Scary Stuff....
This brings back a lot of BAD Memories. I had a buddy of mine shot in a very similar situation. (Danny Vaughn, May 1993, Houston Police) Danny was walking past the front desk in plain clothes when a suspect pulled a .380 and put three into his face at about 10 ft. He survived which is a miracle in and of itself. I spoke with him by email just the other day.
What this video points out is, #1 vests work, wear them, #2 NEVER drop your guard and watch EVERYONE. #3, the fastest draw I have ever seen is to already have it in your hand. If you DO catch someone that makes the hairs on your neck stand up, is get behind something quietly, and fill your hands. If the treat DOES manifest itself, use cover and concealment, and for gods sake do something! ANYTHING but get in the fight. But experience tells us that, you will be called a nut case by other officers, Citizens will complain if they see you, so you don't do it unless it is REALLY WARRANTED.
From the story, this was a very sick and disturbed person, he new he was going down, and he obviously wanted to take someone, cops with him. SO he took the fight to the cops instead of waiting for them at his home.
As a result of the Vaughn shooting, At HPD all of the front desks and public assess areas have some form of ballistic barriers except the main station, and the storefronts. However you cannot drop your guard ever. If you are in uniform, or at work, you are a target.
Training is crucial, you have to plan for the worst case scenario, and in your mind, fight your way through it.
Fortunately, crooks are not the smartest, evil yes, tactically savvy no. Evidently he did not have a plan except to go in and start shooting, this was a very elaborate "Suicide By Cop" Fortunately he got what he wanted without any Detroit officers loosing their lives.
We can discuss equipment, loads, weapons all day long. These are all tools and yes, we want to stack that deck in our favor and carry, deploy the best we can, however when it comes down to it, it is the training and the reaction to the threat that will win the day. The most lethal weapon is the mind.
In the the words of Nathan Bedford Forrest (yes I know he was an idiot on many levels, but he did define doctrine for modern Special Operations) "You have to bring the mostest the fastest"
It's about rapid reaction and rounds on target...
The real problem is complacency, your worried about that report you have to finish, but the phone won't stop ringing, the wife called and....., did we get the tickets to the game this weekend. thinking about everything else except what is going on around you. We used to call it HUA, or head up anatomy. It can get you killed..
he then attacked the desk folks
Died for his effort...Must have been bird shot or else more would have died with 36 gr at 1200 fps imho
That is similar to a 22 cal bullet Hmmm