With a concerning rise in targeted violence against law enforcement, it’s essential to ask yourself: Are you prepared to prevail when faced with a sudden, deadly ambush?
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Mental preparation is a critical component of survival. In this article, we will take a sobering look at the devastating consequences of ambushes where lives were tragically lost, while also examining two powerful examples where officers faced ambushes and overcame the odds.
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Ambushes with casualties in 2024
On April 29, 2024, four U.S. Marshals and four officers from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department were attempting to locate wanted felon Terry Clark when he ambushed them as they approached, shooting four local officers and four Marshals.
Three Marshals and one Charlotte-Mecklenburg officer died in the ambush. The prolonged gunfight that followed ended when Clark was killed as he emerged from his residence, gun in hand.
On August 29, 2024, a Dallas police officer, seated in his patrol car near a community center, was approached by 30-year-old Corey Cobb-Bey, who engaged the officer in conversation while recording it with his phone. The seemingly friendly discussion proved to be a diversion, as Cobb-Bey suddenly drew a concealed handgun and, according to the Chief of Police, “executed” the officer. Cobb-Bey was shot dead after a lengthy vehicle pursuit when he exited his car with a gun in hand.
On September 3, 2024, two officers were dispatched to investigate a report of vehicle break-ins in progress. They spotted the perpetrator, parolee Saul Bal, who fled on foot. The officers gave chase, but after Bal jumped a fence, he turned and shot both officers. One officer was critically wounded and died from his injuries on Sept. 6. The parolee was arrested hours later.
Two ambush templates
Now here are two ambush responses to use as templates to visualize your own successful ambush response when facing such an assault.
Lakewood ambush
On November 29, 2009, four officers of the Lakewood (Wash.) Police Department were writing reports inside the Forza Coffee Shop when they were ambushed and killed by Maurice Clemmons. Clemmons was a convicted rapist who had been serving a 108-year prison sentence when he was released early.
Barely three days later, Seattle Police Officer Ben Kelly was on patrol. At 2:45 a.m., he spotted a stolen car abandoned on the side of a road with the hood up but still running.
Ben sensed something was wrong, so he aggressively scanned the area and spotted a man approaching from behind him on the sidewalk. The man, with his hoodie pulled up, maneuvered from the sidewalk to the middle of the street in what Kelly concluded might be a pre-ambush flanking maneuver.
Ben quickly slid out of his squad to assume a defensible posture. The man, undeterred, still approached determinedly. As light hit the man’s face, Ben recognized cop-killer, times four, Maurice Clemmons.
Officer Kelly drew his weapon and shouted for Clemmons not to move, but instead, Clemmons broke into a run toward Kelly as Maurice frantically jerked at the weapon concealed in his waistband. Kelly fired! Clemmons stutter-stepped, changed directions, and dived into a nearby bush. Kelly took cover and covered the bush as he called for backup.
When backup arrived, Officer Kelly cautiously approached the suspect and discovered Clemmons had died from Officer Ben Kelly’s righteously fired rounds. The weapon Clemmons had been reaching for was one taken from one of the fallen Lakewood officers.
Cartoonist convention ambush
On May 3, 2015, Officer Greg Stevens was working security at a Cartoonist Convention in Garland, Texas, because of concerns that terrorists might take offense to the widely publicized convention featuring images of “The Prophet Mohammed.” He stood by his marked unit parked at one of the Convention Center entrances. He was partnered with an unarmed security officer named Brian Joiner.
The convention seemed to be winding down when a black car pulled up near Officer Stevens’ location. Stevens later said, “The next thing I see is someone dressed in black stepping out of the car and the barrel of a rifle coming out and coming up in my direction.”
The first armed man to exit the vehicle was Alton Simpson. He opened fire, shooting at Stevens and the unarmed security officer, who was hit in the calf as he scrambled for cover.
Instinctively, Officer Stevens drew his Glock 21, loaded with .45-caliber Speer 230-grain hollow-point rounds, and advanced “Groucho Style” to control the bounce of his weapon as he used his accurate gunfire as a shield. He carefully aimed, firing first at Simpson, who fell after Stevens fired four or five rounds.
Stevens shifted his attention toward the driver, Nadir Soofi, also dressed in black, now exiting the driver’s side and brandishing a rifle. Soofi opened fire, but Stevens, still advancing, acquired what he later described as a “decent sight picture” on Soofi and fired.
Stevens deliberately fired smoothly and “rhythmically,” dropping Soofi, hitting him in the shoulder, spine and heart.
Both terrorists were still moving, and since they were also armed with pistols and wearing backpacks, Stevens perceived they were attempting to either detonate a bomb or transition to their pistols. He fired at the terrorists until his Glock’s action locked open and empty.
Stevens smoothly performed an out-of-battery reload, but once reloaded, he assessed that the threatening movements had stopped and ceased firing.
The investigation later revealed the
attackers, Nadir Soofi and Alton Simpson, were dead at the scene. They had posted on their social media just before the attack with #hashtagtexasattack, “May Allah accept us as Mujahideen.”
Simpson and Soofi both wore soft body armor and were armed with AK-type rifles fully loaded with 100-round magazines. Officer Stevens’ effective lone officer ambush response prevented the killing of many at the convention that day.
Lessons learned from these ambushes
1. Anything can happen anytime and anywhere.
Both Kelly and Stevens had eliminated complacency from their duty life and traveled with an “always be ready” attitude.
Fight complacency and replace it with an everlasting sense of “I am ready for anything. What’s next?” Then you too will be alert when a sudden threat appears from out of nowhere.
2. Train seriously and often.
Both Officer Kelly and Stevens were dedicated to constantly honing their skills. The skills they acquired through ongoing training were on display during these ambushes.
3. Believe your cop senses when you sense danger.
Your brain is a powerful tool. When something does not look or feel right, assume something is very wrong. For example, when you see:
- Furtive movements
- Nervous shared glances or whispers among suspects
- Suspects changing from speaking to you in English to a foreign language with each other in your presence
- Bulges under clothing
- Hands suddenly disappearing
- A suspect scanning the area for witnesses or an escape route
- A suspect shifting into a stance or a pre-flight lean
- A walker or driver suddenly changing direction because of you
- A suspect removing a hat, coat, or glasses
- The thousand-yard stare
- A suspect refusing to comply
- Muscular tension
- A suspect excessively sweating
- A curtain moving on your approach
- Peep holes cut into blinds or curtains
- Items suddenly discarded
- Feigned friendliness
- A suspect in hiding
- Bulky clothes on a warm day
- The “give-up” signal
- A preparatory stretch and yawn
- Sudden headlong flight
- A car repeatedly driving past where you are doing business
- A suspect lying about who they are or what they are doing
- “The no-look look”
- A security light going on when there is no one around
- A dog barking in an area where there should be no one
- A car security alarm suddenly sounding close by
- Someone unseen yelling to someone else unseen, “No! Don’t do it!” as you are approaching a call
- Making contact at a residence or with a person you know to have been a problem in the past
When these things are seen, heard, or anything else makes you feel something is not right, trust your cop senses and proceed with extreme caution.
4. Do not make contacts on the street seated in your squad.
When possible, make every contact after moving to a position of advantage, and train to recognize what constitutes a position of advantage.
5. When a deadly threat presents itself, draw your weapon as you get off the “X” to present a moving target and move to cover.
To prepare for this, get yourself a non-firing training duty weapon and train for an effective sudden assault by repeatedly drawing, accompanied by a variety of movement options. Know what constitutes cover.
When the day of the sudden assault happens, you will be prepared to prevail.
6. Do the unexpected.
Be unpredictable in the way you patrol. Vary your routes, activities, and approaches.
7. When faced with an imminent deadly threat, fire accurately until the threat is stopped.
To make instantaneous and correct decisions, hit the suspect and no one else under stress. This requires prior training, training, training. So, train, train, train!
8. Communicate.
As soon as possible, communicate what you have and how backup can best approach to arrive in a position of advantage.
9. Scan and assess.
Always scan and assess to spot potential threats. After the threat is identified and eliminated, continue to scan and assess for additional threats.
10. Use caution on the approach of downed suspect(s).
Both Kelly and Stevens waited for backup to approach the downed suspects cautiously.
11. Render aid.
Once the threat is neutralized, render aid.
12. Aggressively look for trouble on patrol and find it before it finds you.
Aggressively look with your cop eyes for everything and anything while on patrol!
13. Get your head out of your apps!
For a cop on patrol, your technologies certainly contain valuable information, but these devices can draw you into an all-encompassing tunnel vision that invites ambush. Break up your tunnel vision constantly. Look up and look out.
Conclusion
Ambushes are a stark reminder of the unpredictable and dangerous nature of law enforcement work. By training diligently, staying alert, and trusting your instincts, you can increase your chances of prevailing in the face of danger. The stories of Kelly and Stevens underscore the importance of readiness, adaptability and decisiveness in life-or-death situations.
Every shift presents the possibility of facing the unexpected. The question isn’t if you’ll encounter such a moment but when. Prepare today — mentally, physically and tactically — to face tomorrow’s threats and emerge victorious.
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