Much of the CCW discussions here and on other forums center around the "best" gun, the "best" caliber, the "best" ammo, etc.
It makes for interesting reading and the occasionally emotional defense of our personal selections. Most of our theoretical adversaries tend to be home intruders, muggers and occasionally the unhinged motorist in the grips of road-rage.
Yet, a threat exists to the CCW and off-duty LEOs alike and which does not receive the amount of tactical thought and planning needed if we are to survive such an encounter. I'm talking about the armed robbery of the local convenience store, often within minutes of your home. By "convenience," I mean any local store from the candy and tobacco shop, the bakery, liquor store, gas station, the general store, etc.
Much of what we know or think we know about robberies is gleaned from television and the movies, where a stereotypically desperate individual, in need of a fix, pulls a gun and robs the nearest retail establishment. Knowledge is also gleaned from actual surveillance tapes capturing robberies and subsequently shown on the evening news. In most instances, the cash register is the primary target, not us.
In the fictionalized version, the ruggedly handsome good guy or disarming fem-fatale usually comes out on top using a slick tongue or gunplay that would make Jerry Maculek scratch his head in awe and wonderment. As every police firearms instructor advises: never take tactical lessons from television or the movies.
There are four retail robberies that come to mind in which events did not follow the usual script and which you should be familiar with. Much information on these four particular robberies is available online and I encourage you to spend a few minutes reading about them while placing yourself in the middle of such a robbery. What would you have done?
1. Medford (NY) Pharmacy, 8/19/2011, in which a robber, seeking drugs, executed a pharmacist, a clerk and two innocent patrons in the wrong place at the wrong time.
4 People Killed In Shooting At Haven Drugs Pharmacy In Medford « CBS New York
2. Seaford (NY) drug store robbery, 1/2012, in which both a retired police officer and an off-duty BATFE agent responded, the retiree killing the BATFE agent in a mistaken identity situation.
Investigation Continues Into Deadly Seaford Pharmacy Robbery « CBS New York
3. Seacrest Diner robbery, 1982: a large, suburban diner taken over by five armed men, two of whom stationed themselves at the door, instantly transforming patrons into hostages. Besides robbery, hostages were forced at gunpoint to engage in sex acts with each other. To my recollection, an off-duty officer patronizing the diner elected to surround his gun rather than resist.
Herald-Journal - Google News Archive Search
4. Radio Shack Robbery, lower Manhattan (NY) 1992: a retired police sergeant is slain in a gun battle with four, possibly five robbers.JUSTICE AT LAST FOR SLAIN COP | New York Post
These are just four tactical nightmares and there are scores of others. These four are easily found, detailed online so there's no point in my summarizing each incident at length.
Here are a few tactical thoughts:
1. Re-familiarize yourself with Jeff Cooper's "Condition Yellow."
2. When visiting a convenience store, stop for a moment and observe the interior before entering. Does everything look normal? There's no excuse for walking into a robbery-in-progress.
3. Don't take action if there are people behind you that you cannot identify or control.
4. If you see a robber, there may be an accomplice. If you see two robbers, there may be a third accomplice, etc.
5. Do not automatically take action. A valid response is to do nothing, especially if you can't figure out who is who.
6. Don't assume that if someone produces a gun, he's a bad guy. He may be an LEO or a CCW, just like you.
7. An idling car out front with driver behind the wheel. Most likely someone waiting for a companion who went into the store but on occasion, a getaway driver. This should be a warning to open your eyes and to use them.
8. Don't give chase. Your use of deadly force is more easily defended within the premises, Once you begin a pursuit, you are no longer acting in self-defense, the bread-and-butter defense of the CCW.
9. You'll likely be held civilly accountable for wrongful use of force and possibly for injured bystanders, even those injured by the robber.
10. If someone surrenders to you, maintain a safe distance. Do not position yourself between the robber and his only apparent means of escape. Do not attempt to restrain them. If they are cooperative, put them face down on the floor, spread-eagled and have them look away from you.
11. Make sure you don't have a gun in your hand when police arrive. Having the guy on the floor looking away prevents him from taking action when he's momentarily no longer covered.
12. Last but not least, something I've never seen discussed in any forum: if you "capture" the robber, intruder, mugger, you are now responsible for their safety and you may not allow your friends or strangers to use them as a heavy bag or a soccer ball. If you stand idly by, he sues you and wins. If those irate bystanders succeed in killing your captive, you may become an accomplice to manslaughter. The faster you can turn the miscreant over to the police the better off you are.
13: Lawyers' advice: never make citizens' arrests.
14. I nearly forgot to mention it but you need to be intimately familiar with the laws regarding use of force wherever you carry and wherever you may have to use force. You must also know the political climate as official responses to very similar circumstance can vary widely.
It makes for interesting reading and the occasionally emotional defense of our personal selections. Most of our theoretical adversaries tend to be home intruders, muggers and occasionally the unhinged motorist in the grips of road-rage.
Yet, a threat exists to the CCW and off-duty LEOs alike and which does not receive the amount of tactical thought and planning needed if we are to survive such an encounter. I'm talking about the armed robbery of the local convenience store, often within minutes of your home. By "convenience," I mean any local store from the candy and tobacco shop, the bakery, liquor store, gas station, the general store, etc.
Much of what we know or think we know about robberies is gleaned from television and the movies, where a stereotypically desperate individual, in need of a fix, pulls a gun and robs the nearest retail establishment. Knowledge is also gleaned from actual surveillance tapes capturing robberies and subsequently shown on the evening news. In most instances, the cash register is the primary target, not us.
In the fictionalized version, the ruggedly handsome good guy or disarming fem-fatale usually comes out on top using a slick tongue or gunplay that would make Jerry Maculek scratch his head in awe and wonderment. As every police firearms instructor advises: never take tactical lessons from television or the movies.
There are four retail robberies that come to mind in which events did not follow the usual script and which you should be familiar with. Much information on these four particular robberies is available online and I encourage you to spend a few minutes reading about them while placing yourself in the middle of such a robbery. What would you have done?
1. Medford (NY) Pharmacy, 8/19/2011, in which a robber, seeking drugs, executed a pharmacist, a clerk and two innocent patrons in the wrong place at the wrong time.
4 People Killed In Shooting At Haven Drugs Pharmacy In Medford « CBS New York
2. Seaford (NY) drug store robbery, 1/2012, in which both a retired police officer and an off-duty BATFE agent responded, the retiree killing the BATFE agent in a mistaken identity situation.
Investigation Continues Into Deadly Seaford Pharmacy Robbery « CBS New York
3. Seacrest Diner robbery, 1982: a large, suburban diner taken over by five armed men, two of whom stationed themselves at the door, instantly transforming patrons into hostages. Besides robbery, hostages were forced at gunpoint to engage in sex acts with each other. To my recollection, an off-duty officer patronizing the diner elected to surround his gun rather than resist.
Herald-Journal - Google News Archive Search
4. Radio Shack Robbery, lower Manhattan (NY) 1992: a retired police sergeant is slain in a gun battle with four, possibly five robbers.JUSTICE AT LAST FOR SLAIN COP | New York Post
These are just four tactical nightmares and there are scores of others. These four are easily found, detailed online so there's no point in my summarizing each incident at length.
Here are a few tactical thoughts:
1. Re-familiarize yourself with Jeff Cooper's "Condition Yellow."
2. When visiting a convenience store, stop for a moment and observe the interior before entering. Does everything look normal? There's no excuse for walking into a robbery-in-progress.
3. Don't take action if there are people behind you that you cannot identify or control.
4. If you see a robber, there may be an accomplice. If you see two robbers, there may be a third accomplice, etc.
5. Do not automatically take action. A valid response is to do nothing, especially if you can't figure out who is who.
6. Don't assume that if someone produces a gun, he's a bad guy. He may be an LEO or a CCW, just like you.
7. An idling car out front with driver behind the wheel. Most likely someone waiting for a companion who went into the store but on occasion, a getaway driver. This should be a warning to open your eyes and to use them.
8. Don't give chase. Your use of deadly force is more easily defended within the premises, Once you begin a pursuit, you are no longer acting in self-defense, the bread-and-butter defense of the CCW.
9. You'll likely be held civilly accountable for wrongful use of force and possibly for injured bystanders, even those injured by the robber.
10. If someone surrenders to you, maintain a safe distance. Do not position yourself between the robber and his only apparent means of escape. Do not attempt to restrain them. If they are cooperative, put them face down on the floor, spread-eagled and have them look away from you.
11. Make sure you don't have a gun in your hand when police arrive. Having the guy on the floor looking away prevents him from taking action when he's momentarily no longer covered.
12. Last but not least, something I've never seen discussed in any forum: if you "capture" the robber, intruder, mugger, you are now responsible for their safety and you may not allow your friends or strangers to use them as a heavy bag or a soccer ball. If you stand idly by, he sues you and wins. If those irate bystanders succeed in killing your captive, you may become an accomplice to manslaughter. The faster you can turn the miscreant over to the police the better off you are.
13: Lawyers' advice: never make citizens' arrests.
14. I nearly forgot to mention it but you need to be intimately familiar with the laws regarding use of force wherever you carry and wherever you may have to use force. You must also know the political climate as official responses to very similar circumstance can vary widely.
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) but I always try to be in yellow if not orange when in a bank, gas station or similar place where a robbery is more likely to happen.
