Street survival: tactics for armed encounters

416 Pages·1980·57.57 MB·English

by  Ronald J. Adams

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Street
Survival
Preparation, not paranoia, is the name of the game.
Deputy Chief R. "Zip"Zbinden
Pomona, California
shooting survivor

Street
Survivel
TACTICS for
ARMED ENCOUNTERS
A? .
I
I
1I
I
Special Agent
Ronald J. Adams
Lieutenant
Thomas M. McTernan
Charles Remsberg
C A L I B RE P R E SS • N O R T H B R O O K, I L L I N O IS
Copyright © 1980 by Charles Remsberg
First Printing: March, 1980
Second Printing: July, 1980
Third Printing: December, 1980
Fourth Printing: June, 1981
All rights reserved. It is a Federal offense to reproduce or transmit this
book in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval
system without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published by:
CALIBRE PRESS, INC.
666 Dundee Road
Suite 1607
Northbrook, Illinois 60062
(312) 328-4411
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 79-57196
ISBN Number: 0-935878-00-9
The authors, advisors and publisher accept no liability whatsoever for
any injuries to person or property resulting from the application or
adoption of any of the procedures, tactics or considerations presented
or implied in this book.
Printed in the United States of America

CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix
INTRODUCTION 1
I. TACTICS FOR SURVIVAL
1. THEM AND US 13
2. CONFRONTATION 24
Patterns of Encounter...Suspects Who Shoot...Officer
Attitudes.. .The Survival State of Mind
3. APPROACH TO DANGER 45
Building Approach...Room Approach...Field Interro
gation.. .Traffic Stops.. .Firearms Readiness
4. LIGHT CONTROL 98
Building Lights ... Flashlight ... Vehicle Lights ... Im
proving Night Vision
5. VERBAL CHALLENGE 109
Suspect Control ... Officer Identification ... Apologies
6. USE OF SURPRISE 125
Exiting the Kill Zone...Movement Inside the Kill Zone
...Close-up Surprise...Firearm Retention...Disarming
...Practice
7. COVER AWARENESS 154
Cover and Concealment ... Evaluating Choices ...
Changing Cover...Position and Grips...Patrol Car as
Cover.. .Penetration Power... "Blowing'' Cover
8. SHOOTING TECHNIQUES 190
Instinct Shooting ... Multiple Adversaries ... Center
Mass ... Ricochet Shooting ... Muzzle Flash ... Unpre
dictable Reactions
9. RELOADING UNDER FIRE 219
Efficient Recovery ... Revolver ... Semi-Automatic ...
Shotgun...Back-up Gun
10. FINAL APPROACH 237
Disarming ... Incapacitation ... Approach Position ...
Handcuffing ... Searching for Firearms ... Remaining
Alert ... Recovering Firearms ... Departing the Scene
11. AFTER-BURN 283
Passages.. .Self-Help.. .Therapy.. .Helping Others
II. BASICS THAT STRENGTHEN TACTICS
12. PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT 299
Body Armor ... Service Holsters ... Cross-Draw Hol
sters...Back-up/Off-duty Holsters...Cartridge Carriers
...Leather Care
13. FIREARMS CONTROL 319
Basic Safety...Transporting Firearms...Wild Shots...
Ammunition Control...Customizing...Handling with
Care...Correcting Malfunctions...Home Security
14. CLEANING 370
Preliminaries ... Revolver ... Semi-Automatic ... Shot
gun ... Ammunition Precautions
15. SERVICEABILITY CHECK LIST 385
Revolver ... Semi-Automatic ... Shotgun ... A Note on
Dry Firing
16. PHYSICAL FITNESS 390
Exercises...Sports
ADDITIONAL READING 397
PHOTO CREDITS 400
ABOUT THE AUTHORS 402
viii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book deals with positive tactics officers
can employ on the street to effectively use their own
firearms to defeat those of assailants. It is devoted
exclusively to understanding and mastering tech
niques that work for survival in real life situations—
not what works in range competition against paper
targets or what some academician in a classroom
speculates might work in some hypothetical en
counter.
Unfortunately, most of the current literature
on so-called "combat shooting" falls into these
latter categories. Few street-wise experts or truly
contemporary articles have emerged on street sur
vival, although deadly assaults on the police con
tinue to occur year after year, with alarming fre
quency. While officers are dying, well-meaning
training authorities too often seem obsessed with
discussing such firearms esoterica as customized
grips, ribbed barrels, fancy leather gear and other
irrelevant subjects, rather than the real issues of
tactics to help officers survive in armed confronta
tions.
We began our research by analyzing more than
400 detailed reports of officer-involved shootings
and by surveying some 50 law enforcement agencies
about the firearms instructions they offer...the
major problems their officers encounter on the
street... and what their greatest survival needs appear
to be. For more than a year, our research team then
searched coast to coast to identify practical, real
istic tactics to meet those needs. More than 30
street-wise authorities who have devoted their
careers to officer survival and nearly a dozen police
departments on the cutting edge of survival train
ing were consulted for their best tactical procedures.
Their contribution, plus the authors' cumulative
26 years' experience, most of it in high-risk or
survival-oriented assignments, have formed the
basis of what you will read here.
Without the help and knowledge of many
people, this book could not have become what it
is: the most comprehensive compilation of street-
relevant survival methods ever available. For their
special assistance, we want to acknowledge:
Lieutenant Francis J. McGee of the Firearms and
Tactics Section of the New York City Police Depart
ment, considered by many to be the "father" of the
street survival movement; Pierce R. Brooks, chief
investigator in California's infamous "Onion Field"
case; Officer John S. Farnam of the Elroy (WI) Police
Department, a combat veteran and leading on-site
consultant on weapons training programs for law
enforcement agencies, and Lieutenant Thad C.
Curtis, Commander of Technical Services for the
Pima County (AZ) Sheriff's Department, an enthusi
astic proselytizer and practitioner of survival aware
ness. These officers reviewed the manuscript in
draft form and offered innumerable constructive
comments.
Those to whom we are grateful for help with
research include: James Daugherty, Senior Police
Firearms Instructor, and Herb Chambers, Education
and Training Division, National Rifle Association of
America; Inspector Robert W. Martin, Supervisor
of Firearms Training, Philadelphia Police Academy;
Sergeant Ray King, Rangemaster (ret.), and Sergeant
Donald E. Smith, Chief Firearms Examiner, Chicago
Police Department; W. Fred Pickler, specialist in
high risk patrol tactics and chemical munitions and
President of Fred Pickler & Associates; Lieutenant
W.L. Dickey, Commander of the Ordnance Divi
sion, Memphis Police Department; Al Burnett and
Len Ross, Firearms Trainers, Department of the
Treasury, Federal Law Enforcement Training Cen
ter; James Whitmore, Assistant Professor, Univer
sity of Illinois, Police Training Institute; Chief
Eugene Ferrara, University of Cincinnati Police
Department; Robert L. Monroe, former Instructor,
FBI National Academy; Joseph H. Chernicoff,
Director of Training, U.S. Association of Firearms
Instructors and Coaches; Ed Lovette, Director of
Training, New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy;
Sergeant Robert Givan, Instructor, Advanced Com
bat Training, Indianapolis Police Department; Paul
A. Zolbe, Chief, Uniform Crime Reports Section,
F.B.I.; and Sergeant Dick Newell, Officer-in-
Charge, Ordnance Unit, Los Angeles Police
Academy.