On Complacency

Ry bumped me this by email and it’s worth watching both video’s.  Warning people get shot and people die. (For those of you using RSS, the video isn’t embedding correctly, click here.)

Here’s a better view of the video with the section we really care about.  Watch carefully starting at 1:33.

You will see as the officer opens the door the assailant sticks his arm out and fires a gun at contact range.

Please note while often through the State Sponsored Criminal Count it seems like I’m callous and have no respect for the danger police officers are in that is anything but true.  I have plenty of respect and this video above shows exactly how dangerous it can be.  Why I do the count is for a different time because from what I could see in the video, this officer had done no wrong with regards to the rights of the people involved.

But what happened?  As Ry said “Getting behind the OODA loop,” which I can certainly see in this case.  What strikes me more though is a complacency that appears since already one individual is in cuffs and everything appears to be calm and routine.  The cops figure if there was going to be an issue it would have already happened.  Then without warning things turn south.  The calm and routine is usually where you end up in trouble because your brain expects a different outcome.

The officer that was shot at contact distance didn’t really even have a chance.  By the time he realized what was happening the hammer was starting to fall.  The other officer was obviously taken off guard as well.  The were taken so off guard he had problems integrating the new information into their OODA loop.  The officer is reacting as if they were in Condition White and have trouble, as Cooper said, transitioning the levels to “The Fight is On”.

Take away’s as a sheep dog.  Just because something seems kosher doesn’t actually mean all is well and safe.  Never leave condition yellow around anyone that might be dangerous.  In this case as an officer, I can understand being in Orange even especially during a traffic stop.  However that line to Red must be clearly defined and you must not false trip.

Further as a wolf in sheep’s clothing you can play this same trick on criminals attempting to use you as prey.  If you recognize a predator, and for some reason you passed the interview, you can make them think their crime will be routine when in the end it will be anything but.  It’s more likely to lock them up because they will not have planned for that eventuality, it normally goes south for them when they can easily make an exit.  You must be careful in that game because letting them close distance is usually a bad thing.

Anyone else pull any different lessons or observations out of those videos?

My heart goes out to that officers family because he didn’t deserve that, he was doing his job and from what I saw, he was doing it honestly and admirably which is worthy of praise. It pleases me to also be able to report the following:

Jerry Lard, who was a passenger in the back seat of the stopped car, was convicted last month of capital murder for killing Schmidt. He has been sentenced to death.

Disappointingly I’m sure it won’t happen for a very long time.

TMM

TMM is the owner, editor, and principal author at The Minuteman, a competitive shooter, and staff member for Boomershoot. Even in his free time he’s merging his love and knowledge of computers and technology with his love of firearms.

Many know his private name and information however due to the current political climate, many are distancing themselves due to the abandonment of Due Process.