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Thousands of officers have viewed footage of Officer Chris Munn in the midst of a gunfight, exhibiting extraordinary calm during this deadly encounter. It leaves viewers reasonably asking: “How did he do that?”
To understand the how of it, you have to hear the story of Chris Munn.
This is not just a story about one officer’s composure under fire. It is a reminder that calm in a crisis is rarely accidental. It is built long before the call comes, through training, mental rehearsal and repeated exposure to high-risk decision-making.
So here it is.
| WATCH: Officer Chris Munn’s calm under fire. The video below shows the portion of the incident that left many officers asking the same question: How did he stay so calm? Munn credits that composure not to instinct, but to years of training, stress inoculation and mental preparation. The complete footage of the incident is available later in this article.
Third generation
You might say Officer Chris Munn was born into the profession. His grandfather, mother and father all served as Miami-Dade police officers. Chris said, “The thought of being a police officer was always there. After all, it was the family business.”
After attending Lander University in South Carolina and serving four years in the Navy as a gunner’s mate aboard the USS Vella Gulf, Munn began his law enforcement career as a deputy sheriff in Greenville, South Carolina. He said he knew the career was for him after serving three and one-half years as part of a great team of night shift officers as enthusiastic as he was about getting drugs, guns and criminals off the street.
As much as he loved policing in Greenville, he and his wife chose to move closer to her parents, who lived in Seattle. He took a position with the Tacoma Police Department, where he became a field training officer and SWAT team member. Tacoma’s emphasis on training suited him well. As a SWAT operator, he received as much as 400 hours of training annually.
Photo/Chris Munn
August 28, 2022: The call
On the day of the incident, Chris was working a special assignment. He was part of an effort to deter crime through an increased police presence. He said the day was a beautiful August day before its peace was disturbed by a violent parolee.
At 2:20 p.m., Officers Jose Figueras and Zachary Hobbs received a 911 report of a domestic violence assault. They contacted a complainant, who reported that a recent prison releasee, Peter Collins, had assaulted him. Collins was now in a home where guns were available to him, vowing never to be taken back to jail.
The complainant showed the officers security camera footage of the assault. As the officers reviewed the footage, Collins came out of the house and Figueras called to him, but the suspect refused to comply and went back inside.
Figueras called for additional officers and officers positioned themselves strategically around the house. At 3 p.m., Collins exited the house and walked to a car parked in the driveway, once again refusing commands shouted to him. He retrieved items from the car and went back into the house. Shortly thereafter, he opened fire at Figueras, who returned fire from cover.
Figueras reported, “Shots fired,” and shortly thereafter Collins bolted from the house, firing and running from the scene armed with a semi-automatic AR-15 short-barreled .223-caliber rifle.
Photo/Chris Munn
Officer Munn arrives in the area
Officer Munn was monitoring the channel and when the suspect went mobile, he headed into the area. Officer Munn said, “I was very familiar with the area because I had worked it in the past.”
Munn said, “I started heading toward the scene with lights and siren, but as I got close I shut down my siren.”
I asked Munn what was going through his mind throughout the incident and he was clear on the fact: “My mind was always focused on the incident. On the way to the scene I was forecasting,” a mental process to picture and prepare for all eventualities at the scene. “This one was easy to forecast because it seemed likely this call was going to end with a gunfight, so I prepared mentally for one.”
After listening to transmissions, Chris pulled to a stop in a location where he surmised the fleeing suspect would have to come out. Shortly thereafter, a man appeared on foot whom he thought could be the suspect.
Chris said he moved to remove his SWAT-issued, 11-and-a-half-inch Aero Precision .556 rifle with an unmagnified red dot sight. While in the process of doing this, he was fired at repeatedly.
Chris said, “I moved to a position where I could watch the man to determine if he was the one who had shot at me. I could not tell at first and I did not want to shoot the wrong guy, who was not involved. So I watched him and saw him turn toward me. That was when I saw the rail of the rifle. It looked like he was changing a magazine.”
Once establishing the suspect had a weapon, exhibited intent and appeared to be activating his delivery system, Officer Munn said, “Because of the distance,” which was 183 yards, “I aimed just below center mass and fired once.”
The armed suspect crumpled to the ground
After the suspect went down, he was given commands, but he kept moving and reaching for his backpack. It was later discovered that he had apparently, after being hit by Officer Munn’s round, retrieved a pistol from his backpack and shot himself.
An arrest team was formed, approached and secured the suspect, then called for EMS, which had already been summoned to the scene and was on standby. The suspect’s threat was permanently stopped.
Photo/Chris Munn
Aftermath
Officer Munn said his department was great after the incident. The peer support group and union representatives were at the department immediately. He was given two days to collect his thoughts and prepare his statement.
His wife was summoned and was very supportive throughout, as she has been during his entire career. Chris said, “I couldn’t do this without her.”
Since the event, the shooting was ruled justified and Chris has been promoted to sergeant. He continues to enjoy working for the Tacoma Police Department.
How to remain calm
I had to point out to Officer Munn that many who have viewed the footage of his officer-involved shooting have commented on how extraordinarily calm Chris was throughout the gunfight. I asked him if he had anything he could share to prepare others for the dangers they have yet to face.
Chris shared these valuable insights:
- Preparation is imperative.
- Risk assessment training is also important.
- Stress inoculation training is critical for staying calm in a crisis. You will perform better if you have been pre-trained to control your emotions.
- Train yourself to a high level. Since there will be a degradation of skills when they are transferred to street application, you want a high-quality reservoir of skills to draw from.
- Effective communication is key in calls like this, where officers were clear and concise. The communication of the officers on scene put me in the best spot to effectively intervene.
- Practice forecasting as you approach scenes. Mentally prepare yourself for what you physically are going to have to do. This mental practice is tremendously helpful.
- Pre-practice your high-risk team arrest tactics. They will come into play during calls like this.
Conclusion
In talking with Sergeant Munn, it was clear that the Tacoma Police Department had prepared him well to perform with a high degree of professionalism during this critical incident through an ongoing training program that almost guaranteed quality performance under stress.
Facilitating an officer’s calm in the midst of a storm can be achieved through this approach to training, coupled with stress inoculation training. Also, although it would be easy to point to two prior generations of law enforcement in his family, Munn’s own explanation kept returning to training, preparation and repetition.
Whatever the case for such calmness, the end result is that the military, the Tacoma Police Department, Sgt. Munn’s commitment to training and Sgt. Munn’s family have prepared him. For when things are at their worst, Chris is at his best.
Now, my good readers, it’s your turn. PREPARE!
| FULL INCIDENT FOOTAGE: The complete body-worn camera footage and related video provide additional context for the incident and the coordinated response by Tacoma officers.
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