Even trained people get distracted

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Jeff White

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A St Louis deputy sheriff was robbed at gunpoint last night after working a traffic control detail at a St Louis Blues Hockey game:
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local...cle_fbdcdbee-3e8c-553d-8edc-bcfbe92230a5.html

"He's just sitting in the car and sees these two guys go past him," Betts said. "They walk down the street, they go down a little ways, then they turn around and start coming back."

"Now we try to train for everything," Betts said, "but ... as a sheriff's deputy, spider senses should have been tingling."
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That's the understatement of the day.

The two young men walked "right up on him, both of them have guns, put the gun to his head and say, 'Give me the keys,'" Betts said.

Police said the robbers fought with the deputy for his gun, which was in his holster, then took off in his gun, car and phone. The suspects are described as men between 15 and 20 years old.
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You are extremely vulnerable sitting in your car. There is almost no smooth way to draw from a duty holster while seated behind the wheel.

Downtown St Louis is not the place to let your guard down........................
 
Decades ago I remember having a HUGE sales territory.
I would awaken way before dawn to drive to a distant client visit.
Upon arrival I would eat, freshen-up, and take a nap in my car.
I would not even dream of doing such a thing in this day and age!
 
Anytime one has to go to a major liberal craphole city its best to keep your head on a swivel.

I avoid them at all cost but I do have to drive an hour away from my peaceful place in the sticks to Richmond VA for work. I love my job but hate where its located.

Coming up on 5yrs being there with no incidents and attribute that solely to my SA.
 
Jeff White said:
A St Louis deputy sheriff was robbed at gunpoint last night after working a traffic control detail at a St Louis Blues Hockey game:
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local...cle_fbdcdbee-3e8c-553d-8edc-bcfbe92230a5.html



That's the understatement of the day.



You are extremely vulnerable sitting in your car. There is almost no smooth way to draw from a duty holster while seated behind the wheel.

Downtown St Louis is not the place to let your guard down........................
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This is so true. Anyone who says they are 100 percent vigilant all the time is lying or not human. Even experienced cops get distracted by their phones, radio, computer and reports etc.

Depending on the car and the holster it's possible to draw just as fast as standing. Just have to practice it like anything else.
 
In Nam I learned to be alert and take notice even to the sound of a twig breaking. I learned this life-long lesson. A high level of situational awareness is more important than creed and accuracy. The shirts rule of defense is to be aware of the enemy before he can strike.
 
Just FYI, studies of attention have been done for years. You can maintain maximum awareness for about 20 minutes. After that you tend to zone out.

As far as liberal cities, well, there certainly is no crime in Dallas to stay alert to. You have to be alert everywhere.
 
Distraction? Early on at a training session we watched a video of a traffic stop. The driver was a young attractive female sitting in a convertible.

The camera was our eyes and they stopped at her crotch where her mini skirt had risen up and her panties were exposed.

BANG!! You're dead, pretty much all situational awareness was lost on that one. Good lesson though. I've had attractive females attempt to use their assets to gain an advantage in different situations. Keeping eye contact was imperative.
 
Speedo66 said:
I've had attractive females attempt to use their assets to gain an advantage in different situations.
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I always wrote those women instead of giving a warning............If they checked their makeup in the rearview mirror right after the stop you could be pretty sure if she was wearing a skirt it would be hiked up or if no skirt a couple extra buttons on the blouse were undone.

shafter said:
This is so true. Anyone who says they are 100 percent vigilant all the time is lying or not human. Even experienced cops get distracted by their phones, radio, computer and reports etc.

Depending on the car and the holster it's possible to draw just as fast as standing. Just have to practice it like anything else.
Click to expand...

I made a traffic stop one night, I made contact with the driver, told him to wait in his car. I ran his DL everything was clear and I decided to issue a written warning. I was filling out the warning ticket when he appeared at my window and yelled; "You aren't going to write me a bleeping ticket are you?" I did not see him exit his car and walk up on me. If he had been so inclined I would have died that night. I was pretty rattled. It can happen to anyone. Fortunately I lived to learn from that mistake.
 
Jeff White said:
I always wrote those women instead of giving a warning............If they checked their makeup in the rearview mirror right after the stop you could be pretty sure if she was wearing a skirt it would be hiked up or if no skirt a couple extra buttons on the blouse were undone.



I made a traffic stop one night, I made contact with the driver, told him to wait in his car. I ran his DL everything was clear and I decided to issue a written warning. I was filling out the warning ticket when he appeared at my window and yelled; "You aren't going to write me a bleeping ticket are you?" I did not see him exit his car and walk up on me. If he had been so inclined I would have died that night. I was pretty rattled. It can happen to anyone. Fortunately I lived to learn from that mistake.
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I've had similar experiences. It's simply not possible to focus on two things at the same time. It only takes a few seconds to walk between cars and if you look down at the ticket or computer you'll never see it coming. It absolutely blows my mind how law enforcement does not use the buddy system.
 
Jeff White said:
I made a traffic stop one night, I made contact with the driver, told him to wait in his car. I ran his DL everything was clear and I decided to issue a written warning. I was filling out the warning ticket when he appeared at my window and yelled; "You aren't going to write me a bleeping ticket are you?" I did not see him exit his car and walk up on me. If he had been so inclined I would have died that night. I was pretty rattled. It can happen to anyone. Fortunately I lived to learn from that mistake.
Click to expand...

DId you ticket him?
 
St. Louis


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