01-24-08

I. The Priorities of Life

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	The Priorities of Life By Sgt. Bill Campbell, Gilbert (AZ) Police Department

Often I am asked about why we in law enforcement choose the tactics we do. Why do we use less-lethal force? When does a person need to be shot by a sniper? What tactic is best for a given situation? These are all examples of tactical decisions that officers and police supervisors have to make daily in the field. When an officer knows certain basic principles regarding tactics, these decisions can often be weighed by a simple standard and a decision can be made quickly.

In almost all circumstances the principle by which we measure all tactical decisions is known as the "Priorities of Life." The "POL" is a measuring stick we use in determining to what end we will risk life to save life. Keep in mind that "The ultimate goal of all tactical decision making is to save lives." The fact that officers find themselves intervening in conflicts where one life must sometimes be measured against another means that we must have a standard by which we place a priority of some lives over others.

The fire department has a similar standard. A fire commander will risk the life of a firefighter to save an innocent person who can reasonably be saved but might not risk that same firefighter for a person who has already succumbed to the fire.

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For our purposes we hold human life in the following priority:

1. Innocent people (hostages or bystanders)
2. First responders (police officers)
3. Suspects (Those responsible for the conflict)

This means that we hold an innocent person's life highest in priority, even above our own life if needed. This is why we, the police, rush into an active shooter situation when people are endangered. By rushing into a gunfight, we are placing our own lives at risk so that we might save the lives of hostages (innocent people immediately endangered) or bystanders (innocent people that the suspect might gain access to).

This priority is applied in hostage situations when officers rush into a room to force a suspect to commit to a course of action which will likely endanger the officer but may save the innocent hostage. It is the same rule we apply when stating that a hostage taker will not be allowed to leave a police perimeter with the hostage or be allowed to escape the perimeter. In both cases, we must hold the innocent lives in highest priority and allowing the suspect to leave with or without a hostage could needlessly endanger innocent life.

Perhaps you have seen a movie in which a hostage negotiator puts his gun down standing only a few feet from the hostage taker in hopes that the hostage taker won’t shoot the hostage or the officer. When you saw this you screamed to yourself, “NO! That's stupid!” And you would be right, because that scene places the suspect’s life highest and jeopardizes the lives of the innocent person and the officer

The involved officers' lives are the next priority. This means that once hostages and innocent people are removed from the equation, tactics should be chosen which will not needlessly endanger the lives of the officers involved. For example, if a suspect is alone in a park with a samurai sword and officers have him safely contained so that no innocent people are endangered, the officers should choose tactics that would safely negotiate or force the suspect to disarm prior to making close contact with him. In this case a less lethal option such as a drag stabilized bean bag fired from a shotgun at 75 feet might be a safe means to convince the suspect to disarm himself while the officers maintain a safe distance from the lethality of the blade. Only once the suspect is no longer a threat to the officers, should they close the distance.

If the suspect had a rifle, the less lethal option would be a tactical mistake. Placing the less lethal-armed officer in range of the suspect’s rifle would mean that the priority was juggled so that the suspect’s life was placed higher than the officers.

The suspect's life is held lowest in priority. That is not to say that we won't still hold that life as important and do whatever is in our power to save that life as well. It simply means that we will not needlessly endanger the higher priorities to save the suspect’s life. This is why we have created technologies such as bean bag guns, chemical agents, flash diversionary devices, Tasers and even the use of K-9s. All are examples of less-lethal force options designed to be used to save a suspect's life rather than place him in a position where lethal force is the only option. Each of these options is used with lethal coverage in place in case the less lethal option fails and the suspect suddenly forces the officers to defend themselves or innocent people.

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Notice that dead people, animals and evidence are not on the list of priorities. This is because we don't risk our lives or the life of another for any of these things. Tactics that risk life needlessly to recover a baggie of weed are very hard to justify.

Once the principle is understood, tactical decision-making comes much easier, whether the decision is made by a SWAT Commander or a Patrolman on the street. The next time you are watching a cop movie and the tactics seem all wrong, use the priorities of life as a measuring stick to tell you if your gut is right.

More importantly, look back on your own career and try to find times when you may have made tactical errors in judgment using the "POL" as a guide. Identify times when you might have needlessly endangered yourself or another person because you were concerned for the welfare of a suspect. If you recognize times like this, put the scenario in perspective and use the “POL” to re-write it for your future. Decide today how you will handle that situation if it comes tomorrow, using the priorities of life as a tactical measuring stick.

About the author

Bill Campbell is a veteran tactical officer and firearms instructor with the Gilbert, Arizona Police Department. Bill also teaches instructor development courses for the National Rifle Association’s Law Enforcement Activities Division. You may reach him at billc@ci.gilbert.az.us.

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