|
The
instructors of this years K-9 Tactical Challenge, held this year
on March 23 & 24, have collectively put together a very
thorough critique of the K-9 teams that attended this year�s
workshop. This is a general critique and does not single out any
individual K-9 team.
Remember to consult your training office, policies &
procedures, to avoid a conflict within your agency.
This critique is not designed to advocate any particular
training method. It is designed to recognize areas of training
and deployment that can be improved utilizing whatever method
necessary to safely complete a � High Risk K-9 Deployment�.
Officer
Safety Issues:
Contact Officer vs. Cover Officer: Imperative to know the
difference. This role can change as the situation dictates,
understand each role and be ready to assume either at anytime
during contact with a suspect.
Cover vs. Concealment: It is imperative you know the difference
and make adjustments to safe positions of cover, when at all
possible. The instructors agree that the prone position should
be a last resort cover position. However, it might be the only
position you can utilize to maximize your available cover.
Weapon Retention and Handcuffing: Keep your finger off the
trigger unless you are presented with a deadly force situation.
Maintain a low ready position and keep your weapon close to your
body. Do not walk around corners presenting your firearm first
and do not separate yourself from your weapon. Holster your
weapon when you need a place to put it. Do not attempt to
handcuff a suspect with your weapon out. Secure your weapon and
make sure your �cover officer� knows your plan of action.
Weapon Retention & Handcuffing: If you choose to handcuff
the suspect by yourself, place the suspect in a prone position.
Holster your weapon and handcuff the suspect �quickly� and
�firmly�. If the suspect begins to resist, separate yourself
from him. Do not feel obligated to physically engage the
suspect. You may decide to re-deploy your K-9 if necessary.
Tactical Reloading: Many officers chose to reload with their
heads down and lost sight of their adversary. Several officers
chose to place the empty magazines back in their pouches or in
their B.D.U.�s. Very few could tactically reload without
looking at their weapon�
If you are close enough to your backup and you jam, communicate
to your backup the situation. If you cannot clear your jam or
your weapon is broken, you have to get out of the kill zone.
Make a serious effort not to let your backup get to far away
from you. You can easily be separated and cut off from each
other.
Police K-9
Issues:
Control at a distance: As K-9 officers we need to have the
ability to recall the dog to our position of cover. We don�t
want to have to leave cover to take control of the K-9. Many
officers were forced to leave cover because the K-9 would not
release or leave the concealed suspect�s location.
Control at Cover: Being able to down your K-9, draw your weapon
and engage a suspect in a dialogue, should be one of our
training goals. Being able to communicate with the suspect or
backup officer, without yelling over your dog�s barking,
should be another goal.
Placing the leash under your shoe to prevent the dog from
breaking forward can easily throw you off balance, knocking you
from cover. It could also cause you to have an A.D. If you
cannot control your K-9 in a stationary position during a
high-risk situation, place it on a leash.
Tolerance to Movement: Dialogue, movement, tripping, falling and
running to or from cover, are stimuli that create control
problems in your partner. Most police K-9 teams do not complete
tolerance drills to improve the dog�s obedience control when
actions like this occur.
Deployment Decisions: We observed K-9 officers that were
presented with an immediate threat by a visible suspect. There
was a sense of urgency to get to the K-9 and deploy as quickly
as possible. Several dogs got by the handlers as they
dismounted; looking for a target they could not see. Other
K-9�s just ran at whoever was in the immediate area. In both
situations the K-9 officer was more concerned with his dog than
the threat presented before him/her.
Some K-9�s were successfully deployed, but when the situation
deteriorated, the handler had no cover when gunfire erupted. As
a result of the deployment, officers were hesitant to return
fire, even though their life depended on it. Most officers
stated they did not want to hit their dog. Others could not out
the dog or call the dog back to cover.
These scenarios were specifically designed to improve decision
making when deploying your K-9. We all agree that the officer
should deal with the threat first, either challenging it or
maintaining it, until adequate manpower is gathered to deal with
the situation safely. Do not split your focus, stay with your
immediate threat until it is safe to deploy your partner.
If you deploy your K-9 on a threat and the dog engages. Train
and prepare how to handle a second threat, like getting by a
vehicle the suspect just bailed from. You may decide to approach
the car and clear it by hand, while your dog remains engaged.
Whatever your decision is, �train for it�.
Training: The basic training of patrol K-9 teams has to be
modified and increased to meet the demand that police agencies
place on them. The basic obedience routine we now complete for
certification should go the way of the steam engine.
The demand for �less than lethal force alternatives� is
increasing. As a result, the K-9 team will be placed into more
high-risk calls for service than ever before. All police
officers have been told, �you will do on the street what you
do in training�.
As we gradually increased the stimulus and risk in the
scenarios, your stress increased. Your heart rate, pulse and
respiration increased. Some suffered from auditory exclusion,
not hearing what the suspect, backup or instructor said. Your
thought process was interrupted and �delayed�.
Training: Leashes were neatly rolled up although shots were
being fired. Leashes were being placed around necks where they
could catch on anything as you ran around or moved to cover.
Leashes were wrapped around gun belts, where they restricted
access to magazines, impact weapons and firearms.
It was evident that training scenarios involving the location of
a suspect do not often end with a full custody process. Attempt
to end your training scenarios with a custody drill as often as
possible. It is excellent training for you and your K-9.
Remember that police K-9�s learn a conditioned behavior
through repetition and positive reinforcement. Police officers
are no different, if you continue to train repetitively and
reinforce your control, tactics and K-9 skills, you will also
become more confident and more proficient.
Communication: Communication with your backup officer's is
paramount; keeping your �wingman� close is very important.
If you get too far apart, communication becomes difficult and
you lose sight of your backup officer.
If you or your backup experiences a weapon malfunction or one of
you runs out of ammunition, you will both have a better
opportunity of surviving if you are together, or reasonably
close. Train using all types of cover and concealment and
practice a tactical retreat, live to fight another day!!!!!
In one scenario during a firefight in a dark industrial area, a
handler observed a subject thought to be a suspect, approaching
from the left rear flank. The handler turned, obviously startled
and under pressure, firing at the subject. The handler shot the
backup officer with simmunition!!!!!!!
Closing: If we may be of any help, please do not hesitate
to call on any of the instructors that participated in this
training workshop. We hope that this training program provided
you with a self-examination of your skills as a police officer
and K-9 handler. Remember, TRAIN HARD AND TRAIN REAL!!!!!
|
