Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Shoot Outs

There are plenty of videos out there but the latest one was seen on Uncle.  It was removed, but you may have seen it.  Try this link.

There are vids others out there.

This is one of the things about dash cams on cop cars.  You can see and analyze a shootout and look for applications for CCW emergencies.

Now, the cop/bad-guy dynamic isn't going to be there.  It will be predator-chooses-unoptimal-victim from the predators point of view.  But bear with me.

What is usually in common with all these videos?

Biggest thing is the adrenalin dump all around.  Lots of emotion.  Lots of loss of fine motor skills.  Tunnel vision.  Lots of shots.  And lots of misses.  Imminent death can draw your full attention.

What did you expect shootout to be like you see out of Hollywood?

The other thing is...  movement.  A shooter (cop or badguy) might freeze in place if they are behind cover, but if not they tend to shift around like a boxer.  Instinctively, as I am assuming the bad guys don't take pistol classes that tell them to get off the X.

Remember the side steps the bad guy takes in the Uncle video, if you caught it?  Sadly, against right handed shooters, this is the 'wrong' way.  Tactical error on the bad guy.  He wants to move the other way because right handers will shoot low and left.  But in a car stop, he really can't side step to his left.  The car blocks him.  Moving is better than not moving, certainly.  And for all we know both cops were lefties.

We don't know all the details for this particular shooting.  The female cop was injured, the bad guy got dead, if I had to guess.  Specific details...  The bad guy had a gun in his hand the whole time, from exit of his vehicle to after he was no longer moving.  The bad guy has a rifle.  Looks like it may be an AK type with no shoulder stock or none unfolded (good for the cops, as he wasn't aiming).  30 seconds.  From the first shot to the last.  Not a lot of time.  Bad guys seems unhinged, and may have shouted "kill me!"  No way to tell. 

With all that missing going on, and the amped up bad guy and cops, LOTS of rounds were fired and lots were needed it seems.  Tends to happen with pistols.  Again, unlike Hollywood, the bad guys don't crumple up every time after one hit.  So, what if you have a 5 shot snubbie?  Well you can't go into a shootout with the same mindset/tactics, clearly.  Shoot and get the flock out of there.  Forcing yourself to not panic would be useful, and not empty your 5 shots, but who can ensure that going in?  Still probably a good idea to try that.  Lots of movement and movement to cover when your 5 shot .38 is going against 15 9mm or, in this case, maybe 30 7.62mm. 

Let's see if this stays...

4 comments:

Marty said...

Suicide by cop.

joethefatman said...

What the flippen he!! was a bystander doing coming up that way? You need to stay back during and after and give a witness statement. You don't need to go up and ask if you can help because you have a gun. After that stress the bystander is lucky he didn't get dead.

Old NFO said...

Living proof that one NEVER knows what is going to happen in a stop... And I'm betting the officers had NO idea how many rounds they fired (this is not uncommon)...

New Jovian Thunderbolt said...

I think the officers in cases like this can sometime answer that question, FO, if the answer is 'all of them.' Even then they might be surprised when they check their mags.