Full Notification

As the captain of LAPD’s West Valley Patrol Division, I woke up this morning to watch with interest this video of a woman arrested for driving a stolen car.

The Channel 7 news copter recorded the stop last night after hearing the police following the reported stolen car, occupied by two women.  Once the stop was made, the driver exited the car, but then refused to cooperate with officers’ commands. 

I thought this recorded stop would serve as an opportunity to educate the viewing public in the decision-making process officers are faced with during high-risks stops like this.

Here’s the link to the incident.  You might want to watch it once, then read on and watch it a second time:  http://abc7.com/news/video-womans-outburst-in-encino-standoff-with-lapd/1095807/

In the end, few people will end up seeing this incident.  Why?  Because everything went well, but let’s see what does happen more often than not and what we can learn from it.

Truth is, for all the police contacts with the public, the vast majority do go well.  It’s the high-risk contacts, like this one, that are fraught with danger:  How many people are in the car?  With one person outside the car, is that person a distraction from others inside the car who are planning an attack?  What if the passenger drives away with stolen car, or drives backward into the police.  Is the driver armed?  Why is she acting so erratically?  Does she have a gun or other weapon?  Why do her hands keep going to her waistband?  Will she fight the officers if they put hands on her?  Is she under the influence of drugs or alcohol?  Is she mentally ill?

Sergeants in LAPD are taught to assume command at such situations.  Their job is to guide, direct, and coordinate the actions off all the officers.  While a recent local op-ed called to question a heavy response of police, this situation  illustrates the benefit of a heavy response, in the officer’s ability to overcome the what-ifs with superiority of numbers. 

You can see Sgt. Vanatter walk into frame at about 1 minute in the video.  He begins assessing the situation as one officer is speaking to the uncooperative driver.  Because the driver is not outwardly aggressive with the officers, not yet attacking or armed, Sgt. Vanatter has more time to plan and organize.  He begins giving direction to officers, including walking over to the driver officer of the primary police car, who is pointing a gun at the woman.  That officer is in a better position to cover the stolen car.

Sgt. Vanatter’s plan has to include both the woman and all the unknowns of the stolen car and who is inside.  That car has not been searched nor cleared of persons who might also pose a threat to the public or the officers.

Given the number of officers present and the weapons at hand, Sgt. Vanatter has many options.  Of course the last option is lethal force, but officers present also have beanbag shotguns and electronic Tasers to temporarily stun.  They overwhelming force in numbers can serve to convince suspects to surrender without force, realizing they could never come out on top of a confrontation.

But all of this really comes down to, not the OFFICERS’ true choice, but to the outlaw driver’s BEHAVIOR, which can change from passive and uncooperative to aggressive and attacking in a split second.  Complicating the matter is the low light, stress, and the varied perceptions of the officers given their different angles of view. 

In the end, Sgt. Vanatter forms some of the officers into an arrest team, taking the calculated risk the officers can control the woman.  You see also how Sgt. Vanatter addressed the threat of the unsearched car and second passenger, by assigning officers to cover the car as the driver is taken behind a wall, out of the line of fire, providing cover for the officers to handcuff the driver.  Note, too, the arrest team does not throw the woman to the ground or land any blows to her; she is handcuffed and taken to jail on the stolen car charge. 

A 16-year-old girl in the passenger seat surrendered without incident.  Drugs were found in the car.  The 16-year-old was a runway from North Hollywood and was reunited with her parents.

The takeaways from this incident are:  1) every situation, every public contact has the potential for some kind of force used, but the level or need for force is predicated on the detainee’s behavior and actions, 2) the response is also tempered by the training, maturity, and patience of the officers, and leadership, in this case, of Sgt. Vanatter.  3) Officers cannot read minds, but they have to rely on their training and experience to read a person’s intent, then respond reasonably to that situation.  4)  Following police officers’ commands in a high-risk situation just makes good (common?) sense.  When one chooses to follow directions, it allows officers to lower their concerns for danger and determine  if a crime occurred or not.

http://abc7.com/news/video-womans-outburst-in-encino-standoff-with-lapd/1095807/

Capt. Paul Vernon

West Valley Police Station