Fighting Tactics of the Police, May 1997
Black Belt issue.
By
James Hanna
Police officers must make tactical choices every day in the line
of duty. Many times, events unfold so quickly that there is little or no time
for the officer toanalyze the situation before making a decision. In such
instances, he must rely on reflex action. Therefore, the more experience and
training an officer has, the better his chances of responding to trouble in a
proper and legally correct manner.
In an effort to be better prepared for violence on the streets, many police
officers supplement their law enforcement training with martial arts training.
One strategy some officers have borrowed from the martial arts is the eight
point star pattern often employed in the Chinese based martial arts. This
pattern is used to help martial artists visualize how and where to move, both
offensively and defensively, in a physical altercation. It also allows them to
organize information into a more easily understood format. Now law enforcement
personnel are discovering that the eight point star pattern can be helpful in
some of the situations in which they find themselves on the streets.
Imagine that a police officer is standing in the center of the eight point star
pattern diagrammed on the floor. Now picture a suspect directly facing the
officer. Using the face of a clock for directional guidance, the officer can
obviously step straight toward the suspect (12:00), straight back (6:00), to the
left (9:00), or to the right (3:00). He can also step to one of the star's four
secondary directions--1:30, 4:30. 7:30 and 10:30.
Studies have shown that suspects generally attack straight ahead, rather than
attempt a roundabout assault. Therefore, standing at the center of an eight
pointed star pattern is an officer's worst choice, since this is where the
suspects hopes and expects him to be.
Stepping toward 12:00 is the officer's next weakest choice, because he is then
likely moving directly into the attack. His timing for such a response
must be perfect, since there is no room to remedy any mistake. In addition, such
a strategy increases the chances of the officer's drawn or holstered
gun being taken away by the suspect.
Distance allows for some degree of error, thus stepping back to 6:00 is not a
tactically poor choice, but it does create a couple of problems for police
officers that civilians generally do not have to contend with. First, the
officer is still in the suspect's preferred line of attack. Second, the officer
is stepping back into the unknown, since his focus has been concentrated to the
front. He may, in fact, be stepping back into his attacker's accomplice. Many
officers, for example, have stepped between two quarreling family members in
order to protect one of them during a domestic dispute. The victim will then
sometimes surprise the officer by attacking him from behind. At this point, the
officer's gun may be in jeopardy, leading to potentially deadly results.
If, however, an officer slips a suspect's attack by stepping to
10:30 or 1:30 on the star, he accomplishes three things: He removes himself
from the suspect's preferred line of attack; he reduces the potential for a
surprise attack from behind; and he places himself to the side of the suspect.
By taking an additional step and then pivoting, the officer moves behind the
suspect--a very sound tactical position. Such a maneuver also places the
suspect in the way of any accomplice attacking from 6:00.
When faced with multiple suspects, it obviously behooves an officer to move out
of the center of the star and use one attacker as a shield against another.
This maneuver places all three individuals on the same line, and one suspect has
now been unwittingly moved to the center of the star.
If a suspect attacks from 12:00 and has an ally at 9:00, the police officer can
move to 3:00 on the star to improve his position. As the first suspect steps
into the center of the pattern to launch his attack, he shields the officer from
the suspect situated at 9:00. This tactic is especially beneficial to the
officer when the accomplice at 9:00 has a gun.
The rearward angles of 4:30 and 7:30 also have tactical value for the officer in
certain situations. If the suspect charges from 12:00 and attempts to tackle
the officer, the latter can take a step to the left (CCW) to 4:30. This
accomplishes five things: It gets the officer out of the attack line: it
stablilizes his balance: it enables him to see what was behind him at 6:00; it
creates distance between him and the suspect; and it can possibly cause the
suspect to crash into an ally or obsacle at 6:00--especially if the officer
helps the attacker along with a baton strike.
The eight point star pattern can also be used offensively to help increase an
officer's awareness of distance and position. If, for example, a suspect is at
the center of the star, the officer's best approach is generally from 6:00, just
as the worst approach is from 12:00. Approaching from the sides at 3:00 or 9:00
keeps the officer on the outside of the suspect which momentarily minimizes the
opportunity for the suspect to simultaneously use both of his hands.
If the same suspect has a gun in his right hand, the officer's best approach is
from 7:30, since the gunman must swing awkwardly to his right or make a long
counterclockwise spin to his left. The officer also has the advantage of
approaching from a blind angle.
Two officers working together should attempt to keep a suspect at the star's
center. If he moves out of the center, the officers should step accordingly to
maintain their advantage. The officers must be sure not to get in each other's
way. If both approach from 12:00, they are not taking full tactical advantage
of the situation. In fact, by approaching shoulder to shoulder, one officer may
partially neutralize the other's ability to draw a weapon, use a radio, etc. If
their firearms are drawn, it's obvious the officers should not be on the same
line of attack, which would create a potential crossfire situation. In this
scenario, the rear corners of 7:30 and 4:30 are tactically stronger.
Obstacles, such as walls, can also be used to a police officer's advantage by
simply "erasing" part of the star pattern. If a suspect is backed against a
wall by two officers, he cannot step to 4:30, 6:00, or 7:30, nor can the
officers approach from those angles. However, by ordering the suspect to turn
and place his hands on the wall, the officers can "flip" the pattern and erase
the 10:30, 12:00 and 1:30 angles for the suspect, while placing themselves at
7:30 and 4:30. These are safer positions for both the officers and the suspect.
Police officers must make tactical choices every day on the streets. Weapons
come into play, multiple suspects may be involved, back up help may or may not
be available--the data officers must instantaneously process can be
overwhelming. The centuries old eight point star pattern of kung fu can help
them organize and manage this data. The combat situations may be different
today than they were hundreds of years ago, but the solutions to each violent
scenario still lie with the simple eight point star pattern.
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