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Further, I'll note that none of the "It's OK" crowd have responded to Glenn's proposal. Let me re-post it:
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Well, I have not posted for a day or so.
But I'll address the scenario.
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Let's turn the tables. You come across a BG with his back turned to you but carrying a gun in your house. ... However, you say - Drop the gun! The person says, 'I will slowly put it down' and very slowly starts to do that. Think they can shoot you, while you have your thumb up your butt. In fact, when you start to bellow more commands - that's the time to shoot you as the diversion of your attention to your verbalims diverts your attentional resources and slows you down.
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I'd certainly like to hear Scattergun Bob's take on this too, because it seems we may have the same control technique.
In the unlikely event that I've commanded an
armed intruder to drop his weapon in my house [in my bvd's in the dark] and he takes the action indicated above and I'm not comfortable with it, the simple solution is:
STOP!
DON'T MOVE!
Now that I have his attention and he is not moving in a way I don't want him to...
Open your hand and DROP the gun! ... DO IT NOW!
The basic principles by which I was taught was that if your suspect started to move in a way you did not want (or perhaps expect), you issue the command "STOP!" loud and clear. Once they've heard that, you keep them there with "Don't Move!". You interrupt whatever they were starting to do and re-exert control. At this point, you can decide if your instructions must be
very specific. Such as the order to open the hand and drop the gun.
Our instructors also took the time to hammer in a few additional points. The apparent age of the suspect must be considered, especially with respect to how fast they comply and/or stop when told to stop. Older suspects, especially those over about 55-60, may take more time to respond, especially to a change (such as "Stop!").
Another point was that people who have never encountered felony-stop/felony-control procedures may not perform exactly as expected. They may look down when told to kneel or break their hand position to balance on descent. It's up to the officer to maintain control and be clear in his commands.
"Driver! Keep your hands on your head and kneel
straight down! Do it now!"
With respect to Dave, Erik, Glenn, et al., who have been patient and pragmatic (in telling us how things
really are on the street), this has been an excellent discourse (even if we sense some irritation on both sides!
)
Dave - if ordered to "drop the gun", the most likely reaction I'd have is to yell back
I will disarm and drop the gun!, then keeping the muzzle in a "safe" direction drop the gun as instructed in a deliberately slow, smooth motion.
My
preference would be to see or hear the arriving officers and just before they pull up, either re-holster the weapon or open the cylinder/lock the slide open... then raise my hands and wait for orders.
FWIW: I used to take the role "bad guy" at our local academy, even after I graduated. Mostly because I could stress the training scenario by being "compliant" in unexpected ways. Mixing up right or left, for instance. Or when told to kneel, break hand-on-head position to balance on one knee at a time. And when told to "show me your hands" I'd just briefly raise my hands, show them empty, then drop them down again. Compliant, but not really "smart".
In fact, one lateral transfer in an advanced course
did shoot me (with blanks at least) when I showed my hands but failed to keep them displayed. And he was p-o'd when the instructor would not accept a "threat" justification because
it is up to the officer to issue clear, concise and unambigious commands to maintain control of the situation.
And that's been my thinking on the subject for decades.