Rich Lucibella
August 5, 2001, 01:10 PM
I live in a very small community (1200). We don't maintain a "Police Force" per se....our guys are a "Safety Department". That means they rotate thru Police and Fire duty depending on the day/week. Perhaps, due to the size or the job functions, they tend not to be too gung-ho. Most are known to me by name and they regularly park at the end of the cul de sac I live on to write their reports. They'll call if something looks out of place, they encourage us to tie our alarm systems directly to their board (pretty cool in 2001), and they'll even check our homes when we're away.
On Friday night, I came home after midnight to find my driveway electronic gate and the front door both wide open. "This isn't good". We'd had an abundance of storms and lightening and I'd had guests in and out that day. Best guess: "Short in the gate controller; miss in locking the front door; heavy wind. "There's no actual latch on the front doors....just a deadbolt and handles)." Worst case...there have been three attempted break-ins in past....all by the same individual (a pro) who was finally caught.
Discretion being the better part of valor, I left the car in the driveway and moved to an empty lot across the street with my cell phone. First cop showed up in less than two minutes. The second a minute after that (that's the entire force at that time of night). I knew the second by face only; the first I'd not seen before.
The dispatcher's first question was "Are there guns in the house?"...."Sure" was the reply. Nothing more was said of this and I realized that, in a big city, I might have been taken aback by the question. In any case, it was a smart question for this small town dispatcher to ask.
After debating with myself for a minute, I realized that I wouldn't be on point in this little house clearing exercise. The responders don't know me well enough and common sense would certainly dictate that I remain in the background or outside. So, I explained to the Rookie: "I'm armed. I'll let you disarm me if you'd like, but I won't be going in with you, in that case." He left it to the Super who arrived and was given the same info.
Super never blinked an eye. He basically said, that's not necessary, just let us go in first. This is an interesting issue when placed in the context of a totally non-confrontational interaction with the cops. We're able to look at the issue of officer safety without getting our hackles up about personal freedoms. Had the tables been reversed, would I have requested the homeowners weapon? I think so....you're called out in dead of night to a home with the doors wide open and the armed homeowner in the street. You hope you know your partner's agenda, but for the homeowner....?? I, for one, would have no idea what might lay ahead. Domestic quarrel with spouse or girlfriend down and owner panicking? Just another news grabber gone over the edge? OTOH, they never asked me if there was anyone else in the house....there wasn't, but that could have made for a real disaster, especially since they already had info that there were guns in the house.
At any rate, we went in with me quietly providing layout to them as we went....it's a big house and sectioning it to keep a checked area "sterile" is not easy. The atmosphere was casual (we all knew the odds against anything untoward). However, it did create enough concern that both officers unsnapped their holster safeties and the Super drew his weapon before mounting the stairs to the 2nd floor.
In that context, the Rookie's behavior struck me as complete Condition White. He simply followed the Super, without thinking about their six. I stopped at two stages as they went into "dead end" wings...both times to heep an eye on the second floor stairs or other area's not yet checked. I would have expected the second man to take those positons instinctively....bad move.
The house turned out, as expected, to be clear. However, in their travels, I count no less than 5 firearms they encountered in the open....including the McMillan .50. As I don't have children, I've no need to apologize for firearms being out....in this case, I've been doing a belated cleaning from my last TX trip. Additionally, one or two of the weapons happened to be on a kitchen counter or in my office, because that's where they were taken off. Regardless, the Super remarked that he'd seen a number of guns so he doubted anyone had been inside...and he left it at that. (Way cool in 2001)
Lessons learned:
For me:
- Responsibility means double checking doors and alarm when you leave firearms out.
- It also means making a concerted effort to keep the available weapons to a minimum!
- Next time, hit the "All On" switch for lights as soon as you walk in the front door in such situations....would have made their job a lot easier.
For the Law:
- Team Tactics are readily available....USE THEM
- Know the layout of a building and ask whether there's pets or persons inside, BEFORE you go in....no matter how casual the encounter may seem.
- Keep making those tough decisions about whether the citizen before you is to be trusted or not with their firearm....but don't take unnecessary chances.
I'm proud of these guys, in that they didn't ask for my pistol. I'm real proud of the professional manner in which they dismissed 1911's, Glocks and Heavy Rifles to "personal right". But I also realize, under other circumstances, why an officer might ask me to surrender my weapon.
Rich
On Friday night, I came home after midnight to find my driveway electronic gate and the front door both wide open. "This isn't good". We'd had an abundance of storms and lightening and I'd had guests in and out that day. Best guess: "Short in the gate controller; miss in locking the front door; heavy wind. "There's no actual latch on the front doors....just a deadbolt and handles)." Worst case...there have been three attempted break-ins in past....all by the same individual (a pro) who was finally caught.
Discretion being the better part of valor, I left the car in the driveway and moved to an empty lot across the street with my cell phone. First cop showed up in less than two minutes. The second a minute after that (that's the entire force at that time of night). I knew the second by face only; the first I'd not seen before.
The dispatcher's first question was "Are there guns in the house?"...."Sure" was the reply. Nothing more was said of this and I realized that, in a big city, I might have been taken aback by the question. In any case, it was a smart question for this small town dispatcher to ask.
After debating with myself for a minute, I realized that I wouldn't be on point in this little house clearing exercise. The responders don't know me well enough and common sense would certainly dictate that I remain in the background or outside. So, I explained to the Rookie: "I'm armed. I'll let you disarm me if you'd like, but I won't be going in with you, in that case." He left it to the Super who arrived and was given the same info.
Super never blinked an eye. He basically said, that's not necessary, just let us go in first. This is an interesting issue when placed in the context of a totally non-confrontational interaction with the cops. We're able to look at the issue of officer safety without getting our hackles up about personal freedoms. Had the tables been reversed, would I have requested the homeowners weapon? I think so....you're called out in dead of night to a home with the doors wide open and the armed homeowner in the street. You hope you know your partner's agenda, but for the homeowner....?? I, for one, would have no idea what might lay ahead. Domestic quarrel with spouse or girlfriend down and owner panicking? Just another news grabber gone over the edge? OTOH, they never asked me if there was anyone else in the house....there wasn't, but that could have made for a real disaster, especially since they already had info that there were guns in the house.
At any rate, we went in with me quietly providing layout to them as we went....it's a big house and sectioning it to keep a checked area "sterile" is not easy. The atmosphere was casual (we all knew the odds against anything untoward). However, it did create enough concern that both officers unsnapped their holster safeties and the Super drew his weapon before mounting the stairs to the 2nd floor.
In that context, the Rookie's behavior struck me as complete Condition White. He simply followed the Super, without thinking about their six. I stopped at two stages as they went into "dead end" wings...both times to heep an eye on the second floor stairs or other area's not yet checked. I would have expected the second man to take those positons instinctively....bad move.
The house turned out, as expected, to be clear. However, in their travels, I count no less than 5 firearms they encountered in the open....including the McMillan .50. As I don't have children, I've no need to apologize for firearms being out....in this case, I've been doing a belated cleaning from my last TX trip. Additionally, one or two of the weapons happened to be on a kitchen counter or in my office, because that's where they were taken off. Regardless, the Super remarked that he'd seen a number of guns so he doubted anyone had been inside...and he left it at that. (Way cool in 2001)
Lessons learned:
For me:
- Responsibility means double checking doors and alarm when you leave firearms out.
- It also means making a concerted effort to keep the available weapons to a minimum!
- Next time, hit the "All On" switch for lights as soon as you walk in the front door in such situations....would have made their job a lot easier.
For the Law:
- Team Tactics are readily available....USE THEM
- Know the layout of a building and ask whether there's pets or persons inside, BEFORE you go in....no matter how casual the encounter may seem.
- Keep making those tough decisions about whether the citizen before you is to be trusted or not with their firearm....but don't take unnecessary chances.
I'm proud of these guys, in that they didn't ask for my pistol. I'm real proud of the professional manner in which they dismissed 1911's, Glocks and Heavy Rifles to "personal right". But I also realize, under other circumstances, why an officer might ask me to surrender my weapon.
Rich