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CONTROL 3 MARY 1, FOOT PURSUIT !!!
SURVIVING AND HAVING SUCCESS IN A FOOT PURSUIT COMES DOWN TO DEFENSIVE TACTICS AND PHYSICAL FITNESS By Jason Harney* Photos by Officer Mike Brambilla
You then hear it. You randomly chose to run a wants check on the car in front of you and the bombardment of beeps hits you like a Scud missile. The car is stolen, but before you can give out your necessary radio traffic, the stolen car triples its speed and loses control, striking a light pole. And then it begins. Control 3 Mary 1, Foot Pursuit! Your radio traffic begins to become unintelligible as your dispatcher continues to request information on your situation. The suspect is running full speed ahead and is dressed for the occasion, wearing a t-shirt, tennis shoes, and shorts. Yes, shorts, because the temperature is 108 degrees today and everyone is wearing shorts, except you. You are chasing this guy in the standard wool long pants, 15 pounds of gear, and a bullet-proof vest. As the pants begin to become one with the skin on your leg, you begin to realize that this vest isn’t letting you breathe. The foot pursuit begins to drain out every bit of the quick energy you gained by eating that high fat meal, but your heart and guts push you and the suspect realizes that he is not getting away from you. It is at that time that the worst happens. The suspect turns around and looks at you with the most evil of grins and says, "Ok, cop...let’s fight!"
Is this an unwinnable situation? Putting yourself in this scenario, would you survive? Looking at this dreaded scenario from the outside in, all of us would say, just as we have been trained, "I would survive no matter what." We know that is the correct attitude and we all should have it. There is, however, certain aspects of the foot pursuit which must be examined to ensure success. Surviving a foot pursuit comes down to your ability and proficiency in Defensive Tactics and Physical Fitness. DEFENSIVE TACTICS Arguably, the foot pursuit is one of those situations which has the most potential to become volatile at any time. In the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Academy, we train the recruits for the worst possible situations. To do so, the Foot Pursuit Simulator Course is used. Similar to the Defensive Tactics Obstacle Course [highlighted in last December’s Training Wheel], the Foot Pursuit Simulator Course, which was employed during Academy Class 2-98, puts stress on the recruit by making them perform while tired and out-of-breath. As the D.T. Obstacle Course concentrated on fighting skills and markmanship, the Foot Pursuit Course concentrates on the possibility of a fight at the end of the foot pursuit as the officer takes the suspect into custody. The recruits are required to wear sparring headgear, a mouthpiece, gloves (which allows them to grab), and a rib protection pad. In their hands they carry a foam straight baton and a simulated flashlight ( actual size and weight). We start the recruit at the midpoint of the hill leading up to the Range and they begin the course with a full sprint to the top. Once at the top, the recruit must jump over the hood of a car in full stride and is then directed into one of three fighting rings which are working simultaneously. In the ring awaits a TAC Officer wearing a fully padded "Hitman Suit", and a very mean grin. The scenario is now set. The recruit has been chasing this suspect and he now has stopped running and decided to fight his way out of a trip to jail. From this point, we enforce no rules. The fight would go as it would on the street with no interference from a referee. It was not surprising to me and the academy staff that all but three of the 112 "No Rules Fights" went to the ground within a matter of seconds with most fights having the officer on his or her back. A grim situation indeed, and a learning experience which would prove to stick with each of the recruits for the remainder of the academy. Following the Foot Pursuit Simulator Course, an "After Action Review" of sorts is held to help the recruits understand what they had just endured (it’s worth mentioning that each recruit completed the SWAT Obstacle Course prior to completing this course with only 20 minutes break in between). For some, the reality of being in a real fight for the first time "hit home". For others, an incorrect use of force decision could have cost them their job, home, and life. I feel that it is important that recruits be exposed to as much "No Rules Fighting" as is safely possible. The reason being that if a recruit graduated from the academy with no fighting experience under his belt, the first time a volatile situation does arise in field training will be the first time we’ll see how that recruit will react. This makes for a dangerous situation for the field training officer, the new officer, and the suspect. When we are in unfamiliar territory, we all have a tendency to over-react. PHYSICAL FITNESS Along with a high proficiency in Defensive Tactics, it is crucial that officers maintain a high degree of physical fitness in order to be successful in a foot pursuit. Unfortunately, police officers are the worst in maintaining fitness and a healthy lifestyle. To no fault of our own, we are thrust into circumstances which constantly change our sleep patterns, our diet, and our stress levels. This combined with the sedentary lifestyle that is common with police, as well as the all too frequent "binge drinking", and we have a lethal combination of elements that cause our death far too early. Most officers think that the reason why police officers die an average of five years after their retirement is because of stress. Not true. According to research done by the Cooper Institute for Aerobic Research in Dallas, Texas, the reason we die is because of 30 years of bad diet and not enough exercise. So, if we don’t think that it is necessary to stay fit for our job, how about we stay fit to live. Obviously, the benefits of staying fit go way beyond surviving foot pursuits and hand-to-hand confrontations, but for us to be successful at our job, it is imperative that we make fitness our lifestyle. Fitness prescription for police officers cleared by a doctor for physical training is relatively simple, You need to do some type of cardiovascular training (running, treadmill, stairmaster, walking) that will have you achieve your target heart rate within 20 minutes. For somebody just starting out, twice weekly can start building a foundation for intense cardiovascular exercise five times per week after about 12 weeks. This is what we call "getting in shape!" Then of course there is the diet issue, which is perhaps the toughest to implement. It is recommended by the Cooper Institute that your caloric intake be divided among the following percentages: 40% carbohydrates —30% protein —30% fats (with no more than 10% of fat coming from saturated fat). From there, consider the six food categories and the daily servings recommended:
Considering these suggested numbers, are you eating what and how you should? It is a lifestyle that will lead to a better health and make it much easier to catch the bad guys during our already dangerous job. Did you know that 2/3 of all cancer and disease is caused by bad diet and lack of exercise? That means by simply living a healthier lifestyle, you can cut your chances of dying of cancer or disease by 66 percent. This is just the "tip of the iceberg". Fitness is a growing concern on our department and in all of law enforcement. We work too hard to let these preventable factors ruin our retirement and impede us from physically performing tasks, such as foot oursuits, that patrol officers face nearly everyday. PUTTING DEFENSIVE TACTICS AND PHYSICAL FITNESS TOGETHER In order to survive these aforementioned factors, both on and off the job, we must begin to put together a program which combines defensive tactics and physical fitness. I recommend to people everyday that they do some type of physical activity, which includes some type of defensive tactic technique. Punching a heavy bag or working with focus mitts is an excellent way to improve cardiovascular fitness, hand-eye coordination, power, and muscle tone. Other ways to improve fitness and defensive tactics can be taking-up Karate, Jujitsu, Jeet Kune Do, Submission Wrestling, or Boxing. All will help increase your confidence when the time comes for you to defend yourself or someone else in this dangerous world of ours. The point is...do something! Martial arts experts and police training experts agree that if you do not practice your defensive tactics techniques for at least 15 minutes each day, they will completely diminish. So, practice I say, because if the dreadful scenario described at the beginning of this article doesn’t happen to you this year, or five years from now, believe me, it will happen someday. And when it does, you’ll need to put it all on the line to live. The question is, "How much will you have?" Fitness and Defensive Tactics and the Will to Survive is what you will need to come out on-top. In 1998, 153 law enforcement officers lost their lives in the line of duty. Of those, 60 died as a result of gunfire. As I read each incident, case-by-case, I couldn’t help to wonder how many of these deaths could have been prevented by better proficiency in defensive tactics and a higher level of physical fitness. We’ll never know, but the future is ours to unfold and we will succeed. * Officer Jason Harney is a TAC Officer and the Lead Defensive Tactics Instructor for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s Police Academy. He is a certified Law Enforcement Physical Fitness Specialist and Personal Trainer through the Cooper Institute for Aerobic Fitness. For more information on physical fitness programs, diet, and Defensive Tactics training, he can be reached at (702) 229-3078. This article originally was published in the Training Wheel
The Training Journal of the Las Vegas |
If you will, picture the
following scenario: You just had lunch at one of your most coveted eating establishments
and that bountiful feast has given you a new definition of personal fullness as well as
personal guilt. As you drive slowly through your beat and time passes, your rear seems to
glue itself to the driver seat. You realize that until this
"horn-o’-plenty" in your stomach digests, doing your job will be lost in a
long list of now forgotten priorities. As quickly as you forget, you are a cop and the
worst always seems to happen when you are least prepared.
Now, all of the aforementioned factors
begin to take their toll. That meal you consumed and hour ago is now on its way up. Your
entire uniform is soaked with sweat. You’re gasping for more air, but your vest, as
snug as it fits, won’t allow your lungs to expand comfortably. This suspect is now
charging at you. He knows that you are now in his environment and playing by his rules...No
Rules.