OFFICER SAFETY ALERT TRIANGLE OF DEATH Street gangs in California are reportedly training members to shoot at cops at night by aiming for the highly visible patch of white T-shirt exposed above the top of many officers' vests, calling it "The Triangle of Death." A test of this method was performed by Mundelein, Illinois Police Department. A mannequin with a buttoned blue uniform shirt was placed on an indoor range. A piece of white legal-sized paper was placed behind the shirt so that just enough was exposed at the top to simulate a bit of T-shirt. The lights were dimmed to simulate some street lamps and a lot of heavy trees. The target could be made out but you had to strain to see what was going on, very similar to nighttime patrol conditions in many areas. From the control booth, the contrast between the patch of white paper and the dark shirt was obvious. A series of randomly selected officers, known to be average shooters, was brought in. It was assumed they would be like the typical suspect who gets into a shooting with an officer- not overly proficient with a handgun but not bad. The shooters were told it was a course in low-light shooting so as not to tip off the true point of the test. The officers were led to a spot approximately ten feet in front of the target. They were told to draw at the sound of a timer buzzer, step to the left or to the right, come up on target, fire three rounds as fast as possible, and then scan the area. By incorporating movement, scanning and time pressure, the emphasis was taken off the target. Each officer fired a total of 18 rounds using his duty pistol. The "T-shirt" was changed before the next test subject was brought in. The shot placement was analyzed after the experiment. The department is trained to shoot center mass, usually using flat, 2- dimensional targets on a fully lit range. In training, their shots consistently tend to go to the center. If officers are shooting at high speed, their rounds may drop down toward the stomach but don't often go much higher. In the experiment, more than 80% of the shots across all the officers and all sets of fire hit in or immediately around the Triangle of Death simulated by the white paper.. In low light they overrode their training and focused their shots on what was most vividly visible. All the officers confirmed in a post-shooting debriefing that the patch of white had drawn their aim. Research conducted by the Force Science Research Center at Minnesota State University - Mankato shows that when people are trying to understand what is happening in a stressful, uncertain situation, they scan the scene quickly and grasp little bits of available information. This process is automatic, almost instinctive. Officers reported picking up noticeable elements of each person they scanned. Something about that person attracted their attention to a particular body part, article of clothing or motion. The same phenomenon is at work with the Triangle of Death under low light conditions. The brightest part of the officer's body draws the attention and the gunfire of subject's intent on attacking. (Force Science Research Center, MIAC, March 14, 2008) Comment: Firearms expert Ron Avery notices the low light aiming tendency. "People shoot at what they can see, what they can focus on, not at what you train them. In low light conditions, movement, shine, contrast and silhouette all become target indicators to a potential attacker. Shooters tend impulsively to take the target of opportunity, and when time is not working in their favor the target of opportunity is whatever is most noticeable. Not only are light colored T-shirts a vulnerable spot for shooters, light colored shoulder patches, shiny badges, bright metal on hats, an activated flashlight-anything that creates a contrast can be dangerous. In semi darkness like ambient moonlight, even sweat on your face and hands can be reflective. Officers are encouraged to minimize themselves as a target by keeping clothing low contrast and being aware of background environment. Avery cautions, "Don't equate looking professional with wearing a crisp white T-shirt under your uniform. Dress for your mission: that's the dress code for the modern officer. Source: Indiana Intelligence Fusion Center. |
| A little lengthy but well worth the read |