Don’t Get Into An OPEN-AIR Gunfight

(Inside or Outside, Everyone Loses)

One of the most important lessons from modern law enforcement gunfights is that officers are often shot by suspects they cannot even see.

Many officers still envision a gunfight as two people standing in the same room exchanging fire. The reality is very different.

Analysis of FBI LEOKA officer deaths during structure-clearing incidents found:

• 72% of officers shot were in an adjacent space rather than the same room as the      suspect
• Only 28% of officers were occupying the same space as the offender
• 35% of offenders fired through a door
• 17% of offenders fired through walls or other barriers 
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These statistics demonstrate that the greatest threat often comes from a suspect who has concealment, cover, or positional advantage while the officer is exposed.

Open-Air Gunfights Favor the Suspect

When officers step into the open and engage an armed suspect without cover, they surrender many of the advantages available to them.

The encounter becomes a contest of:

• Speed
• Accuracy
• Reaction time
• Luck

Even highly trained officers experience degraded performance under stress. The officer standing in the open presents a full target while receiving little protection from incoming rounds.

Cover Is a Force Multiplier

Cover changes the engagement.

A building corner, concrete wall, engine block, pillar, or other ballistic barrier allows officers to:

• Reduce exposure
• Improve observation
• Improve communication
• Slow the situation down
• Increase accuracy
• Force the suspect to maneuver

Instead of solving the suspect’s tactical problem, officers make the suspect solve theirs.

Angles Win Fights

Corners create tactical advantages.

An officer using angles can often:

• See the suspect before being      fully exposed
• Present only a small portion      of their body
• Control sight lines
• Reduce the suspect’s ability      to effectively engage

The officer who understands angles is often fighting from a position of advantage before the first shot is fired.

Active Shooter Exception

During an Active Shooter / Mass Casualty Incident, officers may have to accept greater risk to rapidly stop ongoing killing.

However, even during a rapid deployment:

Speed does not mean abandoning tactics.

Officers should continuously exploit:

• Doorways
• Hallway intersections
• Corners
• Vehicles
• Structural cover
• Available angles

while moving toward the threat.

The Real Lesson

The LEOKA data demonstrates that officers are frequently shot by suspects in adjacent spaces, through doors, and through walls—not during a traditional face-to-face gunfight.  

The goal is not to prove bravery by standing in the open.

The goal is to win the encounter while minimizing risk to officers, innocent people, and fellow responders.

Use cover. Use angles. Don’t get into an open-air gunfight if you don’t have to.