Observations from Homicide Scenes – How to Stay Out of a Body Bag
Observations from Homicide Scenes – How to Stay Out of a Body Bag
Last updated: 2/3/17
1. Be Smart
A lot of people who end up in a body bag put themselves there. Don’t do stupid things with stupid people in dangerous places. Always make smart decisions that reduce risk. The best way not to be there on the backend is not to be there on the front-end. Every situation you avoid is a situation that you win. Prevention is the only guarantee of safety.
2. Be Aware
There is an unavoidable gap between action and reaction. It is in that gap that fights are often won or lost. Criminals want to catch you off guard. They want to accomplish their goal BEFORE you have a chance to effectively respond. Because of this, if you look like you are unaware and easy to catch off guard you are more likely to be a target. If you are paying attention, and you look like you are paying attention, you are less likely to be a target, and you are less likely to get caught off guard if something bad happens. The counter tactics to “surprise and overwhelm” are being aware and mentally prepared.
3. Be Decisive
Violent altercations usually only last seconds, maybe tens of seconds, maybe a minute or minutes. But no matter how long an altercation lasts, it can turn on tenths of a second. The person who is acting has an advantage over the person who is not acting, which is why criminals want to catch you off guard. Once you realize force is necessary, you must be decisive. You must take the fight to them and force them to react to you. You must act faster than they can react. You must shift their focus from hurting you to protecting themselves as quickly as possible.
To respond decisively, you must be aware that there is a problem. Don’t get caught slip’en. There is no response until, and unless, there is recognition.
You must have a game plan. Do not wait until you are in the problem to solve the problem. Use your imagination to think of realistic responses to probable scenarios ahead of time because during survival stress you will probably be reacting more than problem-solving. Like a school fire drill, have a plan in place before you need it. Of course, you always have to be flexible to circumstances. But having a plan in place before you need it will protect you from feeling overwhelmed and caught off guard, even if you do not use your plan the way you planned it.
The holy trinity of reacting quickly is mindset, ability/method, and gear. Once you realize force is necessary, you must be fully committed to doing whatever is necessary to defend innocent life (yours or someone else’s). Remember, violent altercations can turn on tenths of a second and the person acting has an advantage over the person who is not acting. You do not have time to hesitate. But mindset is not enough, you must have ability. The methods you rely on must work under real conditions, and you must have the ability to execute those methods effectively. Proper gear is also critical. If your gear does not facilitate easy rapid deployment, you might not be fast enough to save your life. Eventually I’m going to write an article about an individual who was shot to death with his hand on his gun, stuck in his pocket. Do not be that body. Having gear that you cannot deploy quick enough is worse than having no gear at all.
Of course, there are no guarantees. You can do everything right and still end up dead. But you want to give yourself the best chance possible through awareness, prevention and preparation. The one thing you do not want to be at a crime scene is the dead body. You owe it to yourself and your loved ones to do everything you can to stay out of a body bag.
