Blog #6: Are Mandatory Verbal Warnings Before Utilizing Deadly Force Necessary?

“A good battle plan that you act on today can be better than a perfect one tomorrow.”
    - Gen George S. Patton

I had a debate with my Brother/Blog Editor, Dennis J. We debated about the pro’s and con’s of mandatory verbal warnings before utilizing deadly force as a police officer. At the end of the debate I realized I was unable to convey the importance of my point. Maybe it was my lack of debating skills. Maybe it was the Jack Daniels in my system. I’m not sure, but the debate was heated! I struggled all this week on a method to make the non-police mentality understand that mandatory verbal warnings equal deadly consequences for innocent victims and show too much fairness for murderers. Finally I decided to keep it simple. No need for statistics. No need for long descriptive scenes of tense stand-offs. It’s a simple game of What-If’s:

What would you do?

You see a gangster thug low life pointing a handgun at a cowering senior citizen’s head. (Sadly, a common occurrence and an actual scenario I observed from nearby surveillance cameras.) Mr. Lowlife yells at the victim, “Give me all of your money!!! I’ll fucking kill you!” His finger dangerously flirting with death as it hovered over the sensitive trigger. The senior citizen’s eyes are huge, filled with terror and panic. Mr. Lowlife doesn’t notice you there. You have a gun of your own.

What would you do?

1.Shoot him on the arm? What if you miss? What if you miss and then he kills the senior citizen? What if you DO hit him on the arm but it does not immobilize him and he kills the victim anyway? Then what?
2.Would you WARN Mr. Lowlife to drop the gun? What if he turns and shoots you before you can finish the statement? What if he gets startled and shoots the senior citizen?
3.Would you wait and hope he doesn’t shoot. Maybe he’ll just rob the senior citizen and leave. Or maybe not. What if? Are you willing to knock on his family’s door and tell them that they have to make funeral arrangements because you wanted to be fair and warn a criminal who had a gun pointed to their family member’s head?

I can What-If this scenario a thousand ways. This particular surveillance video showed Mr. Lowlife pistol whip the senior citizen into unconsciousness. He then went into his pockets and removed an unknown amount of money and a gold crucifix that hung from his neck. I want you to put yourself in the senior citizen’s place. This time it’s me who spots Mr. Lowlife pointing his gun at YOUR head. I’m watching it unfold as I draw my firearm from it’s holster. All the while my sharpshooter medal gleams proudly on my uniform chest. Would you want me to yell out a warning? Would you want me to attempt to shoot his arm? Would you want me to wait and see what happens in hopes of him not shooting you? Remember, his gun is pointing at your head. What actions are fair to you? Should I balance Mr. Lowlife’s rights with yours at that moment in time?

Think about somebody you care for deeply and endlessly. A grandparent, a son or dauhter, a parent, your husband or wife. Picture his/her eyes being huge, filled with terror and panic as that gangster thug low life points his gun to their head. As you helplessly watch this unfold, you see me in uniform with my gun. What would you want me to do? If you could yell at me to save your loved one, what instructions would you yell? Honestly. If it were my loved one in that situation I would want that cop to do what he is paid to do and shoot that lowlife! End his life and make it a quick death! Not because I like death. Not because I am some kind of trigger happy police officer, but because a sure quick death is the only way I can assure my loved one doesn’t get shot! The fair chance at life in this situation SHOULD be given to my loved one.

If we look at the other side of the coin, many more What-If situations can occur as well. What if the scenario is not so black and white. Maybe what you see is actually an off-duty police officer pointing a gun at a robber. Maybe a victim was able to wrestle the gun out of the suspect’s hands and has him at gunpoint while waiting for police to arrive. The ultimate decision to shoot falls on the trained officer’s determination of the totality of the circumstances. Given all the scenarios mentioned above, yes a verbal warning could prevent tragedy in certain situations. It’s an unfathomably difficult situation to be placed in. As a police officer, it is my duty to utilize my training and experience to make the right decisions on a case by case basis. By developing my training, constantly going over the countless What-If scenarios and learning from actual police occurrences around the world I continue to build and improve on my expertise. Thus, there is justification to trust that I, or any other officer, will make the best decision given the situation at hand.

No police officer wants to shoot an innocent person. No police officer will shoot at a person who they think is off duty officer or citizen protecting himself. If I were forced to give a mandatory verbal warning before shooting my firearm in every single situation imaginable, it would equate to neglect-of-duty on the police officer’s part when that innocent victim is shot. In my opinion the negatives of mandatory police warnings far outweigh the positives. Either way it proves once again that police work is no picnic!

Death and violence runs rampant in Los Angeles. We are used to the bad guy causing death and violence. But somehow when a police officer uses death and violence to protect life, the officer is scrutinized as a brutalizer rather than regaled as a hero. I’m not suggesting we have a parade for every officer involved in a shooting. But in scenarios like the first one mentioned above, the actions from a police officer that cause death and violence actually saves lives! If you cannot agree with that then stop reading here.

Applying to the police department was never an agreement to get shot. I don’t get paid to die. My profession does not have me sign a waiver saying I agree to be paralyzed by a bullet shattering my spinal chord. I signed up to protect life and property of citizens in my community. While I know the inherent dangers of police work, there is no stipulation of my own potential murder written in the job description. I am not aware of any one of my duties requiring me to give a criminal a fair chance to kill you or me first. There is no job in the world with these requirements. Think about our troops on the battlefields protecting our freedom. I want every single one of them to come home safe and healthy to their families. I assume that is a goal we all wish for. Because their duties include defending our shores through war, should we allow the enemy to shoot .50-caliber rounds at them BEFORE they defend themselves? That sounds silly and absurd. The battles on our own nations streets and neighborhoods are no different.

I gave an “extreme” example of the negative consequences a mandatory verbal warnings can have. The scary truth is that a scenario like Mr. Lowlife vs the senior citizen is actually not that “extreme.” This type of criminal violence is a sad and realistic truth. Having a mandatory verbal warning rule before utilizing deadly force will cause an officer’s hands to be tied behind his back when one of these tragic scenarios unfolds. Scenarios of life and death. Scenarios that have no room for compromise.

It is understandably hard to comprehend the fact that a person actually has the ability to shoot a gun at the face of complete innocence at point blank range. Even as a police officer who is constantly exposed to violence, I sometimes find myself shaking my head in disbelief when I am investigating certain crimes. Some situations may call for a verbal warning before the use of deadly force. However, binding an officer into giving a mandatory verbal warning before pressing the trigger does not account for all cases where innocent victims or police officers themselves would be placed in a greater chance of dying by doing so. Think about whose rights a police officer has the duty to protect at one of these situations. The possible outcomes from all the What-Ifs in the world will NEVER balance out on the criminal’s side.

If you don’t agree with my values on this matter, I hope I atleast gave you a different perspective. If, God forbid, you are ever in the grim situation of having a gun pointed at YOUR head, I hope I can be there for you with my sharpshooter medal, my gun and of course, my values on this matter...until my next blog, dawg!

PIECE LOVE & WHISKEY

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Fallen Officers Since Last Blog: 2 Souls
Total Line-of-Duty Deaths for 2011: 65 Souls

Police Officer Rolando Tirado

Buckeye Police Department, AZ

End of Watch: Sunday, May 1, 2011
Age: Not available

Tour of Duty: 11 years

Cause of Death: Gunfire

Survived by: Wife and two children.

Captain Ralph Braden

Wartburg Police Department, TN

End of Watch: Monday, May 2, 2011

Age: 58

Tour of Duty: 22 years

Cause of Death: Assault
Survived by: Mother, step-father & brother