Welcome back warriors,
In today’s video where going to go over a traffic stop gone bad. As anyone can tell you in the law enforcement community traffic stops are the most dangerous part of policing. An officer has to be alert and ready because they have no idea what they are walking into.
After reviewing this video I want to go over a few things I would’ve done differently. First thing that I noticed was the officers posture, the way he is leaning against the suspects vehicle resting his forearms on the door doesn’t sit well with me personally. There is something out there called an interview stance,
I’m sure there are a few variations on this but the way I always approached it was make sure you stand up straight making a fist with your strong hand and supporting that fist with your weak hand held against your body right below your chest. Even when he tells the suspect to turn off his vehicle and you can watch the suspect get agitated and the officer still leaning on the vehicle. Perhaps if the officer had a better posture for the situation things could have turned out differently. For example when the driver refused to follow his commands that would of been the time to get your OC spray ready for deployment. I have been OC’d a few times and I can say for sure your not driving very far with that in your face.
Now let’s talk about the big ticket item. Would you jump on a moving SUV to try to get the suspect to stop? Although it was very heroic, it was a fail as well. Would you or should you try to attempt that? At this point in the video I can see why the officer did. You don’t want the suspect to get away and your trying to avoid a vehicle pursuit which can put a lot of civilians in danger. So I don’t fault the officer for that action alone, it’s just what he did that led up to that.
So our big take away from this, is always maintain a professional bearing and be ready for anything. I hope this was helpful and entertaining and as always stay safe out there.
