As I was reading another officer down article the other day, it struck me that our own tactics are the very ones being used so effectively against us.
When I went to SWAT school in the late 80’s, most police teams visually resembled the British 22nd Special Air Service Regiment (SAS). You know, black BDU’s, black balaclava hoods, black nylon load-bearing vests, black MP-5’s.
After all, the Iranian Embassy hostage siege in London was still fresh in people’s minds. The iconic images of the SAS storming the embassy on foot and by abseil (rappel) were very strong indeed. The 22nd SAS were the US Navy SEALS of that era. Police SWAT teams sought to mimic the look and attitude.
The dynamic entry doctrine used by American SWAT at the time was appropriately called SAS: Speed, Aggression, Surprise. These are the three very principles being effectively employed in ambushes to kill police patrol officers on our streets.
Speed is just what it implies, a rapidity of action. In this arena, speed is the ability of the suspect to quickly attack or very quickly access a weapon to attack.
Aggression is also referred to as violence of action. This aggression is a committed, overpowering attack, which is sustained until the opponent is defeated.
Surprise is to attack suddenly and without warning.
These three characteristics in combination have led to numerous officer deaths. The key to this doctrine is initiative. Action beats reaction. It is a pre-planned strategy, not one born in the give and take of a casual encounter. Used by a suspect on the street, it is premeditated murder.
The best defense against this style of attack is to negate it through situational awareness and solid officer safety practices.
If I say trust no one, I do not mean be impolite. I can have a proper, professional interaction with a citizen and still have a plan to go to deadly force in an instant. I do not preach police paranoia; I advocate police preparedness.
The difficulty of our job is in the rules of engagement. There are no obvious signs of who is or is not the enemy. We cannot treat everyone as a non-threat, nor can we handle every person as a combatant.
If we held all persons proned-out with their hands to their sides (palms up), legs crossed, face away, while they were at the social end of an AR-15, well then there would be no surprise attacks.
There are tactics to defeat the three SAS principles. We can eliminate a suspect’s ability to use Speed, Aggression, and Surprise in many ways during personal encounters:
- Contact and Cover
- Weapons Pat Down
- Good Searches
- Proper Interviewing Distance
- Monitoring Hands
- No Person Unobserved
- Limit Their Mobility
- Enough Back-up Officers
- Focus on the People
Sounds like the reverse of some of The Ten Deadly Errors. The ambush is one of the hardest things for us to defend against. Let’s do everything we can to take away a suspect’s tools.
Randall is a twenty-three year veteran officer of a mid-size Florida police department. He served as a SWAT team officer for over 21 years, to include 12 years as a Team Leader. He is currently the Midnight Shift K9 Sergeant and department SWAT Coordinator.