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True Story: A Real Life Gun Fight

When Practice And Training Count

While studying the art of law enforcement at the academy, Officer Chris Beck achieved the status ‘Top Gun’ — or, simply stated, marksman. Believing that a police officer can never have enough training in the use of handguns, Beck continued to practice in his off time.

Spending any free hours at either a shooting range or a distant site in the desert, he taught himself to shoot accurately right-handed, left-handed, or with both hands from any position – stationary or moving – pushing himself until his skill was honed to perfection.

Often, a police officer is the only protective barrier between civilians and imminent danger. Training and mindset are the only things standing between a police officer and potential death during a gun fight as Beck’s story shows…

This Is A True Story

At the time I had been an active duty police officer for about four years in the city of Compton, CA. This particular day l was making my mid-morning rounds, enjoying a coffee break with a friend when the call came in: man with a gun was as much detail as the dispatcher could offer.

There’s no such thing as “routine” in a police officer’s life—but, being human, we can slip into a rut. In an area like Compton, particularly the ghetto areas of the district, nine out of ten domestic disturbance calls come in described as “gun involved.” That’s because you have a lot of good people out here that are sick of seeing the drug and gang element hanging out on the corners and sidewalks— or in front of their house.

They figure if you call 911, tell the dispatcher that a gun is in play, they’ll get a faster response. Obviously, they are correct. A non-weapon, non-confrontational situation is regarded as a low priority call.

This is not to say that we don’t treat it responsibly but, unfortunately there are only so many officers on duty at any given time—so things have to be prioritized. I’ve answered dozens of calls like this, and either the suspect with the weapon has bolted before my arrival, or, in most cases, there never was one to begin with. Ironically.

I Wasn’t Expecting A Violent Altercation

I remember telling my friend, “Sit tight, I’ll be back shortly.” Maybe, just like anyone else, you watch so many cop movies where the criminal activity takes place at night, that you don’t expect violent confrontations during daylight hours.

A big crowd is usually a clue that shots have been fired, but arriving at the residence, I saw only a few people milling around on the street. I was still under the impression that this could be just another bogus call.

I noticed that the door was standing open. Since I was patrolling alone, I called for a back-up unit and got an update from the dispatcher. Apparently, in the interim, the shots had been confirmed. Witnesses were specific: it was a shotgun.

I drew my weapon, a .45 Glock, and approached the door. I announced my presence and was greeted with silence. An eerie silence, the kind you can almost hear. I knew something was wrong. Nothing else smells like gunpowder, so there was no mistaking the sharp, acrid scent that greeted me as I entered the house.

Tiny holes from shotgun blasts peppered the walls and spent cartridges littered the floor. Declaring my presence again, I backed out of the house.

My Backup Arrived

My back-up arrived within minutes, and he know from my stance and the fact that my weapon was in hand that this was the real thing, I told him what I knew. We agreed to call for more units and surround the dwelling.

Now, with two police cars on scene, and with recent gunshots, you increase the number of curious onlookers around the scene. This always presents a problem.

With the house facing north, and no one inside, we took opposite sides and moved around to the backyard where I almost bumped into the suspect. It’s important to be able to read a person’s body language and positioning and demeanor in this type of encounter. If right off the bat you can tell that your suspect is not intent on causing harm to himself or others, it can go a long way toward determining your style of negotiation.

The Suspect

This individual – male, 50s – was sitting upright, casually, on a garden bench – the kind you can buy at Home Depot – with this immense double-barrel shotgun straddling his lap.

From the blank expression on his face, he could’ve been daydreaming about a failed romance. That, right there, is an immediate sign of danger: this guy is either “on” something or he’s just leaned so far over the edge that he’s fallen off. Talking to such a person is not unlike talking to a brick wall, but you absolutely have to continue verbal negotiations as long as possible.

In the firmest possible tone we demanded he release his hold on the weapon, place it on the ground and step away. No response. Meanwhile, of course, we positioned ourselves to maximize our cover. A side-by-side shotgun is a nasty invention, especially when you don’t know what he’s got loaded in it.

The Confrontation Escalated

We repeat our demand. The suspect then stood up and bolted for the west side of the house, disappearing around the corner. As if things weren’t bad enough, the suspect was not heading for the large group of civilians around front, making the situation considerably worse. Anything was possible now. He might open fire on them at random or take a hostage – neither scenario was appealing or acceptable.

And now, of course, the danger to us was increased. In order to follow him around the house and target him correctly – and safely – we had to expose ourselves to the full bore of the weapon. We could’ve remained adequately covered and still had him in the crosshairs, so to speak, but if any one of our shots missed him – if it came down to that – the bullets would have continued past him and into the crowd out front.

When we caught up with him, the suspect was actually squatting and leaning back against an aluminum door that led to a playroom in the residence. The shotgun was cradled in his lap pointing away from us. For the moment, he seemed calm and passive. There was a mere twenty feet between us.

All Hell Broke Loose

I remember distinctly asking him again for the weapon, at which point he finally spoke. Since these were only words he ever uttered, l remember them clear as a bell: F—k you! You’ll have to kill me and take it out of my hands.” And in one fluid motion he uncoiled, whipped around like a snake stood to his full height, brought the shotgun to bear on us and opened fire!

The concussion felt like the wind from a door being slammed in my face. At the time, I thought he only fired one barrel; later I would learn he pulled both triggers, unleashing the full force of the weapon. I felt the pellets ripping into my face and my legs, but oddly there was no pain. My partner went down screaming, “I’m hit!” And I could see that the guy still had that thing trained

Like throwing a switch, I went into automatic mode; my training took over. When this happens, I literally ignore the target—it becomes a blur—and my point of focus becomes the sight at the end of the gun’s barrel. In the blink of an eye, I fired off nine Hydra-Shok® rounds—very proven, very reliable ammunition.

Yet target was still standing! I’m thinking maybe my sights are off and I missed. So, refocusing on the suspect, I could see that all nine shots were good, all had made contact with center mass — his chest area—and he was still standing! So, I reacquire and fire three more times in rapid succession.

The Suspect Finally Slumped To The Ground

Moving in. I saw no movement. With my gun still trained on him, I kicked the shotgun aside, out of his reach, handcuffed him and checked for other weapons. Then I checked for vital signs and discovered of course that he was dead.

Moving back towards my partner. I examined his wounds. None appeared to be in vital areas, thankfully, and I informed him that an ambulance was en route to take him to a hospital. My partner started laughing, asking if I’d bothered to call one for myself. It was then that l remembered that l had also gotten hit.

Checking myself over, I found that the little BB sized pellets from the No. 2 buckshot had penetrated my legs and face—including one that had penetrated my cheek and entered my mouth where it rolled around like an oversized piece of pepper until I spit it out. Luckily my vest had taken the brunt of the round.

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The Conclusion

It was days later, after plastic surgery for my face and an entire day in an ER having pellets removed from my legs one at a time, with a pair of tweezers, that I learned the story behind the incident. The suspect apparently was a Postal worker, blown out of his mind on a mixture of cocaine and PCP, angered at his son, who decided that a shotgun was his best route of diplomacy. I thought my job was tough.

Overall, it goes to show you that nothing can beat training. You have to do it over and over and over until it becomes second nature—an instinct that comes to the surface automatically without conscious decision. Otherwise, you will hesitate or second guess your judgment—and that can cost you your life.

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58 thoughts on “True Story: A Real Life Gun Fight”

  1. Your weaons should have been on him safety’s off telling him to –

    “STAY SEATED + NOT MOVE or we’ll shoot you dead in a split second”

    Then should have shot him dead right there when he moved.

  2. Sobering story, this is a good example of why I prefer your site above all else. You offer great products at fair prices and informative information, thank you.

  3. How many times does this have to happen before people understand and recognize the need of law abiding citizens to be compliant? The most shocking thing I got out of this is race wasn’t even mentioned! Could the evening news do as good a job at reporting the event as the officers report?

  4. I don’t understand the lack of headshot attempts against people sometimes unaffected by body shots, I don’t believe those drugs could continue working on a blasted brain.

  5. As a state trooper in the South, we had a lot of Simulation shooting drills, with plastic rounds, live fire. these consisted of most traffic stop type shooting, but some in house, back up drills for assisting deputies and SBI agents. We were taught to yell commands and act upon them if the suspect didn’t comply. Oh, and for good measure our home state Attorney General Staff, always told us to yell loud as hell, so other people could here us asking for compliance. And if we shot, then continue shooting till suspect complied, or simply died. I AM NOT second guessing this officer!
    Our training would have caused me to yell, “put down the gun, or I’ll shoot”. With an armed guy who turns or moves without dropping the weapon is all we would have needed to fire shots,, tune in a 6pm for the news. At that time we used Colt 357 Trooper models and some Smith’s. We trained from 3 yards back to 50 yards on qualifying day. Rain, sheet, hell or snow, lightning it didn’t matter, day and night shooting. Had I been lucky enough to have some backup or not, When he turned, well game over!! I am guessing the yard wasn’t very big, and you know that 357 came out of the barrel at about 1300 feet per second and cleared the barrel in about 1/80th of a second. He wouldn’t have gotten a single step off. My motto was always, “the road is a cruel master and if you make a couple mistakes, you ain’t going home at five a live’. I am truly thankful that the Good Lord let him live. I had some buddies who didn’t get that second chance.

  6. This is an incredible story about the professionalism and bravery of Officer Chris Beck and his partner. It is also an awesome testament to GOD and His Angels that they were looking out for and helping the officers!