THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GENE!

First and foremost is training. Buddy’s training, both the training that he has received over the years and the training he has bestowed on others, paid off. Situational awareness was a big thing for Buddy. After 30 years as a cop it has paid off more times than he is aware of (no pun intended). He is sure that there were many more times that he just avoided problems without knowing just from being aware of his surroundings. On this occasion he knew of the guys in the parking lot so he knew when he yelled after the attempted armed robbery someone would here him. Though he assures me he would have yelled anyway if he didn’t know they were there he would have tried to have found his cell phone. By also acknowledging the suit that walked past him his attention was drawn to the area from where the bad guys emerged. This allowed him not to be totally surprised when they crept out of the bushes. His awareness of his surroundings also made it apparent to Buddy that he had no where safe to go. He already knew that there wasn’t any cover close enough to him to get before he would have been shot.

One other side note here is that he was in an unfamiliar area. By traveling down the main road back to his hotel he was safer than if he had tried to take a “Back road.” He isn’t sure if there were any alley ways or not but if there were he still would have taken the well traveled road. The lesson here is avoiding dark/unlit areas.

Carry a gun! Though that isn’t possible for everyone, if you can, do it! I’m in no way suggesting you break the law but if you have a CCW you are an ABSOLUTE FOOL for not using it. Buddy says that having his snubby was better than nothing but that the weather would have permitted a larger, more accessible firearm and he should have been carrying a bigger gun on his belt. This would have been yet another bad time to be carrying a fanny pack. The bad guys probably would have demanded it and would have had a true firearm. People don’t carry a fanny pack with nothing in it and they would have wanted to have had it. It would have been almost impossible to draw a firearm out of it prior to handing it over.

Throw away money. Buddy, like me, doesn’t carry a whole bunch of cash regularly. This whole event showed the value of carrying “Throw away” money in a separate pocket. It is better to lose $5 than $250. I’m sure some of you single guys can carry money like that sometimes… My wife doesn’t give me that sort of allowance.

For any law enforcement officers out there; this story is only one of many that you should pay attention to. NEVER carry your badge and Police I.D. in your main wallet. Have a dedicated wallet for that kind of information. If the bad guys had gotten that wallet (and they had a true firearm) they may kill just because of a resentment of cops or because they know cops are trained to give good descriptions.

The bad guys had formed a triangle with Buddy. This forced Buddy to face a threat on two sides. This was a very good move on their part. Buddy was able to manipulate them into a position that was more favorable to him. Luckily they were only a little smart. By placing a bad guy between buddy and the potential shooter Buddy hoped to have at least a little cover if he had to engage the bad guy with the gun.

When Buddy started protesting about giving up his cell phone it bought time for him and was distracting to the bad guys. By introducing what appeared to be “innocent” movement he was jockeying for a better position. Had there been cover he could have been moving closer to that as well. The movements also made the throwing of his cell phone more of a surprise. The startled response was predictable and powerful. A persons natural response to having something come at their face is to turn away, buying Buddy a little bit of time. Because Turtle boy couldn’t see all of Buddy’s movements so when bandanna boy jumped he predictably jumped as well. For you smokers out there a lit cigarette works wonderfully as well. Roll the cigarette between your middle or index finger and thumb and flick it towards their face. Again, a bright object flying at someone’s face can be rather distracting. Because of Buddy’s repeated training drawing from an ankle holster he was able to do it quickly and smoothly. PRACTICE YOUR DRAW! Regardless of where you carry your firearm, PRACTICE YOUR DRAW REPEATEDLY! You might want to do it with an unloaded firearm, if you don’t than YOU will be responsible for any problems (holes?) you create.

Another possibility here might have been feigning a heart attack. That may have allowed Buddy to get lower towards his holster but I still don’t think it would have allowed him to draw as un-noticed. The bad guys would have been watching him all the way down.

Maybe he could have thrown his wallet too. Had he thrown it into the street the bad guy’s eyes would have predictably followed it. There by buying him time to draw his firearm.

The three quick steps back made it so that the closest bad guy, in this case bandanna boy, could not try to disarm him. Remember that distance is always your friend.

Once Buddy had the drop on the bad guys he continued with his advantage. I didn’t add a bunch of the expletives that Buddy used because it didn’t add much to the story. It did have its desired effect on the bad guys though. Once you have control of the situation exploit it. Make the bad guy know that you are in charge. Tell them that you will “KILL” them if they do not follow your instructions. If you can’t say it you can’t do it, they know that. Be loud and forceful. Be in control. It also forces possible witnesses to notice you as well. Call out for help immediately. Maybe there is another Good Samaritan close by, maybe even an off duty cop. It also gets help on the way as quickly as possible. If you are a witness PLEASE don’t yell out that you can’t get a hold of the good guys… Just keep trying.

As Buddy found out cops take a while to get to you. Be prepared to take control and stay in control. It may also be a good idea to retreat to a more defendable area. Don’t stay too focused on the threat. Buddy continued with sweeping the area even after he had the bad guys at gun point. What if there had been a third bad guy watching out for the cops most likely avenue of approach? Continue with the situational awareness.

Had the bad guys in this case spoke a different language or been able to continue to communicate bad things could have happened. Keep the bad guys quite and immobile. They may be conspiring to try to overcome you. Again, keep control of the situation.

When the uniforms show up MAKE SURE YOU ARE IDENTIFIABLE! When you call out for help make sure you tell the witnesses to give dispatch a description of you. Buddy was a little luckier than most of us would have been because he had a badge to hold up. In most of our cases it still would have been a good idea to hold up your wallet. Try to give the uniforms some sort of impression that you are a good guy. When the good guys show up, lower the barrel of your gun and DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES TURN TOWARDS THE UNIFORMS WITH THE GUN IN YOUR HAND.

Keep telling everyone that shows up that you are the good guy. Don’t trust that the first officer has already radioed out who is good and who is bad before the rest of the cavalry shows up.

Like Buddy did, tell, or at least ask the uniforms what you are going to do before you do it. Let them know that you are going to holster your firearm. Buddy wanted to holster his weapon before too many people showed up and he just became “Some guy not in uniform pointing a gun.”

One of the most important post incident things that Buddy did was ask that his personal information not be included on the police report. Many may not know that once a person is charged with a crime the police report becomes public information. Buddy also confirmed with the District Attorney’s office that the report had been cleansed. The D.A.’s office will need personal information just in case you need to be subpoenaed for the case. They can also make sure that your personal information is kept confidential for your security. As it turned out in this case both bad guys had long criminal histories, are you surprised? Both had known gang affiliation. Would they have put a contract out on Buddy or his family? Who knows, Buddy didn’t want to try to find out.

If anyone else sees any other lessons learned here please feel free to add to or correct me where needed.