New Findings from the FBI about Cop Attackers & Their Weapons

Stopping Power.net ^ | date not given | Dr. Anthony Pinizzotto & others

[epow]

New findings on how offenders train with, carry and deploy the weapons they use to attack police officers have emerged in a just-published, 5-year study by the FBI.

Among other things, the data reveal that most would-be cop killers:

* show signs of being armed that officers miss; * have more experience using deadly force in “street combat” than their intended victims; * practice with firearms more often and shoot more accurately; * have no hesitation whatsoever about pulling the trigger. "If you hesitate," one told the study’s researchers, "you’re dead. You have the instinct or you don’t. If you don’t, you’re in trouble on the street..."These and other weapons-related findings comprise one chapter in a 180-page research summary called "Violent Encounters:" A Study of Felonious Assaults on Our Nation's.......

[epow]

This report surprised me. I have always thought of street punks as doped-up, inexperienced, unskilled gun handlers who seldom if ever practice with their guns, and hardly know which end of a gun the bullet comes out of. But according to this study my assumption has been sadly mistaken. This report does me a favor in that it gives me a stronger incentive to practice with my carry gun(s) more often and in longer sessions with more shots fired. The recent large increase in the price of handgun ammunition and reloading components is a deterrent to frequent practice, even though I handload practically all of my practice ammo for every caliber gun (.45acp, .38 Spcl, .380 auto)that I carry, depending on the various places and situations in which I often carry a weapon. Never the less, competent gun handling and marksmanship is a perishable skill, so I intend to cut costs on something else and put more time and treasure into hopefully improving, or at the least maintaining, my present level of competence in the use of the various types and sizes of firearms that I keep close at hand in my home, my vehicles, and on the street for defensive purposes. My better half also needs to practice more often with her own weapon, but she doesn't give it the same priority level that I do

[mamelukesabre]

A criminal that would attack a police officer is a rare individual...not your run of the mill criminial. Your idea of a common street punk is accurate. Common street punks are not the type that would attack a police officer.

In my opinion.

[OldDeckHand]

My son is a Marine Corps infantry officer. He said after his first tour of duty that (on balance) the kids in his unit that had grown up in “conflicted” urban areas, were the best Marines he had to walk patrols, whereas the suburban and country kids were at a loss the first month or so. He said the inner-city kids were much more instinctively aware about their surroundings and perceiving threats that otherwise went unnoticed by their less urban colleagues.

I thought it was an interesting observation - completely unscientific, of course. But, it does dovetail into this piece. These kids are better in urban combat, because to varying degrees they were raised in pseudo-combat environments themselves.

[BenLurkin]

I have heard a similar report regarding NG units in Iraq. The only difference being that kids who had experience tracking an d hunting were also very good to have.

[Eureka_Lead]

gotta say that a lot of dead police would contradict you on that.

I think most here know that if SHTF in Any time-line, you stop the threat as fast as you can.

EL

[Cisco Nix]

“In my opinion.”

Mine also. Not since the Black Panther days decades ago did that occur regularly. One would have to be suicidal to even thing about doing something like that.

[TigersEye]

Did they test these criminal’s skills or just take their word for it?

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

This goes against the many stories we read hear on FR about confrontations where store clerks come out on top even though the would be robber pulls a gun first. Are store clerks going to the range even more often than those profiled by the FBI?

What I see in this report is the message to law enforcement is to shoot first and ask questions later. This is setting up the police to wage war with the populace.

[smokingfrog]

Researcher Davis, in a presentation and discussion for the International Assn. of Chiefs of Police, noted that none of the attackers interviewed was "hindered by any law--federal, state or local -- that has ever been established to prevent gun ownership. They just laughed at gun laws."

Whoda thunk?

[Paladin2]

"What I see in this report is the message to law enforcement is to shoot first and ask questions later."

Combine that with the urban, suburban and country settings outlined above and one can see where all that SWAT team stuff can create some real problems when the wrong folks and tactics are used in different areas.

[Paladin2]

Duh, quelle surprise.

[Navy Patriot]

Predominately handguns were used and all but one were obtained illegally, usually in street transactions or in thefts. In contrast to media fabrication, none of the firearms in the study was obtained from gun shows.

Other than this, the real subject is cops and their lack of training, attention and practice.

I don't buy it that suddenly criminals have gotten tough and committed.

They're floating an excuse for liberal use of deadly force against unarmed citizens.

[fso301]

I have always thought of street punks as doped-up, inexperienced, unskilled gun handlers who seldom if ever practice with their guns, and hardly know which end of a gun the bullet comes out of.

As is the case with fighter pilots, there are hunters and the hunted.

[MrEdd]

This is in every way a non problem, and is not worth spending a dime on. Much less commissioning expensive studies.

[dagogo redux]

Thanks for posting this - great article, and food for thought.

BTW, with a good training approach using dry fire exercise extensively, the need to expend endless costly live rounds is greatly curtailed. Fundamentals like stance, grip, draw and presentation, sight picture, focus on front sight, trigger control and reset, malfunction clearance, basic tactics - all these can all be fruitfully honed for free in dry fire training at home. And yes, it can certainly be done safely.

Time at range can consist, then, of only a modest number of rounds each time, merely to judge the progress of the previous dry fire training, and to plot out areas to work on further in subsequent dry fire training.

Even a bit of private or class coaching to augment this and fine-tune our skills will prove much cheaper in most calibers than endless live fire without an understanding how to improve. Mostly those thousands of rounds will be wasted reinforcing bad habits if the habits are not properly understood and corrected.

[MrEdd]

gotta say that a lot of dead police would contradict you on that.

They would if there were a lot of dead police. but there are not. In a nation with over a third of a billion people, dead police officers are statistically rare. No amount of embellishing or exaggerating on the part of yourself nor anyone else will make that not so, and to an obvious degree.

Police do not need the paramilitary equipment they have now, and certainly given the ever increasing display of incompetence they put forth the public has a vested interest in not buying them any more.

[old curmudgeon]

Have you heard of the guy down in GA, probably dead of old age now, who could throw an aspirin in the air and shoot it every single time...never missed.

He shot clays with a .22.

Never looked at the sights. Took the sights off his own guns.
Rifle, pistol, your gun, his gun...made no difference. He could shoot them all.

Taught cops that if you went for the stance, sight picture, etc., you were shot dead while you are getting ready to aim and shoot.

Started all of his students off with a Daisy air rifle. Would not let them shoot a target until they could see the BB in flight.

I forgot...he could throw a BB up and hit it.

Interesting.

[epow]

But, it does dovetail into this piece.

Yes it does, and unfortunately so IMO.

I want to thank you for raising a brave son who is willing and able to serve our nation at risk of life and limb. I have a son who pilots wide body passenger jets on trans-oceanic flights, and I am familiar with justifiable concern regarding a loved one's safety. I pray to God every day that He will protect both my son and his passengers on his flights, and tonight I pray that He will return both your son and mine safe and sound to their respective homes and families.

[epow]

the need to expend endless costly live rounds is greatly curtailed

True, but practicing without live fire would also take a lot of the fun out of those practice sessions.

But seriously, you make a very good point. The more practice the better is my motto from here on, and the cost of ammo is definitely a major factor regarding how often and how much I can practice. Reloading your own ammo as I do significantly reduces the expense, but not everyone has a suitable place and/or the time for that time consuming procedure.

[old curmudgeon]

This is the guy.

http://tripatlas.com/Lucky_McDaniel#Lucky%20McDaniel%E2%80%99s%20basic-training%20program%20with%20the%20sightless%20bb%20gun