Zero to a Hundred in 34 Seconds

 

This is an essay that I had written earlier. I am re-running this story as an extended comment to KP’s essay Defend This. There are differences in the NJ shooting incident that KP refers to in his essay. One important distinction I’ll make is the officers in NJ found a gun in the glove box of the car they stopped, but the question I have did the officers have a chance to frisk either subject, one of whom was not complying with commands before the gun in the glove box was found and did not comply with commands after the gun was found.

As a former police officer, I can tell you that there is no such thing as a routine traffic stop. That phrase was reiterated regularly by defensive tactics instructors. “Distance is your friend” was another frequently repeated phrase in defensive tactics training. One more phrase that was drummed into us was you better have a plan.

The “Zero to a Hundred” in the title refers to the adrenaline dump that the Oregon State Trooper experienced during this traffic stop. It is one thing to punch holes in a paper target on the range, it is an entirely different matter to shoot at someone who is shooting at you. The adrenaline surge affects your physical ability to place your shots with a handgun that has a 4” barrel. This is the reason that you’re trained to aim at center mass. Center mass is the largest part of the target and the easiest to hit.  “34 Seconds” is the approximate amount of time between when the subject stopped his car and when he started shooting. The entire incident lasted about one minute and eleven seconds.

I couldn’t help but still watch the video from a training perspective, though not so much to critique the trooper’s response. Citizens are not alone in criticizing an officer’s actions. I’ve heard police officer’s say I would have done it differently when discussing a shooting incident. That’s a hypothetical. Maybe you would have done it differently and maybe you wouldn’t have. The trooper survived this incident and that is all that matters.

Here is what I saw through the lens of the trooper’s dash cam:

There are multiple occupants in the vehicle. The driver gets out of the car right away and does not take his eyes off the trooper. He keeps his right hand hidden from view. He is assessing the trooper’s position. He closes the car door, without ever taking his eyes off the trooper rather than getting back into the car, the first sign that he has no intention of obeying commands. He keeps his right hand behind his back. He tries to distract the trooper by asking him why he was pulled over. He begins closing the distance and his right hand is still behind his back. The driver refuses to get back in the car even though the trooper answered his question. The driver refuses all the trooper’s commands and then his left hand is placed behind his back. The subject produces a handgun and starts firing and keeps moving towards the trooper. He is “hunting” the trooper. The dash cam shows the subject move across the front of the trooper’s car in an attempt to locate the trooper. He is still hunting the trooper. The subject reloads and makes the decision to flee.

This subject had a plan. He wasn’t going to lead police on a chase if an officer encountered him on a traffic stop. He was going to kill an officer if he was pulled over. Refusal to obey commands, closing the distance, shooting while closing the distance, moving to the right side of the trooper’s car to try and locate the trooper, and reloading before he ran back to his car to make his escape were the tactics used in his attempt to kill a police officer.

What happened to the driver? He stopped his car half a mile away from the shooting and died from a wound he received during videoed shootout. The occupants of the car were his children: a 10-year old girl, and two boys ages, 13 and 15. You can read the rest of the story here.

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  1. user_278007 Inactive
    user_278007
    @RichardFulmer

    The driver appeared to be a member of a minority group so, clearly, the police officer was in the wrong.

    • #1
  2. Julia PA Inactive
    Julia PA
    @JulesPA

    I couldn’t watch but the first 20 seconds. Horrifying. I did see on my own some of the things you mentioned, and my first clue it was going down, bad, and fast is the guy was out of the car in a flash, and hiding his hands. Seriously though, what sane parent does something like that with their kids in the car?

    The saga is not over, because of those kids. Oh, what will happen to those two kids? I pray they are put with a good family, but their life will be challenging from all sides.

    Thank you to that trooper and his daily work. To his family for bearing the pressure of the daily danger.

    • #2
  3. user_1029039 Inactive
    user_1029039
    @JasonRudert

    Can you watch the recent shooting that took place here in Salt Lake City and give us your thoughts?
    Dillon Taylor police shooting body cam video:

    • #3
  4. user_130720 Member
    user_130720
    @

    Doug Watt: It is one thing to punch holes in a paper target on the range, it is an entirely different matter to shoot at someone who is shooting at you.

    And it seems to me it is also an entirely different matter when an officer has an experience based belief that someone is likely to start shooting at him. Both of these circumstances seem not to be understood by the hand-wringers who lament the latest police/citizen shooting–especially if the officer is white and the citizen isn’t. Especially if the citizen took a bullet and the officer didn’t. How likely is it that a citizen will be shot by a police officer if the citizen is complying with the officer’s demands–even if and especially if the citizen thinks they are unreasonable demands? Right!

    • #4
  5. Albert Arthur Coolidge
    Albert Arthur
    @AlbertArthur

    My adrenaline went through the roof just watching that.

    • #5
  6. douglaswatt25@yahoo.com Member
    douglaswatt25@yahoo.com
    @DougWatt

    Jason Rudert:Can you watch the recent shooting that took place here in Salt Lake City and give us your thoughts? Dillon Taylor police shooting body cam video:

    I would have to know why the officer’s confronted this individual. For example did they have previous experience with this individual? Had he made threats and the officers were dispatched to the location to interview him?

    • #6
  7. user_358258 Inactive
    user_358258
    @RandyWebster

    In the original video, if I’d been that cop, I’d have had my gun out as soon as the guy put his hand behind his back.

    • #7
  8. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    But, why, Doug? Why? Your assessment of the man’s intent (to kill the officer) seems accurate. Why would he want to, though? Do you have any more information about his background?

    I’m not even a particularly observant person, but I immediately knew the guy had a gun tucked in his waistband. Would you have done anything differently than this officer? I don’t see any other options for him, given that once he pulls his gun and aims it, it really is life or death. The old “shoot him in the leg” just doesn’t cut it, does it? I mean, the guy took one to the chest and still drove off.

    It makes me respect police officers even more. This one was lucky to survive.

    • #8
  9. Eeyore Member
    Eeyore
    @Eeyore

    If he reloaded after just being shot, he’s a calm customer used to being in gun fights. It may have been that, in reaction to being shot, he hit his magazine release, but did have the presence of mind to notice it (perhaps his trigger wasn’t working) and re-seated it.

    One of the worst things is that he has likely raised some committed cop hunters.

    UPDATE: I thought those were fatigues he was wearing. He was described by a friend ““He was always a happy, hopeful, lovable person. He never got into trouble,”“He never got into fights in school. He was just very respectful”      Sad:

    allen

    • #9
  10. user_1029039 Inactive
    user_1029039
    @JasonRudert

    Doug, the emergency call was that there were three young men brandishing a firearm. These three (the other two are the brother and cousin of the dead guy) matched the description given over the radio call.That’s why the police have their guns out as soon as they get out of the car. None of those young men was actually armed. The guy who gets shot was wearing ear buds, had a 0.18% BAC, and what he says just before the officer shoots is, “No, fool!” He yanks up his shirt near the end and grabs for something around his waistband.

    This was recently cleared by our local DA as a justified shooting.

    • #10
  11. Roberto Inactive
    Roberto
    @Roberto

    The perp was wearing BDUs. I damn well hope it was just some nut and not a vet who lost it.

    Otherwise looking at this just makes me think of all the cameras out there; the GoPros, the dash cams and a million upon a million cell phones. We are going to have a lot more citizens second guessing officers on the job in the years to come, I wonder if that is a good thing a bad thing or maybe both.

    • #11
  12. user_1029039 Inactive
    user_1029039
    @JasonRudert

    As you might imagine, this shooting has been the subject of much discussion around here lately. I posted it here because of the interesting parallels with your video. They last about the same amount of time, total. The refusal to comply with commands is the same, the body language that tells the officer to shoot is very similar–they both reach for something at their waists. The time between that signal and when the officer shoots is about the same, and very, very short.
    The argument that has come up is that officer training needs to change so that “our police aren’t so trigger-happy”. (There have been a few officer-involved shootings around here lately) But first, training “sticks” to different officers in different ways, and second, these two videos show the conundrum that you face in designing your training progream. You can look at every situation after the fact and say the officer was too agressive, or not agressive enough. Almost never are you “just right”. The Oregon officer made the mistake of not shooting soon enough. The Salt Lake officer made the mistake of shooting too soon. Move the times around by a few seconds and you have either a dead officer, or a close call. But in both cases, these time-periods to make the decision are at the very limit of what the human mind can handle. What amazed me about both of these situations is just how fast these events unfolded. And just how ambiguous the information coming into the officer’s eyes and ears is. And these are both daylight shootings–most of these things go down at night.
    So if you’re an administrator in either of these departments, what do you do in the future? What do you change? This is a problem you are never really going to solve.

    • #12
  13. EThompson Member
    EThompson
    @

    Julia PA:

    Seriously though, what sane parent does something like that with their kids in the car?

    My first reaction as well. My guess is the guy was carrying lots of contraband in the car- drugs or illegal weapons – and using his kids as decoys.

    • #13
  14. user_358258 Inactive
    user_358258
    @RandyWebster

    If I ever get stopped by the police in a situation like that, I’m going to make sure they can see my hands at all times..  Anything else is just stupid.

    • #14
  15. user_358258 Inactive
    user_358258
    @RandyWebster

    Maybe you can tell me, Doug, why the police want you to stay in the car when they stop you.  You can be up to all sorts of mischief in the car that you can’t be if you’re out of it.

    • #15
  16. user_1029039 Inactive
    user_1029039
    @JasonRudert

    My guess is he was concerned about the guy’s safety. If you watch it again, he’s standing in the travel lane at the time.

    • #16
  17. douglaswatt25@yahoo.com Member
    douglaswatt25@yahoo.com
    @DougWatt

    Randy Webster:Maybe you can tell me, Doug, why the police want you to stay in the car when they stop you. You can be up to all sorts of mischief in the car that you can’t be if you’re out of it.

    When you are in the car whether as a police officer or the subject of a traffic stop you are at a disadvantage. Sheet metal will not stop a bullet and there is a difference between concealment and cover. I may not be able to see you if try to hide behind the car door, but the rounds will go through door and find you.

    • #17
  18. Roberto Inactive
    Roberto
    @Roberto

    Eeyore:UPDATE: I thought those were fatigues he was wearing. He was described by a friend “:

    allen

    Horrible. What a damn tragedy

    I cannot believe for a moment this man was in possession of his faculties, there is an awful story of a troubled young man buried in this somewhere.

    • #18
  19. douglaswatt25@yahoo.com Member
    douglaswatt25@yahoo.com
    @DougWatt

    I’m going to try and catch up on some comments here. To Roberto #18 and Eeyore #9 you are both right this incident was both sad and senseless. To JuliaPA #2 my heart breaks for this man’s children. To everyone else I am glad the trooper survived. There is no satisfaction to be had in the death of this man that attacked this officer, but I will say I despise the phrase “poor choices”. No one has the right to choose to attack a police officer in these circumstances.

    • #19
  20. EThompson Member
    EThompson
    @

    Doug, I’m with WC at #8 and am curious as to your take on this incident. Why did this man react so violently to the prospect of a speeding ticket?

    As a longtime fan of Law & Order, you just can’t leave me hanging here.

    • #20
  21. douglaswatt25@yahoo.com Member
    douglaswatt25@yahoo.com
    @DougWatt

    EThompson:Doug, I’m with WC at #8 and am curious as to your take on this incident. Why did this man react so violently to the prospect of a speeding ticket?

    As a longtime fan of Law & Order, you just can’t leave me hanging here.

    For both you and WC I was just a street cop, unlike a detective I never talked with forensic psychiatrists. His close friends said he was nice guy but sometimes friends see what they want to see. I believe he was heading back to the east coast because things weren’t working out in Portland. He had been out of the Army for two years yet he was traveling in cammies. My best guess would be that he might have been an undiagnosed schizophrenic. He had a plan to get back east and nothing was going to interfere with that plan and he was dressed for battle.

    • #21
  22. EThompson Member
    EThompson
    @

    He had a plan to get back east and nothing was going to interfere with that plan and he was dressed for battle.

    Yikes. I didn’t think to look at the clothing because as you mentioned, the initial body language was distracting enough.

    • #22
  23. Eeyore Member
    Eeyore
    @Eeyore

    E – I’m not going to try to speak for Doug, but the linked article gives some possible hints. He’s 34, with at least 4 kids, one around 19 with a kid of their own. He only been in Oregon for a year, and, according to another article, was on his way to South Carolina to live with his family. My projection: A “single dad” means the relationship with the childrens’ mother(s?) must not have been good. Moving back to be around family could indicate significant stress. Getting pulled over on his way out of the state may have been “Just one more damn thing! I’ve had it!”

    I wrote this comment before #21 and#22, and the “dressed for battle” sounds telling.

    • #23
  24. douglaswatt25@yahoo.com Member
    douglaswatt25@yahoo.com
    @DougWatt

    Jason Rudert:Doug, the emergency call was that there were three young men brandishing a firearm. These three (the other two are the brother and cousin of the dead guy) matched the description given over the radio call.That’s why the police have their guns out as soon as they get out of the car. None of those young men was actually armed. The guy who gets shot was wearing ear buds, had a 0.18% BAC, and what he says just before the officer shoots is, “No, fool!” He yanks up his shirt near the end and grabs for something around his waistband.

    This was recently cleared by our local DAas a justified shooting.

    The question becomes did the officer have a reasonable belief that his life was in danger based upon the nature of the call, the subjects matching the description of the men brandishing a firearm, the one subject turning to face the officer and then reaching into his waistband. The D.A. and/or the grand jury believed he did. If the call concerned three drunk morons urinating in public it would be an entirely different matter.

    • #24
  25. user_656019 Coolidge
    user_656019
    @RayKujawa

    Could it be there was a certain element of wanting to make a macho impression for the 13- and 15-year old sons? Suppose his stated intention was to show the boys how he was going to only scare the police officer? (I notice he gave himself the time in getting out of the car to ensure the trooper was white. I have serious doubts he would have continued had the patrolman been black or minority.) He might have been over-confident of his abilities. I noticed he popped off rounds very quickly in succession. I’m not a shooter, but not having any cover, this appears to me as calculated bluster. The last thing he expected would be to be fatally wounded. Maybe get winged, then get in the car and get out of Dodge. His lesson back-firing on him and dying I don’t think was lost on the kids. They could see he had no reason to become aggressive with the police officer.

    • #25
  26. user_82762 Inactive
    user_82762
    @JamesGawron

    Doug,

    Your short video is emblematic of exactly where we stand in the world at this moment.  The sick killer who got out of that car should be dead right now.  There is no question.  His predatory contempt for the lives of others was so obvious that anyone who could stand to watch your video would be forced to agree.  When a human being becomes a predatory animal there is little choice.

    ISIS long ago proved itself to be merciless, genocidal, misogynistic and well organized.   Yet, a foolish White House continued to give the benefit of the doubt and engaged in wishful thinking on a grand scale.  Now complete catastrophe is on the doorstep.

    Ebola is a killer virus.  There is enough evidence of its transmissibility that close contact procedures may or may not be adequate.  The CDC admitted that they did not know how the disease was transmitted to the nurse however they still stated as fact that it was due to the nurse’s own error.  Ebola may be a little more transmissible than the procedures in place can handle.  If so many health care professionals are at risk as well as the rest of us.

    Underestimation of evil and wishful thinking about dealing with revealed evil is not surprising.  Unfortunately, Gd has constructed the universe in such a way that we must respond with what is necessary to totally defeat the evil.  Anything less will not do.

    I hope the officer is OK.  I hope the killer is stopped.

    Regards,

    Jim

    • #26
  27. douglaswatt25@yahoo.com Member
    douglaswatt25@yahoo.com
    @DougWatt

    James Gawron:Doug,

    Your short video is emblematic of exactly where we stand in the world at this moment. The sick killer who got out of that car should be dead right now. There is no question. His predatory contempt for the lives of others was so obvious that anyone who could stand to watch your video would be forced to agree. When a human being becomes a predatory animal there is little choice.

    ISIS long ago proved itself to be merciless, genocidal, misogynistic and well organized. Yet, a foolish White House continued to give the benefit of the doubt and engaged in wishful thinking on a grand scale. Now complete catastrophe is on the doorstep.

    Ebola is a killer virus. There is enough evidence of its transmissibility that close contact procedures may or may not be adequate. The CDC admitted that they did not know how the disease was transmitted to the nurse however they still stated as fact that it was due to the nurse’s own error. Ebola may be a little more transmissible than the procedures in place can handle. If so many health care professionals are at risk as well as the rest of us.

    Underestimation of evil and wishful thinking about dealing with revealed evil is not surprising. Unfortunately, Gd has constructed the universe in such a way that we must respond with what is necessary to totally defeat the evil. Anything less will not do.

    I hope the officer is OK. I hope the killer is stopped.

    Regards,

    Jim

    Jim the officer survived, the “shooter” stopped a half-mile away from the incident and passed away from a chest wound. I’m sorry his children had to witness this moment of madness. I have no illusions about the existence of evil. That being said I know good exists. The trooper survived and I hope that the 71 seconds he endured will subside and he finds joy and peace in his life with his wife and children.

    • #27
  28. user_82762 Inactive
    user_82762
    @JamesGawron

    Doug Watt:

    James Gawron:Doug,

    Your short video is emblematic of exactly where we stand in the world at this moment. The sick killer who got out of that car should be dead right now. There is no question. His predatory contempt for the lives of others was so obvious that anyone who could stand to watch your video would be forced to agree. When a human being becomes a predatory animal there is little choice.

    ISIS long ago proved itself to be merciless, genocidal, misogynistic and well organized. Yet, a foolish White House continued to give the benefit of the doubt and engaged in wishful thinking on a grand scale. Now complete catastrophe is on the doorstep.

    Ebola is a killer virus. There is enough evidence of its transmissibility that close contact procedures may or may not be adequate. The CDC admitted that they did not know how the disease was transmitted to the nurse however they still stated as fact that it was due to the nurse’s own error. Ebola may be a little more transmissible than the procedures in place can handle. If so many health care professionals are at risk as well as the rest of us.

    Underestimation of evil and wishful thinking about dealing with revealed evil is not surprising. Unfortunately, Gd has constructed the universe in such a way that we must respond with what is necessary to totally defeat the evil. Anything less will not do.

    I hope the officer is OK. I hope the killer is stopped.

    Regards,

    Jim

    Jim the officer survived, the “shooter” stopped a half-mile away from the incident and passed away from a chest wound. I’m sorry his children had to witness this moment of madness. I have no illusions about the existence of evil. That being said I know good exists. The trooper survived and I hope that the 71 seconds he endured will subside and he finds joy and peace in his life with his wife and children.

    Doug,

    100% Doug 100%.

    Regards,

    Jim

    • #28
  29. MisterSirius Member
    MisterSirius
    @MisterSirius

    Just to put a bow on it: the dashcam video that began this thread is over one year old, which I discovered by searching, and as far as I can tell, through news reports we still do not have any answer as to why the camo-wearing single dad with kids in the car did what he did.

    Clearly he was driving around with a pistol at the ready.

    If there were a cache of weapons or drugs in the trunk, I’m sure that would be told. It would certainly explain the man’s actions.

    Lacking anything else, we have only the notion that he had a mental health problem; that he had snapped, gone “crazy.” Maybe the kids in the car were not incidental to the episode–it is within the realm of possibility that he intended on using his pistol on them at some location he was speeding towards, and the policeman offered an opportunity for the dad to trick someone else into doing the dirty work.

    • #29
  30. The King Prawn Inactive
    The King Prawn
    @TheKingPrawn

    They don’t always get it right. This cop will likely go to jail.

    http://youtu.be/vtx1tYc7PxI

    And what the [expletive] is this separation of police and other citizens as though the police represent the crown? We are all citizens. 2A means we have never monopolized the legitimate use of violence with the government.

    • #30
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