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Black Jack II
01-28-2007, 01:58 PM
A lot of time martial artists will debate back and forth in endless cycles about what technique will work best for what attack, what form of body conditioning is the most usefull, which style is better suited for the different ranges of combat, which form of power generation is the most practical........

But you don't see a lot of people in general talking about certain other key issues of self defense. One being that of practical confrontation management. About what happens when the situation has already unfolded and how to best handle the aftermath which often follows suit.

Here is a good article by Massad Ayood. Some may enjoy it and pick something usefull up from it. Either way its a good read.:)


INTERVENTION IN A DEADLY FORCE ENCOUNTER
as instructed in the JUDICIOUS USE OF DEADLY FORCE Class (LFI-1)
presented by Massad Ayoob of the Lethal Force Institute
in Bloomington, Illinois 13-14-15-16 April 2000

Stages of Intervention:
(1.) Interaction with the suspect
(2.) Interaction with witnesses
(3.) Interaction with first responding police officers
(4.) Interaction with Police Investigators

(1.) INTERACTION WITH THE SUSPECT

SITUATIONAL DOMINANCE or TACTICAL ADVANTAGE -- Your ideal challenge position would involve your being behind cover that would stop hostile fire at the same time that you were being concealed from hostile observation.

The Verbal Challenge:
(1.) Ideally, challenge from a position of cover or concealment.
(2.) Use a command voice.
(3.) Give clear commands.
(4.) Give simple commands.
If you are a police officer, identify yourself first!
"Don't move"
"Put your hands up"
"Turn around"
" Show me your hands"
(5.) Don't use profanity -- it sounds bad to witnesses and makes you look like the aggressor.

"If you don't project power and authority in your verbal challenge, then they won't take you seriously, even if you are holding a gun on them. Resist the temptation to be profane or clever like "Dirty Harry" in the movies. Give simple and clear commands in a loud and powerful voice. Project confidence and they will usually obey and submit. Be prepared if they don't obey your commands. The street-wise criminal has a pretty good idea about when you can use force or not, and may not believe that you're prepared to shoot. If they run off, that's fine. They are no longer presenting a threat, so for this moment the problem is solved, and hopefully the cops can catch him later. You can't
use deadly force against a fleeing suspect, and most of the street creeps are well aware of that. They know that the cops know that. " -- Massad Ayoob/14 April 2000

Don't direct the suspect "Put the Gun down!" because you have just given him permission to move with the gun in his hand. If he is practiced, or lucky, he may be able to get a snap shot off at you before you can tell that his physical movement is not in conformity with your commands. Tell him "drop the gun" instead.

If you yell out "Drop the Gun!" or "Drop the Knife!" it tells witnesses or your friends or the other cops what's going down. Part of surviving the gunfight is proper management of your witnesses.
However, under stress it is hard to select among options. Yelling "Drop the Weapon!" might be better under great stress, but it doesn't identify the nature of the threat for others nearby.

If you order them to put their hands up, make them turn their palms toward you and raise their hands all the way up until the elbows lock. (If the joint is locked, it takes twice as long to move than would take a relaxed, flexed joint. Also, if you make them "reach for the sky", it may lift any outer garment up high enough on their torso to allow you to see a gun hidden in
their waistband.

Holding a Suspect at Gunpoint:
(1.) Finger off the trigger
(2.) De**** if needed
(3.) Aim at the pelvic girdle. Quick multiple shots to the pelvic girdle may break the bone and impair their mobility. Also, it keeps your hands holding the gun out of the sight line between your eyes and his hands. Don't do anything to block your view of his hands!
(4.) A shot to the pelvic girdle may break the structural integrity of the body, dropping your attacker forward onto his face and into the track of your continuing gunfire. You may have to break the pelvis in multiple places to drop him. (Heavy bullets work best to break bone)
(5.) If you aim at the pelvic girdle, and you have to shoot, if a bullet over-penetrates or misses, it is already aimed at a downward track and thus less likely to hit any bystanders.
(6.) If they have a full bladder and you hit them with a high velocity bullet, they may essentially blow up. The fluid shock wave can be enormous and can create vascular overload by itself.

Your Priorities:
(1.) Take cover
(2.) Secure the scene
(3.) Summon police and medical assistance
(4.) Identify witnesses
(5.) Identify physical evidence
(6.) Wait for the police

Remember that the back guys have backup too -- "scouts" (or "outriders") functioning as lookouts outside the target location (may be armed with heavy weapons), and "tailgunners" inside prepared to prevent any armed intervention. Don't get involved in an armed robbery unless people start getting hurt!

(2.) INTERACTION WITH THE WITNESSES

Managing the Witnesses at the Scene after the shooting:
(1.) "Stay back! He still has a weapon!"
(2.) "Has he hurt anyone else? Look around and see!"
(3.) "Call the Police! Call an Ambulance!"

When a sudden dramatic event occurs, witnesses who are not involved will be startled like a car wreck or a fight or a shooting occurs, and bystanders suddenly have their attention drawn to a dramatic event. What they observe will be out of context, and thus confusing.
When people watch stuff on TV or in the movies, the story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. In real life, this isn't true. Stuff just happens. In real life, you can't hit "rewind" and replay stuff in slow motion to see what really happened. It's like witnessing a car wreck that you aren't involved in. You don't know who's driving the car. You don't know where they were coming from, or where they're going. All you know is that the blue Chevy just
hit the telephone pole. Unless you were looking directly at the intersection, you don't even know if the blue Chevy ran the stop sign or the red light or what.
The problem is, witnesses tend to fill in the blanks about the parts that they don't know. This is called "confabulation".

CONFABULATION -- to fill in gaps in memory by fabrication.

"We all know that witnesses to a sudden violent event are highly undependable. There are several reasons for this. Of course, being startled by an unexpected event has a lot to do with it. They aren't paying attention. They're minding their own business, and then BAM! something unusual happens, but they aren't paying attention. If you aren't looking for it, you won't see it!
Also, eyewitnesses who observed some portion of a dramatic incident don't always realize that they only saw part of the action. They assume that because they saw part of the action, they must've seen all of the action.
Also remember, human beings like to make sense of the world around them. They are used to stories that have a beginning, a middle, and an end. They unconsciously try to place events they
witness into context so that it makes sense to them. In a very short period of time, they will confuse what they witnessed with what they visualized in their mind's eye as they attempt to
put the events they witnessed into context."
-- Massad Ayoob

Dr. Elizabeth Loftus has extensively studied the process of memory in the human mind, nd has served as an expert witness in many criminal cases. Her books include Memory, Eyewitness Testimony and Witness for the Defense: The accused, the eyewitnesses,and the expert who puts memory on trial.
Interesting trivia about witness descriptions: eye glasses and facial hair dominate the face. Those are the first things that people will focus on when giving a description.

Black Jack II
01-28-2007, 01:59 PM
PART TWO:


(3.) INTERACTION WITH THE POLICE COMMUNICATIONS OPERATOR

(1.) Give your address
(2.) Tell them exactly what's going on without going into un-necessary detail:
" I live at 27 Elm Street. There's an intruder in my house RIGHT NOW. I have him at gunpoint RIGHT NOW. I live at 27 Elm Street."
(3.) Don't begin at the beginning and chronologically describe everything that has happened. The Dispatcher doesn't need to know and doesn't care! Get to the point! You can explain the other details later to the responding officers.
(4.) Repeat your address so that they know for sure where you are.
(5.) STAY ON THE LINE!
(6.) Give the cops your description -- race and gender, how you're dressed, etc.
(7.) Tell them where in the house you are located and how they can get to you -- will a family member meet them at the door or do they have to break in, or what?
(8.) Give them a description of the suspect, so there will be no problems of mistaken identity once the police arrive.

(4.) INTERACTION WITH THE FIRST RESPONDING POLICE OFFICERS

(1.) When they arrive, do exactly as they say. If they tell you to put your gun down, then put it down. If they handcuff you, don't resist. Self defense situations are very chaotic, and the average officer does not go to many incidents involving a legitimate display or delivery of force by a law-abiding citizen, so it may take them quite a while to figure out what's going on.
(2.) What do you tell the cops?
-- "This man tried to attack me"
-- "The evidence is here"
-- "The witnesses are here"
-- "I will sign the complaint"
-- "I will cooperate with the prosecution"
-- "I will cooperate with the investigation, but I'm kind of upset right now. I will cooperate with the investigation and make a full statement after I've had time to gather my thoughts and speak to my attorney."
(3.) You need to give enough of a statement so that the police have an idea about what happened. In particular, they need to know who potential witnesses are and where relevant physical evidence might be located. At the scene, they need enough information to begin the investigation and properly manage the crime scene. Remember, the police equate silence with guilt! The only people who utilize the "right to remain silent" are those with something to hide, so a carefully worded statement is probably in your best interest.
"At the scene, tell the responding officers a synopsis of the incident. Cops connect silence with guilt. Almost everybody they ever deal with who asks for a lawyer turns out to be guilty.
Tell them what they need to know to get an idea about what just happened. Especially identify any witnesses so that the cops know who to talk to, and point out any potential evidence that they might otherwise overlook. Help them to do their job better. If you are perceived as obstructing the investigation, that perception is NOT in your best interest." -- Massad Ayoob

SURVIVAL FOR ARMED CITIZENS, PLAINCLOTHES COPS, and
OFF DUTY COPS

(1.) Contact the police. Explain the situation. Describe your physical description so that they know who to look for to prevent a "mistaken identity shooting".

(2.) If the event takes place within a building, you need to designate a "welcoming committee" for the police. Somebody needs to meet the police at the door, and that somebody needs to be able to repeat the explanation.

(3.) In the case of an enclosed incident, such as the armed robbery of a business, it is desirable for someone to lock all exterior doors and to only open them for uniformed police. This keeps any robbers outside from rescuing their friends, and can prevent witnesses who "don't want to be involved" from slipping out in the confusion.

(4.) Control Yourself!
-- Keep your muzzle off the cops!
-- Don't point the gun at any responding officers by mistake
-- Follow directions from the police


If you're involved in a shooting, give a brief statement to the investigator at the scene. Don't give a detailed statement until you get a chance to calm down, collect your thoughts, and talk to an attorney. GIVE THEM ENOUGH INFORMATION TO GET STARTED IN THE INVESTIGATION. Where is the evidence? Where was the point of entry where he broke into your house? Who are the witnesses?

"Under fire, you will not be able to keep track of how many rounds you fire! We call it the "fire four, reload eight" phenomenon.
Under stress, you will experience what is called "cognitive dissonance" which means that your thought processes will be all jumbled up. Your perception of time and distance will be altered and may not be accurate. History has taught us that if you fire more than two or three rounds in a self-defense scenario, you WILL forget how many rounds you've fired.

Sometimes, an investigator who does not understand this dynamic seizes upon this inconsistency as evidence of deception. It is nothing of the kind.
When they ask you how many rounds that you fired, tell them: "I don't know. I was in fear for my life. I didn't have time to count . . . " -- Massad Ayoob/14 April 2000

rogue
01-28-2007, 04:39 PM
Lots of good information from Ayoob. Thanks for posting it.

Black Jack II
01-28-2007, 04:55 PM
Thanks man:)

rogue
01-28-2007, 05:14 PM
We had a guy who during an attempted car jacking, disarmed the punk and shot him. He ended up getting shot by the police arriving on the scene when he turned around with the gun still in his hand. Knowing what to do after you survive a crime is almost as important as knowing what to do during it.