The case of Officer Keith Borders

[JohnH1963]

I saw this article in another thread and thought it was a good one to put up. I guess we are just armchair internet quarterbacks examining things after the fact, but I think there are a few lessons to reading this story.

http://www.lawofficer.com/news-and-a...sacrifice.html

I am wondering why the officer facing an unknown threat decided to remain so close to the scene without backup? He got the wife and kids away from the house and so there was no threat to them. I think he should have gotten into the car and drove a few hundred feet away from the scene. I also believe his presence might have angered the man and forced him to take action. If the officer simply drove away and waited down the block for backup he would have been a lot better off.

All the officer has is a pistol and shotgun facing down a man with an unknown amount of weaponry firing from a covered position. The man might have had an AR-15 or AK-47 in the house...no one knows.

[Brian Pfleuger]

He got a daughter and grand-daughter away from the scene. He remained because the assailants wife refused to leave.

His actions in that incident are the very definition of courage and valor.

[Wagonman]

I am wondering why the officer facing an unknown threat decided to remain so close to the scene without backup?

Because that's what we do-----advance toward danger.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

So if an officer didn't advance against an unknown rampage shooter - guess what some people would say.

[ojibweindian]

Just read the entire article, and other than a few minor points on tactics mentioned by the author, I can't really see anything to critique. Officer Borders did exceptionally well given his circumstances. I'm glad he survived the encounter, and wish he'd been able to fully recover.

[Blue Steel]

First let me say that this officer performed valiantly. Some people think it is not proper to examine situations like this seeking to find what may have been done differently, seeing it as an afront to the officer who actually went through the ordeal. I personally feel that we honor the officer's courage by understanding that things can often be learned so that others might have a better outcome if faced with similar circumstances.

I think Officer Borders did a commendable job in this situation, and his mental & physical toughness to stay in the fight despite his injuries should be an example to all. I had an instructor tell me once, if you're alive enough to realize you're hurt then you're alive enough to fight.

My only real critique is the failure to remove the wife from the scene despite her protests. Her presence seems to directly contribute to every other issue that worked against Officer Borders.

After Jennifer and her daughter left, Borders turned to Debbie again and urged her to follow, but she was determined to stay. As he continued to plead with her...

At what point should we decide that Debbie doesn't get to decide if she is leaving. If you have to arrest her for interfering, it is my opinion that she should be removed from the scene.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Mettinger began crying uncontrollably as her husband ran back inside through the side door, and then closed the garage door with its remote control. Again, Borders urged Mrs. Mettinger to leave, but she refused. Even worse, she repeatedly tried to stand up. Borders already had his hands full trying to watch for Mettinger while coordinating the responding units on the radio, and the added burden of trying to keep Debbie down made the shotgun dangerous to handle. He threw the cumbersome weapon back into his car, and drew his Glock again.

Shots have been fired, and Mrs. Mettinger is doing nothing but complicating the situation. We again have the opportunity to remove her from the scene, by force if necessary. This would allow the officer to fall back to safety and start establishing a perimeter. I also would not abandon a superior weapon in the midst of a gun battle.

The door began to rise, and Borders watched as Mettinger's bare legs came into view near the back of the garage. Mettinger's baggy shorts came next, topped by the man's hefty belly. Stuffed into his waistband were a .357 magnum revolver and a 9 mm pistol, but even more worrisome was the 12-gauge pump he was holding.

Borders crouched low next to his right front fender, kept his gun trained on Mettinger and ordered him to put the gun down. Instead, Mettinger took cover along the left side of the pickup in the garage...

Both Officer Borders and one of his partners have taken fire from this suspect. A bystander is in the immediate area complicating the situation. IMHO, Mr. Mettinger has alreadby been given every opportunity to surrender and we are currently engaged in a gunfight. When the assailant exposed himself, showing himself to be heavily armed, he should have immediately been engaged with gunfire. I feel for Officer Borders, as I am sure that Mrs. Mettinger continued to be a complicating factor, no doubt yelling to her husband.

Horrified, Borders snapped off two quick shots at Mettinger as he rushed toward the man's wife. To let this innocent woman die was unthinkable. Driven by the selflessness that burns deep in the heart of every warrior, he threw his body across the imperiled woman just as the shotgun roared.

While driven by duty I am not sure I am this selfless. My hats off to Officer Borders for protecting Mrs. Mettinger, but after she refused to leave the scene multiple times I think my focus would have been on my attacker.

[JohnH1963]

I am not saying it wasnt a brave act, just how the outcome may have been better. The shooter was not exactly a rampage shooter. He went back into the house and locked the door for a little while. Then came back out looking from behind the fence.

So there were a few options. I think the officer should not have abandoned his shotgun. A firmer order to the women to leave maybe along with a threat of arrest if they stayed or maybe physically taking them out of the scene by grabbing their arm and going behind a nearby house. Something to get the women away from the scene. I think the best way was getting the women in the car, driving down the block, dropping them off and then monitoring the scene from a distance until help arrived. I think trying to talk to the man just made him more angry.

I think this incident is a good example of why an officer should pack something a little more then a pistol like an SMG or assault rifle...

[kraigwy]

Hind sight is great. You have hour, days, weeks and years, to ponder on what an officer has seconds to make a decission.

First off, its silly to think an officer can pack a shotgun or rifle on every domestic call. I often found a shotgun to be more in the way, then a help.

No can you expect to walk out because somebody has guns in the house.

Back up is handy but not always available. There are more times you dont need back up then there are times you need it.

In my 20 years I've been chastized for not calling for backup, and chastized for calling back up.

Thinking back, knowing then what I know now, I cant really think of many decisions I would have made differant.

[Uncle Ben]

I have deep respect for this hero of a man after reading this story.
I also have anger for the woman who was being protected by the officer, yet refused to meet any request he had, and seems to be the cause of putting the officer in immediate danger that he otherwise may have been able to take cover from.

Obviously the agressor is the sole cause of bringing about this whole incident, but the wife made it impossible for the officer to protect her and do his job...without being injured himself.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

I read the article thoroughly, and I don't think the OP's hindsight biases really are that useful.

Yes, all of us tactical wizards would have won the day with ease.

The officer did a brave and credible job. Minor gliches are just that. If the guy had dropped after one of the 45 hits - then what a great officer. Did you notice the clever use of skipped rounds? That doesn't count as competence?

Yeah, he should have carried a Barrett.

Closed.