Good review for officers

From PoliceOne.com News:

John Farnam's reminders to officers in wake of Wash. ambush

Submitted by:
John Farnam, Defense Training International

Editor’s Note: PoliceOne Member and renowned instructor John Farnam of Defense Training International sent out the following message in yesterday’s mailing of Farnam’s Quips. As John says on his Web site, “Willingness is a state of mind. Readiness is a statement of fact.” PoliceOne would like to thank John for his permission to run this as a P1 Tactical Tip.

The motive of the suspect who murdered four police officers [in Washington State] last Sunday morning is unclear. It is also unclear whether or not the perpetrator targeted police officers in general, or these officers in particular.

Nor am I speculating that this incident necessarily represents a new trend. And, as the prime suspect was shot to death by police early this morning, we may never have answers to these questions.

What is clear is the fact that it was well known that unformed patrol officers routinely congregated at this particular restaurant, at a particular time, on a regular basis.

As a response, I’m suggesting all LEOs, in uniform or not, immediately reevaluate routines and procedures!

Reminders that follow are, I know, elementary and obvious, but they need repeating now:

(1) Vary your “routine.” When someone knows for sure that you will be in a particular place, at a particular time, planning an ambush becomes easy. We have to continuously practice stealth and variance. It goes with the territory. Do the unexpected. Don’t be predictable!

(2) When several officers are gathered together, be it at a restaurant or at roll-call, like a designated-driver, someone needs to be always “on watch.” Of course, we

all need to be alert, but at least one of us needs to be specifically assigned to keep his head up. Subtle alert signals need to be worked out between us and routinely rehearsed, so we can all react quickly, and in a coordinated way, when necessary.

(3) Don’t keep thinking of yourself as the exception! Belief in “guardian-angles” is for children. You do not carry pistols in vain, and you bleed red blood, just like everyone else. When your number is up, only you can save yourself. Recommit yourself to continuous readiness, or do something else for a living!

(4) Appearances only go so far. The brazen act of attacking four, uniformed, armed police officers simultaneously is unusual, but we see that it does happen. Appearances detour much criminal activity every day, but there are plenty of genuine desperados running loose who are not impressed with uniforms and are unafraid to take you on. Again, be ever-prepared to go all the way!