How Can You Avoid This Outcome?

[Rodan]

We might want to withhold judgement until we find out what address the officers were given by their dispatch.

In many dispatch centers, the person who answers 911 never talks to the officers via radio. They input the information into the CAD system, and it goes to the radio dispatch to be assigned to a unit. A simple typo when entering the address can create the situation we are discussion.

And my experience is that most dispatchers these days are not good typists, can't spell and their grammer is worse than most cops'. And they are inputting the info under stress and time constraints.

Often times this information gets sorted while the officers are enroute based on their knowledge of their beat, and further communication with the caller. Best case is that the call taker is on the phone with the caller until they arrive, but that's rare these days.

The addresses on both houses are clearly marked near the front door (per google street view), so if the officers were given the right address and got the wrong house, that's on them. Arriving at a DV and encountering an armed subject is very likely to result in exactly what happened here.

From the perspective of the homeowner, you absolutely should have some way of observing who is at your door. Even uniforms at my door would likely result in my calling the local PD to find out why they are there at zero dark thirty. Having a gun in-hand is ill advised... if you think that's necessary, why would you open the door?

 

[Bald1]

I think at the end of the day the cops were at fault. I say cops plural because the ones who knew the correct address followed the first guy who did not have correct address for what ever reason. It's a simple equation to find fault here. What's the one thing you can remove from this chain of events that would have prevented everything ? The answer is , cops banging on WRONG door. Lots of mistakes here. But that was the catalyst.

 

[CA Escapee]

The body cam footage shows the address numbers, well lit, on the front of the garage, nobody looked? The taxpayers will be footing the bill for this.

 

[zeke]

1-Install more powerful floodlights on outside of house and video camera system. Then outside microphones so you can actually hear the officers announce themselves, especially if hard of hearing. If you can then determine they are actually police officers, do not open door with a gun in hand.

And while am in no means qualified to judge most police tactics, it would seem to me having the flashing lights and or siren on in your vehicle would more easily establish who you are late at night. Not like it was a early morning drug raid, or other circumstance requiring stealth.

It is very possible the homeowner could not hear the police announce themselves, and was met with blinding lights when he went outside. How many people would even open the door late at night not knowing who it was? How many people wouldn't answer the door from unknown people late at night without a fire arm?

Remembering people live in varying circumstances/places and have varying resources.

And while my responses may differ, the OP question is well worth considering. Especially if consider by LE and individuals.

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

If someone was pounding on my front door, I wouldn't open the door with a gun in my hand. If you feel the need for the gun, why open the door? Arm yourself, keep the door locked, dial 911.

Wow. Post 20. A few others started to answer the original question. IMO, this one answered it right.

Just my way of saying that I agree. It will be interesting to see whether anyone can improve on this.

In this particular case, the news (?? $%*^$*^!! ??) reports indicate to me that the officers at the house were most at fault, but so what (if so)? That wasn't the original question, and from the innocent citizen's point of view, the original question was far more important than any other.

 

[Bald1]

Wow. Post 20. A few others started to answer the original question. IMO, this one answered it right.

Just my way of saying that I agree. It will be interesting to see whether anyone can improve on this.

In this particular case, the news (?? $%*^$*^!! ??) reports indicate to me that the officers at the house were most at fault, but so what (if so)? That wasn't the original question, and from the innocent citizen's point of view, the original question was far more important than any other.

NO! The original question is not the most important. The most important question is, how did the responding officers end up at the wrong house when the house was perfectly lit up and numbered. Mistakes happen. It's a part of life. But what is learned from mistakes is the key. They need to identify where the problem was and address it to ensure it's not repeated. That being said , my opinion is ( and it's only my opinion) the cop just messed up. It happens to everyone. But this time it cost someone their life.

 

[Rustyt1953]

What could you do differently?

↑↑↑ This ↑↑↑

↓↓↓ Not this ↓↓↓

 

[Harmonica]

A basic Door Viewer, aka " Peephole" is available in 180 or 200 degree view, made of Brass and runs under $20….Installed by drilling a small hole thru the Door and screwing the two halves together…You can see who's outside w/o opening the Door…..In the video of this incident, there's an outside light on on the side of the House, but no inside lights on…On almost all the Domestics I responded to, ALL the lights were on inside and over 50% of the time had spilled out into the street….No issues with the correct location….

I'm long Retired, but on a 911 call, Dispatch would keep the Caller on the phone until Units arrived and ascertained the situation was under control/ resolved. New Officers, after graduating the Academy, were assigned to ride with Senior Officers, who were FTOs, Field Training Officers, who went thru a State certification process, and wrote weekly evaluations on each Trainee….When done, Trainees would than ride midnites solo until they passed probation and got enough seniority to bid on a better shift/ days off….Each Sergeant has 5-6 Officers in his squad and IS responsible for what they do, He/She is supposed to listen to the Radio and respond as Back- up on Calls…and make decisions...We typically had 6-7 squads per shift , each Officer assigned a Zone ,with one Shift Commander, per Shift. a Lt….it's called accountability.

thank you for that info-very interesting
6-7 squads per shift = how big a city/area for that and how big would a zone be?

 

[BSA1]

There's no question that some police are at fault, for whatever reasons, and mistakes happen. The resident can do a little to prevent problems by simply making sure that your residence is clearly marked with the address. A clearly marked residence is a lifesaver for fire, police and emergency crews, and it's surprising how many places are unmarked.

I disagree. There are plenty of things a homeowner can do.
1) Arm themselves
2) Refuse to go to and answer the door
3) Take a defensible position inside the house
4) Call 911 and report what is happening
5) Keep the phone line open so your call is being recorded
6) Personally I would demand a search warrant
A) This slows the Police down and gives them a chance to calm down and reevaluate the situation. Going before Judge for a warrant adds a whole level of review by a more nonpartisan and higher level of legal review.
B) Many Judges do not issue search warrants lightly and will be upset if the facts sworn to in the warrant turn out not to be true.
7) Turn on all outside lights if it can be done safely. Makes identification easier. If it a ruse the perps may leave as they have lost the element of surprise.
8) I have heard leo's say they if they go to a D.V. call someone is going to jail. Think about this. The officer is amped up as soon as he/she arrives to make a arrest. Impartial? Hardly.

 

[arjay]

Better training,iq tests,more insurance….

 

[steelslaver]

I will probably get even more on the bad side of many Leos with this. But here ya go.

I keep reading "did they announce themselves" Sorry, but that don't cut no ice with me.. Anyone can scream open up police officers. Criminals have done exactly that. Every law abiding citizen has every right in the world to open the door of their own house while holding a gun. May not always be the brightest idea, but that don't give anyone the right to gun them down in the name of their personal safety.

Why should we focus on the home owners error in light of the huge glaring error by the cops. I am sure that if the innocent home owner wasn't deader than a door nail he would do it different. That hardy absolves the living cop who placed his own safety over that of the citizen he had sworn to protect.

#1 mistake was not taking the time to check the address. That is also 99% of that reason a cop killed a completely innocent man. I call that NEGLIGENT HOMICIDE. That cop put himself in uniform, he got in a big hurry, then because of HIS actions he killed a totally innocent man. Cops make mistakes,, sure OK. Hey, so do homeowners, they are allowed to do that in their own homes and the homeowners mistake in this case was nowhere near that made by the cops. Not even close.

I got the whole everyone goes home in one piece business. Sorry, but that don't give anyone the right to gun down anyone holding a gun.

I have spend most of my life working in professions with considerably higher mortality rates than being a LEO, and not once did anyone force me to take those jobs. Don't want to take the risk? Don't take the job. I appreciate what cops do for us. I am sure they appreciate the oil and gasoline I help provide, the sea food I have provided. Just how does choosing high risk employment give ANYONE the right to but their personal well being over those they serve????

I will say way to many people don't have good visible numbers on their house. But again not the case here. Mine is in several places and the reflective one on the drive way is very clear, right below the no trespassing sign. My door mat says "COME BACK WITH A WARRANT. Good luck with coming to my door a night and screaming anything.

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

NO! The original question is not the most important. The most important question is, how did the responding officers end up at the wrong house when the house was perfectly lit up and numbered. Mistakes happen. It's a part of life. But what is learned from mistakes is the key. They need to identify where the problem was and address it to ensure it's not repeated. That being said , my opinion is ( and it's only my opinion) the cop just messed up. It happens to everyone. But this time it cost someone their life.

Not to me, it isn't. Mistakes happen. "They" need to do this and that, but I can post on six forums with no assurance that "they" will do what I think they ought to, and what "they" do may have no effect on what MY local department does. But if I decide that a different response on MY part would be safer, I can actually respond differently.

Biku asked for a discussion of something that each of us can actually change if he or she chooses to do so, rather than a discussion of what we uselessly think someone else is going to do as a result of our discussion. There's nothing really wrong with the latter discussion, but it should not be confused with actually changing anything.

My hat is off to Biku for asking a useful question, rather than encouraging useless opinionating.