Vehicle Ambush Training

Best Practices AMAURY MURGADO

VEHICLE AMBUSH TRAINING Don't become a sitting duck in your patrol car; learn how to react when fired on. f the 530 officers killed between 1998 and 2008, 106 were killed in an ambush, according to the FBI's Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted report. That's a significant number and equates to 20% of all officers feloniously killed. This is why you owe it to yourself to seek training that will help you avoid such a fate, including how to handle an ambush in your vehicle. A recent incident helps illustrate a classic example of a vehicle ambush where a handgun was involved.

On the morning of Feb. 28, 2013, 35-year-old Sgt. Gary Morales, a 13-year veteran of the Saint Lucie County (Fla.) Sheriff's Office, conducted a traffic stop. At some point during the stop the suspect, 25-year-old Eriese Tisdale, got out of the driver's side of his car and ran over to where Sgt. Morales was sitting in his patrol car. Tisdale extended his arm and opened fire. He then stepped back away from the patrol car and fired again. In a matter of seconds, Morales had been hit multiple times. One of the rounds severed the main artery in his neck, which contributed heavily to his death.

Sgt. Morales's death was a tremendous loss for his family, his agency, and law enforcement as a whole. Unfortunately, incidents like this are happening far too frequently and becoming commonplace. When faced with this reality, the question becomes, "What can we do to help mitigate such attacks?" The obvious answer is to create a training program that helps to curtail our losses.

My agency, the Osceola County (Fla.) Sheriff's Office, recently presented an in-service training program that was developed and presented by Dep. Rich Doty from our Training Unit. He tackled the issue by focusing on the only three possible options available when attacked in your vehicle: retreat, run the suspect over, or get out and fight.

PRE-AMBUSH CONSIDERATIONS Before getting into the three options, let's briefly cover what

you should be thinking of before you ever stop to park your car. "Situational awareness" is one of those phrases officers hear in training but seldom put into practice. Don't make that mistake, or it could be your last. You always need to know what's going on around you.

You need to be in the moment and focusing on the task at hand when responding to a call, not just trying to solve the crime via your in-car computer. That means getting as 14

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If you exit the car to fight back, put the engine block between you and the assailant.

much information as you can, calling in your position on the radio, and looking at your approach from a tactical and strategic perspective as you decide where to park.

Your approach is critical if for no other reason than it helps set up your escape. For example, park too close and you won't be able to drive forward. Get blocked in by traffic and you won't be able to drive backward. Use what's around you to your advantage and to the disadvantage of the suspect. Everything you do must have a purpose. It doesn't matter whether it's during a field interview, obtaining control of a resisting suspect, or driving; your goal is to screw up the suspect's initiative by taking away as many of his or her options as possible.

Another consideration is making room in your vehicle so you can crouch down in the seat. Every police vehicle shares the same obstacles; it is loaded with kit and very confining.

Crouching down in the seat is easier said than done, so you need to make adjustments and practice it. If you're a Field Training Officer, you need to practice this from the passenger side. Also, if you have never practiced drawing your gun from inside your vehicle, on both the driver and passenger side, you have already given the suspect a huge advantage over you.

RETREAT As you drive up to a call, you look for an acceptable place

to park. You find a place, stop, place your car in park, and For more Best Practices go to www.PoliceMag.com/bestpractices

PHOTO: AMAURY MURGADO

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Best Practices

PHOTO: AMAURY MURGADO

start to unbuckle your seat belt before you In a life-and-death situation there are nor backward but to fight outside of your turn the car off. Unbeknownst to you, you two kinds of people: those who survive vehicle. You are ambushed and the sushave driven into a kill zone and find your- and those who don't. If you are justified pect is coming toward you while firing his self in an ambush. You start taking rounds in using deadly force, the action you take handgun. What do you do? and your world is reduced to yelling, loud to defend your life is warranted. In this In my agency's recent training I did bangs, and exploding glass. Now what? respect, there is no difference between what I had always done before; unlock the During a retreat, the idea is to crouch shooting someone and running him over. doors, get out, take a shot or two at the susdown or lie down on the seat so you can For another example, say you start to pect, and then get some distance between use as much of the engine block as pos- park your car when all of a sudden some- us and continue the fight. Adding Airsoft sible for cover. You then drive backwards one comes around the corner of a building pistols, however, showed me that I would and create distance between you and the and starts shooting at you. She is running be hit several times before I could get into kill zone. If you were paying attention to toward you and rounds are hitting your any tactical position doing what I was doyour surroundings during your approach, car. You can't retreat because you are too ing. Just trying to draw my gun as I was exyou should be able to use your view of near a curve with heavy traffic. You decide iting the vehicle was not as simple as one telephone wires, rooftops, light poles, that running the suspect over to stop the would think. It's a good thing I attended etc., to help you orient yourself from your threat is your only viable option. the training. crouched or prone vantage point.

Crouch down in the seat, put the car in At one point, Dep. Doty asked me why Your goal is to get away from the kill drive, and punch it toward the shooter. I wasn't firing through the window first zone and get into a position that will allow Whether you hit her or not, keep driving and then trying to get out of the car. I reyou to exit your vehicle and counally didn't have an answer for ter the attack. Try to position your him other than under stress you vehicle between yourself and the do what you've always trained suspect so you are using as much to do. As much as I preach using of the engine block as possible. the OODA Loop, that day I had to You should know by now that the change mine in order to effectivedoors of your cruiser themselves ly change that of the suspect. A provide little to no protection. better approach is to fire out your Get on the radio as soon as you front windshield and then try to can and call for backup. If there is get out once you've redirected the enough of a lull, try to get to your suspect's attention. shotgun or rifle and assess if you need to move to a more tactical loTHE REAL DEAL cation. Trust me, all of this sounds When you train in realistic sceWhen ambushed in your vehicle, you can flee, use the a lot easier than it is and you need narios, you get a feel for what vehicle as a weapon, or get out and fight back. If you to practice this tactic. might actually happen to you. fight back, fight your way to cover.

During my training day, I fared RUN OVER THE SUSPECT better than most since I do pracDriving over a suspect with your vehicle out of the kill zone. And as before, position tice drawing my gun from within my pais probably the most controversial tactic your car in a way that lets you get out and trol car. But I also banged my head twice police officers can use, and I take no issue prepare for your counter attack. As before, getting out of the car and almost tore off with it. For example, if someone jumps remember to place your car in such a way a fingernail that caught on who knows out of his car shooting at you during your to take full advantage of the engine block what. traffic stop, you don't have time for much for cover.

Getting ambushed is something we of anything. He is not shooting at you to If you do hit the shooter, be prepared must all be prepared to deal with. Focusget your attention; he is trying to kill you. for the possibility that you might have ing on the three options of retreat, run the only slowed her down and she could still suspect over, or get out and fight will go attack you. Be prepared to engage the sus- a long way toward preparing yourself for Prepare for Vehicle Ambush pect if you still have to. As in all ambush- someone firing on you in your vehicle.

1. Understand pre-ambush considerations. es, always be prepared for multiple assailants, hence the need to get out of the kill Amaury Murgado is a special operations 2. Practice situational awareness as you prepare to stop or park your vehicle. zone, gain a tactical advantage through lieutenant with the Osceola County (Fla.) 3. Know how best to retreat in your distance, and prepare to continue to fight Sheriff's Office. He is a retired master servehicle. geant from the Army Reserve, has more off other attackers.

4. You may have to run a suspect over. than 25 years of law enforcement experi5. You might have to fight outside your ence, and has been a lifelong student of GET OUT AND FIGHT vehicle. martial arts.

The third option is to neither go forward 16

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