“Let us catch you by yourself and it’s shots fired.”
Those were just some of the words made by an anonymous caller to the Aurora (Colo.) Police Department over the Labor Day weekend.
According to reports, the menacing call came in “via a disconnected Cricket cell phone,” from a male caller apparently attempting to disguise his voice.
As a result of this and other recent threats and attacks, police agencies should now seriously consider increasing the number of two-officer squads. Not every squad in every agency — that would be a practical impossibility — but most every department knows when and where the trouble spots are. In those places and during those shifts, either deploying two-officer squads or trying to have two squads show up to as many calls as possible, may be the safest course of action.
As Police1 Columnist Dan Marcou recently wrote, “Some of the problems that a one-officer unit would face during these times and in these locations could be prevented by having two officers immediately on the scene rather than one. This is happening in some venues, but it needs to be more widely considered.”
Use tried-and-true contact and cover tactics, watch your 360 (not just your six!), and back up your fellow officers on every call you can manage. Stay safe out there my brothers and sisters.
