December 2007

There are two or three separate issues raised in the article. First, let me say I am in no way criticizing Off. Franke or how he acted. I am only using the incident as a teaching tool to discuss tactics.

The first rule is to always wait for backup. If they are injuring someone else, you may need to change that, but in a general sense, always wait for backup. Having said that, I will admit that I do not always wait myself and probably would have gone in too, especially if I knew backup was in route or close. But I always advise others to wait until the backup is on the scene whenever they can.

The second question is about the us of the Taser against a person with a firearm. I probably would have tried it as soon as he pulled the weapon to begin with. But I would have done this solely because the Taser was in my hand at the time. If you already have the Taser out and aimed before you know the person is armed, you use what is readily available to get time to draw the other weapon necessary. But I can see using a Taser against a firearm in certain other situations also. If the person is trying suicide, or just threatening it, a Taser might be the right answer instead of a pistol. Consider how it sounds to say I shot him because he was trying to kill himself. I know that this is not what we are really doing and why we use the firearm, but this is how it will be put in the papers. If you are the type of person who responds to stress by becoming ultra-aware, and can see that the finger is not on the trigger like Off. Franke did, then you might consider drawing and using the Taser instead of your firearm. It I can take a person into custody without having to shoot him, I am better off for it. But, unless you have been in a stress situation like this before and know how you will react, it is better to go with your training and draw your firearm if the other person is armed. Remember that the law is we MAY use deadly force, not we SHALL use it.

The third question is about working with officers who have such an aversion to using deadly force that they will not do it. Sorry, but I think they need to consider leaving the law enforcement field. There will come a time when shooting is the only option and I don't want to work with someone who has already ruled that option out. The interesting side note on this is that most officers are very reluctant to shoot and do not want to use deadly force if they can avoid it. Most officers will shoot to protect a third person much more quickly than they will shoot to protect themselves. I understand this psychology (feel that way myself) and it is not a problem. My only problem is with the people who will refuse to use deadly force at all. I do not understand how they expect to do this in police work.