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Reprint of the Article: Plainclothes Officer Survival (By Kevin Davis)
Plainclothes Officer Survival In terms of officer survival, the only difference in uniform versus plainclothes assignments is cut, color and style of cloth, period. When the fecal material hits the rotating oscillator, you must be able to respond with the same core skills and equipment as you would in any other law enforcement job. When faced with a threat it is you and what you have on hand, no timeouts to acquire tools not on your person or practice to refresh your skills. You end the threat, win the day, and go home. There is no alternative.
Mentally, plainclothes assignments can detract from survival. First of all, we must understand that everyone we deal with knows we’re cops. The average citizen not involved in an assignment might be oblivious to a plainclothes officer on scene, but suspects will know. We cannot let our relaxed attire relax our mindset. Uniformed officers have the benefit of calls for service keeping them sharp. Detectives must work harder at maintaining vigilance.
A couple of years ago while working my plainclothes training assignment, I was walking out of the attached downtown parking deck for lunch. As I opened the first set of exit doors to an elevator lobby, I was met by a masked individual with a small semi-auto pistol in hand at a distance of eight feet away. Fortunately I saw the pistol in his hand as he mumbled something to me attempting to get me to stop. I turned and walked ten feet to a stairway door anticipating being shot in the back but the suspect had the drop on me and there was little I could do. As soon as I stepped through the door, I drew my duty pistol and using the doorway as cover, identified myself and ordered the suspect to drop the pistol, which he immediately did. I took the suspect into custody, later finding out he was a crack cocaine smoker and on probation for robbery. What was interesting about the event is that there were fifty police officers in the training bureau that day. Several said that they would have had to give the robber their money because they had failed to bring a gun to class that day. These statements indicate a common mental preparation flaw with many plainclothes officers: that they can relax their awareness and they don’t need any or all of their equipment because they are not “target blue.” In other words, they count on knowing when an attack or dangerous situation is imminent because they will be covert until that time. The problem with this mindset is that oftentimes danger finds you.
The equipment and survival training for plainclothes officers can be quite different from that for uniformed members of the service. I remember when a patrol deputy from another agency where I worked was transferred to the detective bureau. He arrived, much to ridicule from his fellow detectives, with his patrol duty belt on under an ill fitting blazer, wearing his patrol boots as well. Having worked patrol and undercover narcotics assignments, as well as that as a plainclothes detective, I have noticed that equipment runs the gamut from full patrol kit to handgun only. Indeed, I was once assigned to investigate what equipment our detectives carried and make recommendations on minimum gear. Some detectives carried their pistols to work in briefcases or left them in the glove boxes of their cars, while others carried an assortment of gear that would allow them to overcome most threats that came their way. With some plainclothes officers, it actually seems as if their indifference to of safety is worn as a badge of honor. Some actually want to appear unconcerned.
What, then, is the minimum amount of gear that one should carry, and how should he carry it?
Carry methods First off, we must differentiate between the casual concealment that most plainclothes officers require versus, for instance, the deep concealment of an undercover officer actually making drug buys.
Casual Concealment Requirements Most investigators fall into this category where they don’t want to openly advertise their armed status, but don’t really care if the general public knows they are packing. In this kind of assignment, a detective should carry: at minimum, a full or mid sized handgun in a holster designed to properly retain the pistol; at least one additional magazine or reload; handcuffs; an intermediate force tool (OC or tactical baton, which can be easily dropped in a suit coat pocket or tucked in a belt), and a communication device, such as a handheld radio or cell phone.
Additional gear The plainclothes officer should also have a small high intensity flashlight and body armor. Realistically, most detectives do not wear concealable vests. They should, however, have them readily available. Convenience and comfort cannot be the overriding factor in what equipment you carry. Most times it is neither convenient nor comfortable to carry a handgun. Add more equipment to the equation and sometimes the question can be, “Do I really need to carry all this?” The answer should be, “What can I do without in a bad situation?”
While carrying an intermediate force option (baton, spray or both) can be a bother, without this vital equipment your choices would be to either punch the suspect or shoot them. The vast majority of encounters involve resistance which is in the area between the two.
Investigations require attention. Oftentimes, investigators become so focused on the tree that they forget about the forest. When at a crime scene, for instance, a detective must remember that he is in an environment that requires his attention to ensure his personal safety. What good is a solved crime at the expense of an assault on your person? Obtaining the confession during interrogation can cause investigators to subjugate their own safety. The result is that the detective is focusing on words while the suspect is possibly focusing on an attack. In addition, detectives in my agency and others have transported seemingly cooperative suspects unrestrained or cuffed to the front. This is a fatal strategy. Suspects have used cooperation as a tool to relax investigators, only to later kill them.
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