This police shooting happened during a traffic stop in Tomah, Wisconsin.
Notice that the driver immediately exited the truck and started shooting. Watch how the suspect engaged both officers while he was shooting. You see him shooting at one officer, then shift his fire to a second officer and then back to the first officer before retreating back to his truck.
I assume the shot that stopped him was a head shot. Watch as he is in the truck and his hat flies off. I’m pretty sure that is when the fight was over. One officer was wounded during the gunfight, suffering serious injury to his foot and toes. He is expected to return to duty.
It appears the subject may have been connected to as many as 10 other shootings in the area.
What are the lessons learned from this video?
In Aaron’s article on conducting safe traffic stops, he highlights calling in the stop before making the stop as very important. If the officer hit the lights and then tries to call out the stop, he or she may not have enough time to call it in before the suspect jumps out and starts shooting. If you do not have GPS (or it is not working today), no one is going to know where you are when you call out “Shots Fired!”
Have a plan for what to do if a suspect jumps out suddenly when making a stop. You are automatically behind the curve since you are reacting to the suspect’s moves, but considering your options ahead of time is one way of quickening your response.
For the involved officers, things worked out. Another option that may (or may not) have been available is to rapidly back up the squad car if someone jumps out of the car to create distance.
If you are still in the car and the driver jumps out shooting, running them over is another alternative. A 3000 pound Ford beats a 155 grain hollowpoint for stopping power.
I think the officers did exceptionally well in very bad circumstances, and I am only throwing out these options as something to think about. I hope you never find yourself in similar circumstances, but if you do one of these alternatives may work better for you.
What are your thoughts?
Stay safe!