A cop from an Indianapolis suburb went to pull over a car for a burned-out taillight the other night, and things went all COPS! as the dude drove off, led the officer on a chase, then pulled up into somebody's yard and bailed out of his car, shooting...
Notice that "felon in possession" laws didn't seem to keep this guy from packing heat. Also note that he is not holding his gat all one-handed and gangsta style, but instead is rather effectively shooting up the driver's side of the cop car.
Maybe it isn't such a good thing that some movies and TV shows now show decent shooting techniques.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'd appreciate my moaning and groaning after being shot being broadcast to everyone and their brother.
ReplyDeleteI'm also not sure how this was an "ambush". The guy didn't pull over to just give up at that point did he? I figured dealing with exactly that would be something covered in training on a regular basis. OTOH, I don't know if I'd stop thinking I was dying long enough to tell anyone what happened anyway. So, I guess -1 point for being surprised and +50 for holding on long enough to report what happened. (While he had a bullet in his forehead no less.)
Too bad those dash cams can't be used while on the scene.
Perp steps out with gun in hand, should be part of training to run him down, in self defense. I will admit I don't know how you train for that, it's hard on the cars and nobody wants to play the perp, but words in a classroom probably won't get it done.
ReplyDeleteLet's see. LEO pulls up to stopped car, and as soon as the headlights illuminate the scene, we see the Goblin is already out of the car firing at the Officer, charging towards the Police Car.
ReplyDeleteSo the Cop had about 2 seconds to stop the car, get out from behind the wheel, draw and fire his weapon, all while taking bullets from about 10 feet, with one shot in his Face already.
Hmmm. Think the Cop would have to be from the Planet Krypton to win that Gun Fight.
Hope he makes it.
Bubblehead Les,
ReplyDeleteWord on the local TeeWee this AM is that he was in "good condition" at a local hospital.
I agree with panamared. This calls for a heavy application of right foot after the first shot is fired.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all the words spoken above (especially about driving him down. We spend so much time training to NOT hit cars and people, that intentionally doing so is a hard U-turn for the brain to make, but it's the right call.), and I am pretty impressed at the commenters here for not landing on the cop with "My gawd, there was enough time to have emptied a magazine, reloaded, and eaten a sammich before the bad guy fired his first shot!"
ReplyDeleteThat's an instructive video. Thanks for posting it. And thanks for the constructive comments, y'all. I mean it.
Cop used his cruiser to tag a shooter years/ decades ago in a burb of LA, Kali. I remember it because we calculated it as a hit with a 22,400,000 gr hollow point. Pretty effective.
ReplyDeleteGood to hear the cop is doing well.
All I need to see how this happens is the video of that mook in Lafayette charging men with guns drawn and still getting a cut in.
ReplyDeleteThe only reason this cop is alive is the bullet proof glass worked. A bullet in the nasal cavity can't be fun, but at least it didn't make it the whole way through.
Problem here is that the criminal's plan never went farther than maybe two steps. He never thought, "OK, then what?".
This reminds me, if I ever take up a life of crime I need to do a pre-maintenence check on my vehicle before every run.
What a nightmare!
ReplyDeleteIf there was a chase - it's a felony stop - and all that that entails.
Around here (AZ) DPS has training to shift to reverse, open the drivers door to duck to the right and haul ass backwards creating distance. Trying to engage while seated is seen as not the best option.
I really hope the cop recovers completely. That's going to be a long hard road ahead for him.
Above should have read:
ReplyDeleteopen door to duck LEFT and *see behind you* while hauling azz backwards. Doh!
Local KYSP solved same problem by shooting through his windshield and hitting the several times.
ReplyDeleteGerry
Gerry,
ReplyDeleteIn this case, the guy was out and shooting before the police officer had any reasonable chance to process what was happening and clear his holster.
If he'd had incredible presence of mind, he might have had a chance to run the dude over.
"Local KYSP solved same problem by shooting through his windshield and hitting the several times."
ReplyDeleteI would think that the shot to the face would slow that down. And if you can take a bullet to the schnoz and return fire accurately then you need to be working somewhere besides Fartville.
I'm also not sure about shooting through the thing that is keeping me alive either.
panamared:
ReplyDelete+1.
Yea, it's monday morning quarterbacking, but that was the first thing that popped into my head: Hit the accelerator and squish that roach.
But if that isn't part of your training, you probably won't do it.
This is why cops treat evry "minor" incident as a possibly life-threatening situation - some are!
ReplyDeleteAs to why the first cop was not out of his car immediately, he was probably "running the plate" - that can take a couple of minutes.
Of course, "ambush" and "assault rifle" are journalese, sort of their version of "poetic license." The terms "cornered rat" and un-adjectived "rifle" are no longer in fashion.
That's a rough video.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to say where he could have done something differently because he would have to see the stop was complete (not false like earlier), see the guy getting out, see the gun, and see him advancing in order for it to be time to shoot or run him down.
Generally when drivers bail it's to run, and running them down with your car is generally frowned upon. Usually bailing out means you get close enough to give chase and slap it into park. The hard left turn put him out of the officer's headlights, obviously we can't speculate how lit or unlit the driver's side of the car was, but he was definitely harder to see. You also don't expect the fleeing felon to advance on your car.
Basically this guy zigged where an officer's training, experience, and intuition said he's going to zag.
It only took a fraction of a second for the chase to go from "time to chase him down on foot" to "I need to get away or get cover and return fire NOW!"
The "bad enough" situation was made even worse by the fact that this guy used steady, aimed fire, while moving around his target. Even if the cop had his gun in his hand and was firing through his windshield, he would have had a hard time seeing this guy, much less getting hits on vitals through shattered glass.
If that's not a textbook hasty ambush, I'd like someone to explain to me what is. There's nothing you can do but react in that situation, which means you've already lost. I hope the cop ends up okay (physically and mentally).
ReplyDeleteWoodman said: "The only reason this cop is alive is the bullet proof glass worked." LOLWhut?
ReplyDeleteJohn A: I don't know that he was running the plate, but I promise you that he was tied up with that damned radio, probably telling Dispatch where they stopped. We get so tied up in that. Dispatch gets really mad when they don't know where you are, and they start haranguing you when they realize that sometimes you're stopping without checking out. So we fall into habits that cause officers who should literally be bouncing out of their cars to sit like ducks on a pond.
Habits, like looking for the bucket.
ReplyDeleteNot sure if that was apocryphal or not, but I read about a department that had a strict rule about emptying brass into a bucket having a cop get shot during a fight because he stopped for a second and looked down while reloading ... looking for that damned bucket ...
Headline at the link says:
ReplyDeleteColt fans can get bargains on Colts.
OK. I bite. Crap. These Colts are the ones who play with the pointy ball.