Citizen-Police Interaction Scenario Training Part 1 of ?

2015-06-28T19:08:59-04:00

You've finished watching TV with your significant other for the night (approximately 1 AM). When you turn out the apartment lights you see a line of 6+ police cruisers, stretching down the road, seven or eight officers huddled around a hood of a cruiser with the apartment maintenance manager pouring over a map and gesturing to an adjacent building (approx 150-200m open stretch across the street). Tactical posture seems low, but the numbers and map pique interest. You and Significant Other go out on balcony to see if you can hear anything. One officer may have noticed you but most appear not to and none make any signs that you should go back inside. You notice 3 or 4 officers appear to be wearing external vests and carrying slung carbines. One (!?) of these begins to walk to the other building with the maintenance manager and as he does so racks a round into the chamber. Being cautious, you take this as a sign to re-enter the appartment, where you see a second lone (!?) officer with a carbine walking toward a different side of the building rack his carbine as well. What do you do now? What would our Peace Officer members of RallyPoint recommend for a fellow veteran/SM concerned about an obviously concerning situation that doesn't want to interfere but wants to know more? More to follow in subsequent posts.

Response by LTC(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 28 at 2015 7:14 PM

2015-06-28T19:14:14-04:00

Stay inside, this exact situation happened to me two years ago with a murder suspect. Wait till it's over and go ask , if you go outside you're going to make their job tougher.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 28 at 2015 7:18 PM

2015-06-28T19:18:23-04:00

Please stay inside and lock your doors. If we have deployed rifles then we are dealing with a violent situation that is most likely very dynamic and fluid. If the police come to your door to evacuate you later (usually for a barricaded person) then leave calmly and try not to argue. Everything we are doing is to make things as safe for citizens as possible.

Response by Capt Richard I P. made Jun 28 at 2015 7:27 PM

2015-06-28T19:27:37-04:00

Note that I'd like to edit option 4 to clarify, "disarm" is "make sure you, yourself are disarmed" and in no way to imply an attempt to disarm the Police Officers or in any way to create a conflict. But despite a great editing option in RallyPoint, survey options cannot be edited. This is probably so people can't make bait and switch surveys. That's an interesting problem to try to fix.