By Mark “Six” James
The stress and adrenaline dump of a deadly force encounter are challenging enough in and of themselves; however post deadly force encounter the steps you take next are as important as the preparation which allowed to survive the encounter.
In most states you cannot use any more force than the force being used against you and when that force stops so must yours. If you have made the decision to use deadly force you must have felt your life, or that of your client or team member was in serious danger. That decision will be sorted out by the judge not me but until then here are some important considerations:
When the perpetrator is no longer a threat stop shooting. While you call the authorities continue to check your surroundings particularly behind you to make sure he has no bad guy buddies trying to sneak up on you. Since there is a temporary lull in the storm, take the time to tactically reload (get your weapon back to full ammo capacity); in the event that the situation continues to deteriorate.
Call 911 or ask someone to call the authorities immediately, and ask the dispatcher to send the police, if the client, team member, innocent bystander or perpetrator has been injured also notify them to send an ambulance also (even if you believe the perpetrator may be fatally injured ask them to send an ambulance anyway). Give the dispatcher a good description of yourself so police may recognize you.
You need to be the first to call in you don’t want the perpetrator or the perpetrators buddies calling the authorities first trying to manipulate the situation. As soon as it is tactically safe have the other team members evacuate the client. You must be careful while the first encounter may have been an attempt on your life or that of your client, there may be other assailants waiting to launch a second strike.
Now call your attorney. First call is to 911, second call is to your attorney! Don’t misrepresent the facts (to either the dispatcher or police) or alter evidence at the scene. If you alter evidence eventually it will be found out and your credibility will be lost at minimum or you may be charged with tampering with evidence. Secure the weapon. If the perpetrator has a weapon, try and secure the weapon, this does not necessarily mean picking it up.
You may accomplish this by merely instructing the perpetrator to move away from the weapon. There may be times when you may have to literally secure the weapon (for your own safety or the safety of others), if this is the case and you must pick it up, consider sticking an ink pen in the muzzle/barrel and picking it up.
Other times you may secure the weapon by slightly moving it away from the perpetrators grasp with your foot. If a crowd appears and they start to become riotous and you no longer feel safe and you must flea, immediately tell the dispatcher if they are still on the line or redial the police as you head straight to the police station. As soon as it is tactically possible secure your own weapon in your holster (however holstering your own weapon does not mean not keeping it at the ready).
You don’t want to be standing there with a gun in your hand when the police arrive. There will be times that you may have to hold a perpetrator at bay, until the police arrive. If that is the case and they say put your gun down. Please heed that advice, you don’t want to become an accidental shooting because they thought you were the perpetrator!
There is a good chance you will at minimum be handcuffed or arrested even in a self-defense shooting, until the police can sort out the situation.
Remember the police are also concerned for their own safety and since one person is already down, they don’t want the second person down to be them. Tell the police you would like to press charges or file a complaint against the perpetrator. Point out any witnesses on the scene or relevant evidence the police should be aware of.
Don’t talk to anyone about the case until it has been adjudicated. If you are arrested and placed in a holding cell, avoid talking to anyone about your situation. You never know who may be trying to cut their own deal or if the police may have planted a snitch to try and check your story.
Don’t talk to your family, friends, co-workers or strangers about the case. People will try and press you for details. Just advise them, “unfortunately this is still an ongoing investigation and I am not at liberty to make any comments.” While you may not be charged criminally in the case, it doesn’t mean you may not become the party of a civil suit.
Dear Six:
Not only very informative, but a highly professionally written article. You do not hear about this topic every day. Thanks Six!
“Perpetrator Down, Now What?”
The first 1-2-3’s
1.Secure the area…
2.Protect the scene…
3.Call 911…Request local authorities…ambulance…
Great article Six ! And great input form all every situation may never be like the other! But first 1-2-3 is a must are you without a doubt will be facing some serious fall back or reprecussion!
Once again great input cross the board and great article on need to know information.
best regard to all,
Nikida SJ1,
President
Second Shadow Close Protection Services
Always look to preserve your own safety first. If I don’t need to move the weapon I don’t touch it at all. If I am concerned for my safety I will move it the most efficient way possible. Everyone has their own point of view, I however don’t like my fingerprints on someone else’s weapon if I can avoid it. Always let the situation dictate your response. There are no right or wrong ways, just be able to explain and justify your actions.
You need to talk to the police just make sure you are in the right frame of mind when you have those discussions.
Thanks, Mark–great job on the story and sound advice.
I always tell students that after an encounter, explain to the police that they want to be cooperative, but that they want to go to the hospital first. They may have been injured and not know it. Also, it allows a cool-down period to let the event gel in their mind; so that they can effectively communicate the facts to their attorney.
As a matter of safety however, I don’t go for the pencil-down-the-barrel technique for picking up guns…just pick it up (finger in high register) and secure it in your belt. Having been on a number of crime scenes, I wouldn’t be as keen on preservation of fingerprints as I would having control over all firearms at the scene.
Again though – great article!
Another informative article. Thanks for writing about this important subject. Everybody wants to train for tactics and shooting but the aftermath is rarely touched.
Great article Mark. Not being a member of a law enforcement team or protective detail, I find it to be excellent advice for those on the civilian end of a home invasion. Thank you.
Thanks Mark
Excellent info for steps to be taken during deadly force encounter.Thanks Mark
Excellent article and a great topic of concern.
Good review for the “What if” happens. For personal security this is a good overview of what to do. It becomes a little more challenging if this is a shooting related to working a protective detail. Are you the detail leader? Who is responsible for Evade and Evacuate? Do you have procedures in place to follow if a shooting happens during your detail? Are you a single agent or acting as a team? These are some good questions to ask yourself and your team prior to taking on an armed assignment.
Sound, practical advice. Good article.
This article was very timely and relevant for me as a good friend and fellow agent just had to deal with this type of situation. It is also a topic I review in my Defensive Handgun book.
Great article. Having been on the law enforcement side of a lethal encounter, your advice is spot on. I will say that unfortunately it is highly likely that the bodyguard will be handcuffed at the scene for just the reasons you describe. Being ready for that can help alleviate some of the stress knowing that it is just procedure and the police may not actually believe you did anything wrong. You don’t have to start making your case to them as they handcuff you. Like Mark says, don’t offer information until you are required to.
One more addition is that if you have a spare full magazine and can pull the “used” magazine and secure it in a pocket instead of topping it off, that would be best since it will become key evidence.
Great advice about requesting an ambulance even if you believe they are fatally wounded. Only medical professionals can declare someone deceased so always call for an ambulance no matter what.
Mark,
The procedural steps you have outlined during a deadly force encounter should help alleviate a myriad of problems for all of us in the event such a situation occurs. Thank you as always for your sound advice.
Jim
Great article Mark. You and Justin Johnson (www.JustinJohnsonBG.com) must be on the save wavelength as he has a complementary article in the recent issue of The Circuit Magazine.
Again, excellent insight into a little discussed but VERY important subject as it relates to firearms.
Elijah Shaw, CEO
Icon Services Corporation
http://www.Industry-Icon.com