Trained Teamwork Success on Patrol + Video Tutorials
Coordinated teamwork clearly made a difference last night. Most of the night had been quiet, and we were actually wondering if the night would end without a single incidence of violence … but then, that’s almost always how things work, isn’t it? As soon as you think it’s over, it gets interesting.
We were posted up at the north-east corner of Hollywood and Ivar, and one of us spotted a two-man fight starting across Hollywood, spilling onto the street. We had to pause long enough for our flashlights to get the attention of the drivers on the road so we could get across safely, but managed to get to the fighters pretty quickly. They were still tangling with each other and exchanging the big swinging punches typical of adrenaline filled, drunken fighters.
“Fight” Highlights:
As soon as we arrived on scene, the first two Angels went to the first most available fighter from a typical “Cover” position, grabbed with the C-Grip on each arm [VIDEO], and turned him to the right [VIDEO]. I was with the second pair of Angels, and quite honestly I only recall that the first two turned their fighter as they’re trained to do, because they weren’t in the way at all – it worked VERY smoothly. The second two Angels were able to engage the second fighter immediately. We walked him to the wall, blocking his view of the person he was fighting only seconds ago, immediately calming him down.
This is EXACTLY the plan, executed without a hitch, that we drill for 3rd Party entry [VIDEO] like this (we are usually not one of the involved participants in an altercation, which means we are entering the scene as a “3rd party” to the engagement).
Humorous Note:
As soon as we started handling the scene, the bigger (first) fighter made an instant change from Joe-Tough-Guy to literally declaring out loud, “I don’t want to fight” and became timid and shy. I must assume that our quick success, as an organized team, with zero ego challenge from us made it quite clear that we were not going to accept more fighting.
Even better, he instantly realized that a bunch of volunteers were there to do this only because we like it, with no further reward involved. Guardian Angels have no problem getting involved, and using a trained, rapid response. That’s usually not what an alcohol-fueled “monkey dance” fight is prepared to encounter. The immediate reality was such a complete change that the minds of the fighters changed just as rapidly.
Lessons Learned
1. Overwhelming force doesn’t have to be injurious to be effective. An organized, purposeful team of experienced, trained members can be very effective. the message sent is one that is unmistakable: keep going, and we can shut you down faster than you are ready to handle. yet, with professionalism, everybody saved “face” in this one.
2. Listening to, the “He hit me! Did you see that?” was mildly annoying (and predictable), but it was better to let him blow off steam and feel good about walking away than for us to show our “superiority” and tell him to be quiet. (Plus, if legal matters came about, their verbal protestations are worth more than their silence). One of our members even clearly asked him, “Ok … so do you want to press charges?” Which of course, was met with, “No .. it’s ok.” And we sent them both on their separate ways.
3. Keeping the “Boyd’s Loop” concept in mind, by engaging in a professional (no ego from us) way, with rapid planned response, and changing the entire scope of the situation, both fighters had to re-Observe and re-Orient one hundred percent of the way. And we had already made the Decision, and were already Acting. This worked exactly as planned, and I’m glad we have a plan in the first place!
For more follow up in training, please visit http:GuardianAngelTraining.com and post some questions and ideas here. Let’s get the training conversation going – it makes a huge difference when we work together!
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