VOLUME 3 PROGRAM 3
Perpendicular Shoot
DUTY SHEET & LESSON PLAN
Total Program Length: 42:30
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OVERVIEW
In July, 1995, sheriff’ s deputies in Buncombe County, North Carolina had been on “ d.p.”
(directed patrol) in an area of heavy drug use and d.u.i. activity. While preparing their strategy
near a convenience store, officers noted a parked, white Thunderbird with numerous adults
gazing suspiciously. The time was approximately 10 p.m.
While purchasing alcohol at the convenience store, the subjects appeared to be watching
the officers’ movements and whereabouts. Officers felt enough suspicion to justify following
the vehicle when it left the parking lot.
After stopping the car and questioning the female driver, the passenger in the backseat
(behind the driver) was asked to step out of the car for questioning as well. While getting out of
the vehicle, officers noticed a gun, which the individual appeared to be preparing to use.
Despite loud and clear verbal commands, the subject would not drop the gun. The
officers fired two shots apiece, killing the subject. It later turned out the individual had
numerous priors and had sworn to acquaintances he would not be taken alive if stopped by
police. He kept his word.
Because of the extraordinary nature and sheer volume of information in this program, IN
THE LINE OF DUTY has chosen to expand the run time for this program.
DECISION TO STOP (4:00)
As Deputies Anthony Cogdill and Jerry Young of the Buncombe County Sheriff’ s
Department fell in behind the Thunderbird, they became even more suspicious because the
driver was not exceeding 10-12 miles per hour on the highway. When the driver veered over a
median from one interstate onto another highway, police felt they had reasonable cause to stop
the motorist on suspicion of d.u.i.
THE STOP (7:55)
The stop was made in a brightly lit area on level ground, where three major highways
converged. Deputies Cogdill and Young felt from the onset there were strange “ vibes” coming
from the Thunderbird. Sgt. Bob Rainwater, the deputies’ supervisor, decided to join his officers
because he, too, felt there were many “ red flags” occurring.
When asked his name and birth date, the backseat passenger stumbled with his answer,
leading officers to believe this was not his true identify. A computer check verified their
suspicion. At that time, Deputy Cogdill asked the female driver out of the car for questioning.
Because an infant strapped in the front car seat was her child, Cogdill felt she would be the most
cooperative. She gave the passenger’ s real name to the deputies, and she also said there was a
gun in the trunk, but that was the only weapon she was aware of in the vehicle.
.
THE INCIDENT (10:10)
Now the officers had probable cause to search the Thunderbird, so Deputy Cogdill
re-approached the vehicle and attempted to get the backseat passenger out for questioning. He
became suspicious, though, when the front-seat passenger volunteered to help open the backseat
passenger’ s door. Cogdill could not understand why he would make such an effort to lean all the
way over the infant’ s car seat to help open the heavy back door.
Instead, Deputy Cogdill stated he would open the door.
The backseat passenger turned completely sideways towards the door, and he reached
between the seats where Cogdill saw the butt of a gun.
The officer hollered: “ Drop the gun...drop the gun...drop the fucking gun...” , but the
subject refused, instead reaching around with both hands for a possible two-handed shot at
Cogdill.
Cogdill quickly moved to put the metal door strip between him and the gunman, and
fired two rounds.
Deputy Young, at the rear of the car with the female driver, raced toward the trunk of the
car drawing his service weapon. He, too, fired twice, his shots going through the rear window.
Sgt. Rainwater, on the passenger side, drew his service weapon as well but had no clear
shot.
When the shots cleared, the subject lay dead with three shots to the head. He had been
unable to discharge his weapon. There were no other injuries.
THE AFTERMATH (3:02)
After the shooting (which had lasted less than six seconds), the officers regrouped as
quickly as possible. Deputy Young began to get the remaining passengers out of the car. For
the most part, they were all uncooperative and required stern verbal commands to get on the
ground.
Deputy Cogdill retrieved the shooter’ s gun, unloaded it, and placed the weapon on top of
the trunk. He maintained careful observation of the shooter while awaiting additional officers,
paramedics, and ambulances.
Sgt. Rainwater did a pat-down search of the driver, who was very distraught, concerned
about possible injuries to her child. No weapons were found. She, too, was uncooperative, but
was allowed to mill around the Thunderbird while the other passengers were being searched and
handcuffed.
The subject, 33- year old Glen Frank Beck, had a lengthy criminal record and had sworn
to his friends that he would not be taken alive by police. He died of the gunshots to the head,
one of which severed the brain stem.
POST MORTEM (2:57)
? Heightened Officer Awareness.
Pay careful attention to “ red flags,” hunches, and your sixth sense.
? Using Sights (on gun) During High Stress.
Deputy Young says he had no consciousness of his weapon’ s sights while firing his gun.
? Freeing Up Hands.
Deputy Cogdill automatically threw down the driver’ s license, another individual’ s i.d. and
vehicle registration as a prelude to drawing his weapon. He had virtually no awareness of doing
so.
? Tunnel Vision.
Both Deputy Young and Deputy Cogdill say the effect known as “ tunnel vision” impacted them
during the high stress of the shooting. Young expressed some surprise at such powerful focusing
ability. Both Young and Cogdill said they were generally unaware of each other’ s whereabouts,
because they were so focused on the gunman.
? Decision to Turn on the Camera.
Deputy Cogdill turned on his camera shortly after he began following the Thunderbird because
he felt the incident was a potentially volatile one.
? Shooting Through Glass.
Deputy Young says he “ squeezed off two rounds almost instantly” because he was not sure what
the glass would do.
EPILOG (1:46)
??Officers were armed with Sig Sauer P-220 .45 calibers which had seven rounds in the
magazine and one in the chamber.
??They were using Winchester Black Talon or SXT brand ammunition.
??Deputy Cogdill’ s second shot struck the metal strip between the side windows. The other
three (one fired by Cogdill; two by Deputy Young) struck the subject in the head.
??Buncombe County officers wear Safariland Triple Threat holsters and Spectralite body
armor.
??The 33-year old subject who was killed had a .25 blood alcohol content, over three times
the legal limit of .08 in North Carolina.
??He had a five-shot Rossi blue steel. 38 with five rounds in it.
??He had priors for armed robbery; assault on an officer with a knife; common- law
robbery; forgeries; misdemeanor assaults; common- law robbery with a knife; and several
arrests for intoxication and disruptive behavior.
??The shooting was ruled justifiable.
??The other subjects either had no prior arrest record or had minor prior arrests.
??After a 35-day paid administrative leave and stress debriefing, all three officers returned
to duty.
??Anthony Cogdill has since joined the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.
??Bob Rainwater has since been promoted to lieutenant.
??Deputy Young has since been promoted to Criminal Investigations.
??The Buncombe County Sheriff’ s Department has 200 officers. Their phone number is
(704) 277-3131.
BACK-UP (4:04)
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LESSON PLAN
COURSE SYNOPSIS:
This course covers a directed patrol incident in an area of heavy drug
use and DUI activity, where officers stopped a vehicle with six
individuals. Discussion will revolve around the decision to stop a
suspicious vehicle; procedures during such a stop; communication
with other officers; probable cause; “ deadly hands” ; and procedures
to be followed after a shooting incident.
TIME:
1 Hour
OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of this course, officers should be able to:
Obj. A
Analyze a decision to stop a suspicious vehicle.
Obj. B
Review procedures to follow in a suspicious vehicle stop.
Obj. C
Establish what to do once probable cause is determined.
Obj. D
Obj. E
Review some responses to the appearance of “ deadly hands.”
Review procedures to follow after a shooting incident.
INSTRUCTOR'S NOTES
LESSON PLAN/LAB GUIDE
Obj. A
I.
Obj. B
II. Procedures in a Suspicious Vehicle Stop
A. Ask for occupants’ names and birthdates for a co mputer check. Be
aware of those who appear to be lying about this basic information.
B. If there is suspicion of a false ID, ask the driver or passengers to step
out of the vehicle for further questioning.
C. Think about the best/most appropriate place to conduct the interview.
D. Watch for “ red flags” and pay attention to gut feelings during a stop.
Call for backup and/or a supervisor.
E. Realize that you may still not know all the facts, even after lengthy
questioning, such as the location of weapons in a vehicle.
Obj. C
III. Probable Cause
A. A computer check that does not come up with the name and birthdate
given is enough probable cause to search a vehicle.
B. You may want to question the individual with the fake ID outside the
vehicle.
C. Monitor the individual’s behavior as he/she exits the vehicle.
D. Backup officers should keep an eye on the other passengers.
Decision to Stop a Suspicious Vehicle
A. Directed patrol may be used in areas of drug use and DUI activity.
B. Convenience stores are common areas for such activity.
C. Subjects may watch officer’ s movements and whereabouts.
D. An officer ’s suspicion is usually enough to justify following a vehicle.
E. Suspicious activities can include a low rate of speed or veering over
a median.
Obj. D
IV. “ Deadly Hands”
A. Make sure you can see all passengers hands at all times.
B. A weapon may be hidden in the car and a passenger might try to reach
for it. In this instance, a gun was hidden between the seats.
C. Your “ Drop the gun!“ command must be loud enough to be heard by
passengers and all other officers on the scene.
D. If the gunman refuses to drop the weapon, use the car door or metal
door strip as a barrier.
E. Shots from the rear window may stop an assailant.
Obj. E
V. After the Shooting
A. Secure the weapon. Remember safety precautions, including
unloading the weapon (if applicable) and storing it in a safe place.
B. Remaining occupants must be secured. Handcuffing is strongly
recommended, especially if they are restless or uncooperative.
C. You may want to search or “ pat down” each occupant.
VI. Questions
1. When pulling over a vehicle, do you always notify the dispatcher? If
so, what information do you provide the dispatcher?
2. On a vehicle stop, if you are the back-up (cover) officer, where do you
position yourself?
3. As a back-up (cover) officer, is it a good idea to let the occupants of
the vehicle know there are at least two officers on the scene? If so,
how would you do that?
4. Do you ensure the trunk is secure when approaching a vehicle stop?
5. Deputy Cogdill ensured the trunk of the subjects’ vehicle was secure
and left his fingerprints. Is this a sound tactic?
6. Have you ever been told there are no weapons involved only to find
out later, there were? How did you feel?
7. During a vehicle stop, when the driver is out of the vehicle, where do
you conduct the interview?
8. Have you ever had that “ funny feeling” that something just wasn’ t right?
Discuss that “ feeling” and the incident(s).
9. How well do you communicate with other officers during an incident?
VII. Additional Questions
1. Do you make it a practice to go by when you hear an officer call out
on a traffic stop?
2. Are you aware of your surroundings should you have to make an exit?
3. After the shooting Deputy Cogdill removed the subject’s weapon,
unloaded it, and placed it on the trunk of the vehicle. How would you
have secured this important piece of evidence?
4. When securing the occupants of a vehicle, would you cuff and then
search, or search and then cuff?
5. When dealing with multiple subjects, do you have enough handcuffs?
6. As a supervisor, are you aware of all the different training your officers
have? How do you put that training to use?
7. Are you always aware of potential crossfire with other officers?
8. Are you careful not to silhouette yourself in your spotlight during
nighttime stops?
VIII. Lessons Learned
A. Watch for Deadly Hands
B. Know Your Officers. Get to know them personally, i.e. habits, skills,
interests, etc.
C. Practice Shooting with Both Eyes Open
D. Take Training Seriously, Not for Granted
E. Communicate (with other officers/dispatch) as Much as Possible
F. Cuff as Soon as Possible
G. Try Not to Interview in the Danger Zone (between parked cars)
H. Laziness Can Kill
SOURCE DOCUMENTS
1. IN THE LINE OF DUTY
VIDEO
VOLUME 3, PROGRAM 3
2. IN THE LINE OF DUTY
DUTY SHEET
VOLUME 3, PROGRAM 3