two of the officers were killed in the line of duty: Jeremy Henwood on August 6, and Christopher Wilson on October 28. Detective Donna Williams (along with her 18-year-old daughter) was stabbed to death in her home July 19th by her mentally ill son.

Officer Henwood’s death is probably the best example of a sudden assault. He was on routine patrol when a car came up behind him and the driver flashed its headlights at him. Perhaps thinking it was a motorist in trouble, Henwood pulled to the right lane and a black Audi came alongside. The occupant then pointed a shotgun out the passenger window and fired one round, hitting Henwood in the head. A couple with a baby was driving behind Henwood when the shooting occurred and stopped to help. As the husband tried to render first aid, the wife got on the officer’s radio and called for help.

What If?

It seems many ambushes are situational while only a few are planned. The problem is, many officers only think about and wait for a traditional ambush — like something you might see in a training scenario at the pistol range. Countless ambushes are sudden assaults that happen in the heat of the moment, where some suspects were trained in tactics ahead of time, but weren’t quite sure how they were going to execute them until that very moment.

We have to be prepared for any sudden assault from any number of unexpected places. This could be from a suspect 3′ away, a setup we enter, or perhaps a distraction aided by others whose sole purpose is to dilute our attention. Very seldom will we have time to position ourselves in an area of concealment and wait for the aggressor.

Newer officers, whether full-time or reserve, are experts in rules and regulations — and very few start thinking outside the box until later in their careers. The “what-ifs” only come with years on the street and working with more seasoned officers. The question is: Are the methods taught in current academies enough to prepare officers for the reality of a sudden assault?
By Doug Sherman

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