Domestic Standoff

"Booth copies and suspect is out if sight"

((I am not going to be back until at least 8:30 tonight))

"Alright, I have an entry plan prepared. We'll try to make contact one more time, but if the suspect does not pick up or refuses to cooperate, we implement the plan. We can either call in HR-1 or use some of the patrol officers as part of the raid team."

((Not sure if the HR-1 guys will even show up, so I may just godmod the team.))

"10-4"

*I take a breathe for a minute and then look at all the windows to try and get a visual as he leaves my sights once again*

**I turn off the LRAD and dial the number one last time as I look at the dashboard clock. It's 7:15 in the evening.**

Voice: 'Stubborn, aren't we?'
Me: 'It cuts both ways, sir. Any chance you want to talk?'
Voice: *pause* 'Nah, I'm comfortable in here. What about you out there?'
Me: 'If it's as comfortable as you say, we might just go in and join you.'
Voice: 'I don't think I'm that keen to open my house to -'
Me: 'Quiet. We've had our chance to negotiate, sir. You have one final chance to leave the house on your own. This is your only warning. You aren't going to get hurt if you leave, but we can't guarantee your safety if you stay. Do you understand?' *click* 'Hello? Hello?' *no connection tone sounds*

**I hit the 'end call' button.**

"COPA, see if you can get someone from TEC to shut off power to the street, and get HR-1 to bolster the entry team numbers. He's not coming out. All officers except Booth, rally on the RRT truck while I lay out the plan. I'll transmit it via the EAT to the HR-1 team."

"10-4 remaining in position, If I see him attempt to shoot at any of you do I have an all clear to shoot?"

*As I await a response I see the suspect look out the window frantically looking to escape or to see if Bucello was bluffing*

"Booth to Bucello, Suspects in sight, with gun in hand, may be attempting to escape"

"Hold your fire, Booth. If he raises his gun, you have an automatic green light."

**I see the suspect looking out the window.**

"All units, break from cover now. Have your weapons out."

**I step out from the RRT truck with my UMP raised at the hostage taker as other officers point their pistols at them. He goes away fronm the window.**

"COPA, we need HR-1 here. Have them roll out now and they can get the plan via the EAT on the way here."

"10-4 standing down waiting for the suspect to make the stupid move"

*I look into all the other windows to determine his position*

"En route to scene" *I say as checking the EAT screen*

**As I watch the house, I see the barrel of a gun poke out from the window and fire twice, then dissappear as the man reloads.**

"Shots fired! Booth, if you have a shot, take it. Green light, go!"

**I get a flashbang from the RRT truck and lob it into the house, not hearing of the marksman fired or not.**

"All officers, put on masks and make entry. We're moving through the front door in thirty seconds. COPA disregard call for TEC. Continue HR-1 code 3."

*I hear gunshots and duck behind my door*

'PC-8 to all units, is anyone hit?'

*I say into my radio as I look up to see if the suspect is trying to come outside*

"Booth copies looking for shot now, 10-4 I have the solution he is at the window aiming for officers"

*I make sure my gun is ready and as I see him put the gun out the window, I take the shot and shoot the gun, he drops it and panics*

"Booth to entry team, I shot the gun right out of his hands and made it unusable, he is unarmed I repeat he is unarmed"

'Go! Linder, Lafferty, get behind me!'

**With Linder and Lafferty behind me as I go in, I go into the living room and get the throw-bot back. I toss it upstairs and bring up the remote control. Manipulating the bot, the suspect is still in the bedroom and left his gun behind. He finds the bot, picks it up and throws it out the window. I drop the remote and bring up my UMP again as I go upstairs. At the top landing, I aim my UMP down the hallway at the suspect in the bedroom.**

*I follow Bucello into the house with my weapon drawn*

*As we are on the stairs as bucello is climbing the top step he takes aim down the hallway*

*I look behind me and look at Linder for a moment and then look down the hall as well*

**I pull up, lights only. I get out my tactical shotgun and crouch run to the back door of the house.** "PC-5 I need backup here I'm going in." **I meet Bucello and the officers at the top of the stairs** "COPA do we have a bus on standby?""

*I hear noise behind me and look and notice Stabler approaching*

*I nod my head toward Stabler as turn back around to Bucello*

'Were ready when you are boss'

((I stopped at the top of the stairs so that someone else could make the arrest. I didn't want to finish the raid in a single post.))

(OK)

*I go around Bucello and get to the door*

*I peak my head around and notice the suspect looking for something*

*I point my weapon at the suspect*

'Put your hands up'

*He stops and begins to slowly turn around*

*Stabler and Lidner move into the room and draw down on him*

*The suspect stops and puts his hands up*

'I have both of you covered'

*Stabler and Lidner move in and arrest the suspect*

*I put my weapon back in my holster as we walk out front*

"PC-8 to dispatch suspect is in custody"

*I walk over to my car as PPD officers begin to clean and pack everything up*

**I watch as the arrest unfolds and as the suspect is led away.**

"COPA, bring HR-1 to the scene Code 1, the suspect is no longer a threat. Also, you may want to send a representative. We're having a press conference in thirty minutes."

**I walk outside. The sun is low in the sky.**

"SEV, please do a medical evaluation of the suspect before he is taken to base."

"Booth clear heading off the roof"

*I pack up my sniper in its case and go through the door and down the stairs to ground level, I then walk over to RRT-1 and put my sniper in the back, I walk over to bucello*

'Hey boss'

*I get into my car and pull up my EAT and fill out a report.

*after I fill out my report I continue to watch as HR-1 arrives and the suspect gets checked out*

*I walk over to Bucello*

'What are your orders now?'

(Rule number 1 I saw that was very disregarded, someone ran into the house alone. In real life, they'd get suspended if that didn't kill them. When entering, if you don't have a partner, you get one, if not, you only enter through cleared ways, and with approval of command, which you didn't have. Dont repeat that.)

"Command, report on situation"

J. Bucello wrote:**With Linder and Lafferty behind me as I go in, I go into the living room and get the throw-bot back...**

((I did NOT go in alone, and I know well enough not to do so. Two officers were with me. In addition, I am the on-scene commander. Plans go through me, approval comes from me, and all actions are reported to me, as I am on scene and you are not. All officers on scene, myself included, followed the rules of engagement, and at no time did we put ourselves in harm's way unnecessarily or with any avoidable risk.))

'Booth, well done in disarming the suspect - but did you intentionally miss the shot?' **I turn to Lafferty.** 'You and the other patrol officers did well, too. Just notify the reporters that there will be a press conference in thirty minutes.'

**I get out my radio.**

"COPA, situation is all clear here. The suspect has been removed, and city police are taking over the search for evidence inside. There will be a press conference in thirty minutes or so."

J. Bucello wrote:
((I did NOT go in alone, and I know well enough not to do so. Two officers were with me. In addition, I am the on-scene commander. Plans go through me, approval comes from me, and all actions are reported to me, as I am on scene and you are not. All officers on scene, myself included, followed the rules of engagement, and at no time did we put ourselves in harm's way unnecessarily or with any avoidable risk.))

Don't get your knickers in a knot, I'm not blind, and don't freak at me

T. Stabler wrote:**I pull up, lights only. I get out my tactical
shotgun and crouch run to the back door of the house.** "PC-5 I need
backup here I'm going in." **I meet Bucello and the officers at the top
of the stairs** "COPA do we have a bus on standby?""

He went in alone.. That's who I was referring to. I obvioulsy know a TAC team isn't going in by themselves, and the OSC doesn't need approval for every action they take on scene. I don't always pick on the OSC's so calm down.


"Understood, clear scene and return to headquarters when ready"

*I walk over to the reporters and tell them about the news conference later on*

* I walk over to the PPD officers and tell them they are good to head out*

*I walk over to my car and get in*

"PC-8 to dispatch I will be back available enroute to station"

*I wait for the subject to be transported and the rest of the patrol officers to clear.*

*I walk back to my patrol vehicle and enter.
*I get in lightly shutting the door behind me, and switch off the lights.
*I pick up my radio and speak into it.
"Does PC4 Have permission to clear?"

I'm sorry Commander. I'm a little rusty. It won't happen again. I thought every officer on-scene was inside already. (How do I do reports?)

(in the report section, though they will not be for this call.)

"Units clear under go ahead from OSC. Report to be completed by On Scene Commander"

**A half hour passes, and some patrol cars have started to clear the area. I walk to the microphone stand. In addition to local news outlets, there are microphones for CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and even BBC and Al Jazeera.**

'Good evening. I'll be speaking on behalf of the Emergency Response Team's Tactical Unit. I'm Lieutenant James Bucello - B, U, C, E, L, L, O - and I am the Tactical Unit's Officer in Charge.'

**I pause while newspaper reporters scribble into notepads.**

'At about 4:17 PM, the first officers from both the ERT and Phoxlind City Police responded to a domestic violence call from a woman who lived in the residence behind me. She told the officers that her partner had struck her repeatedly. Her injuries appeared superficial, but she feared for her safety. As we attempted to arrest the suspect, a small crowd formed to try and persuade the officers on scene to release him. These men were detained. Another attempt was made at arresting the man, but he brandished a steak knife and charged the officers. The officers left the house and were not able to make entry again before them suspect locked the front door and retreated to the bedroom, where he got a shotgun.'

**I pause again. Several flashbulbs go off.**

'At 4:24, the officers requested that the Emergency Response Team's Tactical Unit respond to the barricaded suspect call. The area was sealed off, a sharpshooter was deployed in a nearby building, and a portable robot was deployed inside of the house to determine where the suspect was. At no time did the suspect notice the robot. At 4:56, we called the suspect on the home telephone line to speak with him. He was immediately hostile and behaved possesively, making repeated statements that we were interfering in his private life on his private property, and that he would defend his house. He then hung up, raised the shotgun and fired twice out of the second story window at no particular target. No one was injured by this.At that time, I instructed our sharpshooter to fire on the suspect if he fired on an officer or an officer's vehicle.'

**The reporters with notebooks writer furiously; some type notes into their smartphones.**

'At about 5:20, we called the house a second time. The suspect was again hostile. During the call, per my instructions, we activated our Long Range Acoustic Device to try and get the suspect to leave the house. Despite the device, the suspect refused to leave. The device was left running for approximately two hours. At 7:15, when it became clear that neither negotiations nor coercive measures would bring the suspect out of the house, we made one final phone call to give the suspect a chance to surrender. We again got a defiant response. Not long after, the suspect appeared at the window with his shotgun, again firing twice at no particular target. Our sharpshooter responded at once, shooting the gun and knocking it out of his hands. The tactical team made entry, locating the suspect in the bedroom and arresting him. He is now in custody. I will now take questions.'

**Dozens of reporters shout questions. I select one.**

Greg Sinat: 'Why did the sharpshooter shoot the gun and not the suspect?'
Me: 'Our sharpshooter believed that he would be able to disarm the suspect without harming him.'

**More questions are shouted.**

BBC reporter: 'How were you able to determine that the suspect would not surrender?'
Me: 'The length of time that we had deployed the acoustic device - it's essentially a loudspeaker - demonstrated to us that we wouldn't be able to just wait outside the house for him to give up. We decided to bring about a faster end to the situation.'

**More reporters shout questions.**

Me: 'Last one.'
Fox News reporter: 'Was the sharpshooter deployed with the intention of killing the suspect?'
Me: 'It's standard procedure to have a sharpshooter to protect hostages and officers on scene. He would only fire a fatal shot if the order was given, or if there was an obvious danger to officers on the scene. Our sharpshooter acted appropriately under the circumstances, and his actions led to the success of our operation. That's all I have time for right now; other questions may be sent to our public relations office.'

**I walk away as more reporters shout their questions. Eventually, it subsides, and they go back to writing up reports.**

"10-4 PC4 Clearing Heading to Patrol Station."
*I shift the car from 'P' to 'D' and begin driving towards the station
*I wait for the PPD to move a few cones so I can get past then continue driving.

"Sergeant, Are we clear?" And should we have the department psychologist talk to the hostage?

'Yes sir, it was he was obviously mentally disturbed killing him wont do anyone a favor. He needs help and now he'll get it.'

-COPA Comments-
Aside from the shaky secondary entry, and a few minor posting problems, this call went very well. Good work guys. Once you wrap up, it'll probably be the last call issued for a while, I need to do a quick recount of all emergency response team members, then check everything, possibly reorganize, and you will get another call shortly there after

"RRT clearing out; all other units may do so as well. City police have the scene now."

**I help load up the throw-bot and other equipment into the RRT before getting inside with the rest of the team and driving back to base.**

*I drive to the end of the street*

"PC-8 is back available on patrol"

*I put my mic down and continue on patrol*

"(Is the suspect still here? I didn't feel like reading it all I am tired)

((Suspect is gone and all units have cleared.))

(oh ok thanks)
*I put m stuff away and take off my gear then get in the truck*
"SEV to COPA, SEV is back in service"
*I take off for the station*