[Xbonz]

I had the opportunity to speak w/ a local LEO today. I asked him a question which has come up on the forum in the past. The question was straight forward and got a very quick and direct answer..

Q- I see you in a fight for your life with a BG, I have a CWL and am carrying, what do you want me to do?
A-Shoot the BG and drop your weapon. Keep your hands where I can see them.

I asked if he would worry that I was approaching with a gun and would mistake me for a BG. His response was "I won't see you, I'll be totally focused on the BG..

Any thoughts from you LEO types out there?

opcorn

 

[brownie]

I had the opportunity to speak w/ a local LEO today. I asked him a question which has come up on the forum in the past. The question was straight forward and got a very quick and direct answer..

Q- I see you in a fight for your life with a BG, I have a CWL and am carrying, what do you want me to do?
A-Shoot the BG and drop your weapon. Keep your hands where I can see them.

I asked if he would worry that I was approaching with a gun and would mistake me for a BG. His response was "I won't see you, I'll be totally focused on the BG..

Any thoughts from you LEO types out there?

opcorn

I see that answer as problematic in some regards. Might work out for you and it might not, depending on the officer and other circumstances specific to the scenario.

 

[MPDC66]

I can recall a couple of tragic situations in DC when "old clothes" Officers responded to crimes in progress and were accidentally shot by Uniformed Officers. As a result, "tactical units" as they were called then, were limited to responding ONLY to Signal 13 (Officer in trouble) calls and to leave "in progress" responses to Uniformed units. Even as an Investigator, wearing suitcoat and tie, we were very careful to be recognized by Uniforms before showing our weapons and avoided unneccesary responses to situations where we were far enough away to be pretty sure marked units would be on the scene before we could make it.

The problem in cities with large depts. is particularly acute when responders are from precincts or districts OUTSIDE the place of the incident. usually local cops recognize one another but may never have seen an officer from another unit.

Yep, interjecting yourself is very dangerous but, sometimes, the right thing to do as in the OP's scenario.

I have actually had civilians accost me while effecting an arrest on a BG who they thought was a victim. We did look like thugs, though.

 

[babah]

I can recall a couple of tragic situations in DC when "old clothes" Officers responded to crimes in progress and were accidentally shot by Uniformed Officers. As a result, "tactical units" as they were called then, were limited to responding ONLY to Signal 13 (Officer in trouble) calls and to leave "in progress" responses to Uniformed units. Even as an Investigator, wearing suitcoat and tie, we were very careful to be recognized by Uniforms before showing our weapons and avoided unneccesary responses to situations where we were far enough away to be pretty sure marked units would be on the scene before we could make it.

The problem in cities with large depts. is particularly acute when responders are from precincts or districts OUTSIDE the place of the incident. usually local cops recognize one another but may never have seen an officer from another unit.

Yep, interjecting yourself is very dangerous but, sometimes, the right thing to do as in the OP's scenario.

I have actually had civilians accost me while effecting an arrest on a BG who they thought was a victim. We did look like thugs, though.

Look at what happened a while back at that UCF tailgate party...
The plain clothes UCF officer got shot by the uniformed county officer that was responding, (If I got the story right) I guess they weren't aware that there were undercover guys there in the crowd... all they knew was that there was a guy wielding a gun!!!Everyone was doing their job but it turned out tragic......for all involved..I am sure it won't happen again...

 

[Steve48]

Everyone was doing their job but it turned out tragic......for all involved..I am sure it won't happen again...

I wish that you were right, but I doubt that you are. : censored happens, and nothing's sure but death and taxes.

 

[Xbonz]

I see that answer as problematic in some regards. Might work out for you and it might not, depending on the officer and other circumstances specific to the scenario.

I'm awaiting details sir...

 

[brownie]

I'm awaiting details sir...

I think post 3 from MPDC66 pretty much covers it. You run the risk of that officer or another officer mistaking you for an adversary with a gun while he's pumped full of adrenaline in a dynamic deadly force situation.

I'm certainly NOT going to drop my gun for anyone and give up my means of SD of my person. I don't know that the BG's friends don't suddently appear from some bar or around the corner in the seconds afterwards.

If the officer hasn't drawn his gun, I'd wade into it H2H and take the guy out with several strikes to affect the officer being able to get his act together and retake control of the situation with his firearm.

Back in Boston an off duty officer attempted to help a uniformed officer and got himself shot for his efforts. There are too many cases of this type of thing happening in the past, and you take your chances if you draw a firearm while a cop is fighting for control of a BG.

Better to have H2H skills and let the officer see you are helping him in his struggle than to all sudden hear shots fired and fire on you overreacting under stress.

 

[daytona]

My first thought was if back up is on the way and they see you - they don't know who you are.

 

[LProf]

As with all of these scenarios my answer is it depends. As has been stated, if you draw your gun you risk being mistaken for a BG, either by the cop involved or backup and thus being mistakingly shot.

So, I personally would not intervene by drawing my gun unless the cop was about to be killed by the BG. I would draw only to actually save the life of the cop. Tough call to make, you bet, but IMO, it is the most prudent.