In last week’s Calibre Press newsletter, Instructor Kelly DeVoll discussed the critical importance of scanning while engaged with a subject. Kelly’s “priority of scan” sequence is hands, waist, face, head-to-toe. Numerous officers wrote in to share their own thoughts. Here’s what a few of them had to say…

Sgt Erin Clewell with San Marcos (TX) PD wrote:

Great article/topic and Kelly is a great trainer! I definitely appreciate his caveat here: “There are other methods for establishing a priority of scan. Like I said earlier, no single method is THE method. Regardless of method, an officer should be continually scanning…”

Based on many years of training and many, many force-on-force scenarios, I would caution making hands the priority or #1 in the scanning sequence. They are high on the list. However, I have seen a LOT of blue-on-blue situations occur during active attack force-on-force training due to, primarily, the initial look being at the hands. I have also seen this in the live fire shoot house using targets with a badge on the belt or around the neck and a gun in the hand. When a stressed officer looks at the hands first and sees a gun, they tend to react immediately to that gun in the hand and only later (could be only .5 sec but still “later”) realize they just shot another cop.

I would encourage a scanning sequence of 1 – Whole Person, 2 – Hands, 3 – Waistband, 4 – Immediate Area, and then 5 – Face or Demeanor.

Sgt. Robert J. Florquist II with Grand County (CO) SO commented:

It’s always easy to second guess what the LEO did or did not do after the facts, but if the officer knew he was dealing with a possible violent subject, he has seen the weapon in the suspects waist band, why did he then direct the subject to exit his vehicle? Why not keep the subject in the pickup, where they are somewhat contained, retreat and take up a better tactical position and call for a cover car.

If he would have at least put more distance between the subject and him “before” the subject got out of the vehicle, the officer may have stood a better chance of survival. He may have seen the long gun in the subject’s hands as the subject exited and then the officer would have had a much better chance to draw his duty weapon, take up better cover and be in a better position to return fire “if” the subjects starts to fire on him.

It’s almost like the officer did not perceive any threat from the subject even though the officer knew this was a potentially violent subject. The officer saw the subject had a handgun along his waistline, yet he directed the subject out and gave the subject the advantage.

From Detention Officer Sergeant Johnny Marcella with Gallatin County (MT) SO:

This is something that could not be stressed too much. We all need to be reminded to slow down and be more observant. The skills I learned working in a Detention Center for 12 years helped me immensely when transferring to a Security Checkpoint. I am using different muscles, but the awareness is still paramount. How do we teach the new kids to broaden their scope and widen their gaze? All while teaching them about social cues and handling different types of confrontation without reacting.

A reader wrote:

Kelly wrote: “When officers are in contact with a person they are in contact with, potentially, one of the most dangerous creatures on earth.”

This statement is not to be taken lightly. Most people are so-called “normal people “coming and going through life in a “normal” fashion. We do interact with them as well. The mere fact that we are in the law enforcement profession will put us in contact with some of the most dangerous people on earth.

This article is truly beneficial to not only the experienced officer but the newer officer as well.

Deputy Constable Peter Donnelly (ret.) from Tarrant County, TX responded:

I just finished the excellent article on priority scanning. Excellent. Something that sometimes comes with experience, otherwise it has to be taught. I always have my hand on my gun while issuing commands, especially while working 10-99 or solo.

Joe Schlau who at the time of the first incident below was with the Schaumburg (IL) PD and with the Galena (IL) PD during the second incident wrote:

I have two stories to tell of confrontations that never developed into a potentially serious attack.

In the lockup I was processing a male offender in his 30’s.  He was neither openly hostile nor friendly.  Both of us were seated.  He began to do a shoulder rolling movement just like the ones we did in the defensive tactics classes as a warmup.  I read it as a prelude to an attack.

Seeing the danger, I rolled back on my chair, stood up, grabbed the ring of cell keys, ordered him up and told him to follow me, never really giving him a chance to fully process what was happening.  I walked him to a cell and closed and locked the door.

I was able to simultaneously create distance, arm myself with a very heavy ring of lockup keys, and continuously interrupted his attack plan thereby, in my view, avoiding an attack.

The second was when I was working alone in a rural Illinois city, Galena.  I received a call of a car being driven erratically.  It was 1978, so the caller thought enough of the driving to pull over and find a phone booth.  I located the car heading eastbound out of town on the main state highway. Not seeing any drastic lane usage worthy of a citation, and now almost a mile out of town, I pulled the car over to make sure the driver was ok.

As I walked up to the car, I noticed a male passenger seated behind the male driver.  Just the two of them.  Both door windows rolled down.  Two guys together almost always occupy the front seat, something that alerted me.  As if they wanted me to contact the driver and be standing square in front of the passenger.  I stopped short of the passenger door and would go no further, making the driver pass his license to the passenger, then to me.  Both were from Chicago and heading in that direction.

I concluded the stop and they went on their way.  Later in the evening I learned the State Police handled a crash with the same car.  Instead of staying on the main highway they inexplicably turned onto one of the many winding gravel country roads and rolled the car.  The Trooper found a loaded .25 caliber handgun in the car.

What their intentions were will never be known.  My conclusion was that they had something in the car and were trying to get me positioned so the passenger could shoot at contact range.  I never gave them a chance.

One more part of this story.  In 1978 body armor was not common.  I had to buy my own from Second Chance.  When I received the vest, it was a bit long so I needed to return it for adjustment.  Thursday was the only day UPS delivered to Galena.  On that Thursday, UPS still had not come so I went on shift.  An hour later I got a message from the wife my vest arrived.  I stopped home, put on my vest and as I’m walking back to my car, I get a call of a car driving erratically.  The same car I pulled over 5 minutes later on an isolated state road.  If the passenger had decided to shoot, he likely would have hit my new vest.

Sometimes the stories of the attacks that never come to fruition because officer tactics interfered with the attack plan are just as valuable as those that went wrong.