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Date: April 25, 2024 Thu
Time: 7:27 pm
Time: 7:27 pm
Results for hostage-taking
1 results foundAuthor: Braziel, Rick Title: A Heist Gone Bad: A Police Foundation Critical Incident Review of the Stockton Police Response to the Bank of the West Robbery and Hostage-Taking Summary: At first blush, it is easy to criticize the tactics of the Stockton Police Department (SPD) after 33 officers, at four different locations, fired more than 600 times into a getaway car carrying three bank robbers. They killed two of the bank robbers but also took the life of an innocent woman who had been held hostage. Like most things in this complicated world of ours, nothing is ever simple. Every police event is fluid. However, many other extenuating factors played a critical role in this tragic event. The police department, located 60 miles east of San Francisco, was in the midst of a bankruptcy that robbed it of 100 veteran officers while leading to a reduction in training and severely limiting the ability to purchase new equipment and technology. Some of those officers were replaced with rookies straight out of the academy. The bankruptcy also meant that the department had no air support of its own and depended upon other agencies' helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft, which were not always available to the department. The Bank of the West branch that was robbed was nestled in an unusual triangular island created by three major roads, with little room for containment or cover. A bus station nearby put other civilians at risk. The bank robbers led police on an hour-long pursuit, sometimes at speeds exceeding 120 miles per hour. Throughout the ordeal, one of the suspects fired 100-plus rounds from an AK-47 at police, disabling 14 police vehicles, including their armored BearCat. Bullets tore through cars, shattered windshields, shredded tires, and incapacitated engines. And at the conclusion, over 200 rounds were found in the getaway vehicle. The suspects twice escaped the pursuers, but rather than attempting to disappear completely, they chose to wait and ambush police officers. Miraculously, no police personnel or civilians were injured in the shootings. One hostage was shot and wounded by a suspect and dumped from the getaway SUV while another leaped out while it was fleeing, causing her to sustain major injuries. The one surviving suspect only lived because he used Misty Holt-Singh as a shield. The 41-year-old wife and mother of two, who was visiting the bank to take out money for a trip to the hairdresser, was struck ten times by police bullets, killing her instantly. Never in the history of U.S. law enforcement has a police force dealt with an event such as this. The only incident that comes close was the 1997 North Hollywood shootout in which the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers battled a pair of heavily armed bank robbers, who were covered in body armor. But there were no hostages in that event and the suspects never got mobile. Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones knew shortly after the conclusion that he needed to call for an independent review of the bank robbery last year. His staff reached out to the Police Foundation 13 days after the incident and we were grateful to accept their request. Much like our 2014 review of the event involving Christopher Dorner (who was a former police and naval officer who targeted LAPD members and their families, murdering four people), the Stockton bank robbery must be considered a sentinel event. What that entails is a critical incident that tests the nation's public safety system, exposes holes in it, and can lead to important change for the future. The Police Foundation's core mission is to advance policing. One of the ways to do that is by examining these sentinel events. Our goal is to improve protocols, identify new tactics and ideas - and ultimately, unforeseen dangers - and help prepare law enforcement for these new developments in the actions of criminals. One of the frustrations we repeatedly heard during our interviews with Stockton police officers was they were dealing with an event that they had never trained for, let alone truly considered. Even veteran SWAT members found themselves confused and vexed when dealing with a rolling pursuit with hostages, all the while taking heavy fire that repeatedly disabled their police vehicles, and each time left them worrying that one of their colleagues might be hurt or dying while they continued the chase. The goal of this review is to provide lessons learned that can then be applied in the field, increasing the safety of both law enforcement personnel and civilians. What is not a goal is to criticize or blame the men and women of the Stockton Police Department who had to make split-second choices amidst the chaos of such an unprecedented crime. They made a great many smart and courageous decisions that undoubtedly saved lives. Details: Washington, DC: Police Foundation, 2015. 63p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 22, 2016 at: http://www.policefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/A-Heist-Gone-Bad-Critical-Incident-Review.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.policefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/A-Heist-Gone-Bad-Critical-Incident-Review.pdf Shelf Number: 137647 Keywords: Bank RobberyCritical Incident ManagementHostage-TakingPolice ResponsePolice Training |