Evaluating the Threat...Over and Over

[luzyfuerza]

A news report of a recent officer-involved shooting prompted some questions that I think are worth discussing here in S&T. An excerpt:

The incident began when another Unified police officer spotted a stolen vehicle in the parking lot of the Mouse Pad, an Internet cafe at 38 W. 7200 South, when Bowden came out of the business and approached the vehicle's driver-side door. When the uniformed officer attempted to block the car with his own and got out of the vehicle to approach Bowden, Bowden ran, according to police.

Tsouras had arrived to provide backup and was driving alongside Bowden as he ran near Rocket Express Car Wash, 150 W. 7200 South, when Bowden allegedly fired. In addition to the shot that struck Tsouras in the chest, a round pierced the headrest of the driver's seat in the car, charging documents state. Six shell casings were recovered from the scene.

Tsouras continued driving to get out of harm's way, then turned his patrol car around to look for the gunman. That's when he spotted a man with an "extremely close" description of Bowden trying to get inside the car wash, Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder said at the time.

Tsouras fired two shots at the man, 30-year-old Dustin Evans, as he attempted to take cover in the car wash. Evans was struck once in the arm and once in the leg.

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=38149760&nid=148&s_cid=rec1

Bowden is the bad guy
Tsouras is the backup officer who was fired upon by Bowden
Evans is an innocent bystander

Some of the questions that came to my mind when I read this account:

Should we train to always keep eyes on a known threat until that threat is neutralized?

After taking eyes off of a threat (by escaping the area, moving behind cover/concealment, looking in the direction we're moving, etc.) what should we do to train ourselves to evaluate any future potential threats?

This incident happened after dark (http://www.ksl.com/?sid=37180456&nid=148&title=officer-ambushed-by-gunfire-shoots-back-at-wrong-person-injures-bystander&s_cid=queue-19). For night-time encounters, how do we use flashlights to evaluate threats and to help keep eyes on a threat?

Your thoughts on these questions?

 

[luzyfuerza]

The district attorney has completed his analysis of this event. (see http://www.ksl.com/?sid=40217866&nid=148&title=mistaken-police-shooting-of-civilian-not-justified-but-no-charges-will-be-filed)

He determined that officer Tsouras made a mistake in shooting Evans, but that it would be difficult or impossible to prove criminal intent on Tsouras' part. As a result, no criminal charges would be brought.

The DA contrasted Tsouras' actions with those of a Utah highway patrol officer, Andrew O'Gwin, who witnessed these events

The report also cites the actions of Utah Highway Patrol trooper Andrew O'Gwin, who was cleaning his vehicle at the car wash when shots rang out. Though O'Gwin saw Bowden firing at an unseen target as he moved through the parking lot and apparently ignoring commands to stop, the trooper said he did not fire at Bowden because he wasn't sure who he was.

"Trooper O'Gwin's reservations about his target informed his decision not to use deadly force under the circumstances and at the time," the report states. "In contrast to trooper O'Gwin, officer Tsouras didn't see Mr. Evans with a weapon; he didn't see Mr. Evans shooting a gun or otherwise threatening him or anyone else. … Officer Tsouras inferred both an identity and a threat to his target; however, there were was nothing visible to officer Tsouras that communicated Mr. Evans was a threat at the time officer Tsouras decided to use deadly force."

I suggest that we learn from the reactions of BOTH of these officers. Avoid making the mistakes that officer Tsouras made in failing to fully identify his target before firing, and stick to the example of partrolman O'Gwin, who chose not to engage Bowden (or anyone else) because he wasn't sure that he was a threat.