School Resource Officer (SRO) in a Tennessee high school stands off gun to gun for several minutes with a man who worked at the school. The date of the raw footage from CCTV is in Aug 2010. The stand off begins at 3:00 minutes in this video.
Analyzing tactics are in order. We all can learn from this incident. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but because of the situation, the officer could have been killed and then many more people could have been killed or seriously injured. In this situation, the SRO was justified in using deadly force.
Warriors need to do difficult things for the blessing and protection of others, even when – and especially – when it’s hard to do. Warriors (police officers, security professionals and military personnel) do the job others cannot. If you don't want to be a warrior, find another job. That's okay. Not everyone's cut out to be warriors. Being a warrior isn't fun or glamorous. It's a thankless, difficult duty. If not, there would be no Warrior SOS.
Here are a few thoughts to keep in mind with any tactical situation:
Be prepared to use deadly force. This emotional, psychological and spiritual decision must be made long before the incident arrives. You may have to shoot a man, a woman, pregnant lady or a young teenager. Think about it before the time arrives.
Be prepared to stop a co-worker, a neighbor, a teammate, friend or even a relative. You may have to physically hurt or kill someone that you know or someone you’ve talked with or like or someone you think you know well. An old military adage goes like this: Have a plan to kill everyone you meet. No one said being a warrior is fun. Hollywood only makes it look appealing and attractive, but it's not. There are hard days and difficult times that nothing on the Big Screen could ever accurately portray.
Action is faster than reaction. If someone’s pointing a gun at you, you must act fast. He can pull the trigger anytime he wants to and you’ll be DRT – dead right there.
Shoot already!
Shoot from behind cover.
Get to hard cover – and stay there until the threat stops. Move only if you are gaining a tactical advantage without sacrificing your own safety.
Shoot on the move if you need to. Practice it. Do anything, but be sure to never – ever – get involved in a so-called Mexican standoff. You could lose. Period. The results could be disastrous. It’s your job to protect those who cannot protect themselves, so do it! Remember, action is faster than reaction.
Don’t ever give up your weapon. At least the SRO did that right.
Shoot center mass. A dear friend and rookie police officer asked me why not shoot someone in the arm or the leg. He didn’t want to hurt anyone. A few years later, after gaining some experience and realizing the threat of human violence, he was shot and killed. Shoot center mass. I wrote an article on
why shoot center mass here for Guns.com, where I’m a tactical writer.
Know ballistics and wound penetration. If you’re going to shoot, realize that the suspect might live. Go visit with an ER doctor in a big, violent city. Shoot the suspect if you're justified. Stop the threat. He’s a huge threat to everyone. Hopefully bad guys will drop their weapons, but don’t count on it. Hopefully they’ll live after you shoot them several times.
Shoot until the threat stops. Forget the two-shots and stop drill. Try a six-shot rhythm drill on the guy’s chest. I wrote about that for an Action Target newsletter I posted
here in my other blog – the Jeffrey Denning blog. I also demonstrated it here below this with Guns.com. The audience was a couple of cop buddies of mine.
Have a self aid/buddy aid kit handy. You’ll need it when you least expect it.
Know and be confident in your weapon disarming techniques. Know that criminals, crazies and kooks can learn it just as well as you can.
Lastly, stay safe. Train hard. And fight to win.
Until next time continue to hone your skills and keep adding to your tactical toolbox.
To read amazing interviews with warriors, check out Warrior SOS: Interviews, Insights and Inspiration, the book on Amazon.com. Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D3WO7VK
