Securing a suspect

Welcome back warriors,  I am aware that this video is a little shorter than the others, but there are some really good training opportunities to talk about in it.  So we come into the video after maybe a half a dozen gunman opened fire on police officers. It is reported that these men fired over a hundred rounds, so we know that these are some bad dudes and they came in intending to take lives. 

So we come into the video after all the fighting has ended.  The police have apprehended the people responsible, and now it is time to secure the suspects and secure the crime scene.  I would like to point out I did not see them do anything remotely close to that though. We can see civilians running around the crime scene, interfering with the first responders, and their duties.  Now, why is this important? I’m glad you asked. Having more people than necessary in your crime scene is bad! It damages the integrity of the crime scene, and this could be really disappointing to the officers involved, especially if this clear cut case gets overturned in a trial because of the crime scene not being secured.  They have the manpower there to start setting up barricades, or police tape or anything that will keep civilians out of the crime scene, but instead of that in this brief video I see police officers just chilling not caring about their surroundings. Also, there is a safety aspect, we as police officers are charged with protecting the public.  Allowing these civilians to roam around the immediate area is dangerous. In this type of situation, anything could happen. Check this out. What if one of those “innocent” civilians were part of the gunmen’s group. That could cause a really big problem for you as a law enforcement officer. Would it probably be a suicide mission? Sure but these people came there ready to die. Enough said on that.

Now let us talk about the gunmen.  When I saw this short video and they showed the gunmen on the ground face down, I had two thoughts, and hopefully, you guys had the same thoughts.  Why are these men not in handcuffs, and why haven’t they been searched for additional weapons. Yes, there are armed police there watching the gunmen, but that is not enough.  I mean for the love of God there is a gunman that still has his iPhone on his belt. Can you see why this is bad? Let me explain if you can’t. We as police officers seldom get to choose our area to engage in a gunfight.  These gunmen could have easily set up IEDs in the area, and these officers are just going to let this suspect keep his iPhone for the time being. All that suspect would have to do is say “Hey Siri call bomb.” Or something to that effect. 

So that was my take,  remember to secure the suspects then secure the scene.  As always I hope this was entertaining and more importantly educational.  And remember please feel free to ask a question or leave comments. Stay Safe out there.