The Training Works!

Jim Bruce
I turned down an opportunity to be a California Highway Patrolman in the Motorcycle Division while living in Los Angeles in the mid 60's. The reason I turned it down was simple economics. As much as I wanted it to happen, I couldn't raise a family on such a meager salary. The desire to be in Law Enforcement has been with me ever since.

So now I'm a State Constable and I do it for free.

There are a number of reasons why one volunteers time to be a State Constable. Mine is primarily to back up an officer on duty. When we can create a two-man unit in a patrol car instead of one, it's a safer situation, a safer duty shift. One officer showing up on a CDV or other type of potentially violent call, in the middle of the night, is at serious risk. The odds against him or her getting injured or worse is greater without a second officer at the scene. A second unit with an officer can take a number of minutes to get there and he or she can experience the sickening possibility of being too late.

I prefer riding nights since that is when the potential for officer harm is greatest. Full moon, a clear Friday or Saturday night, entitlement checks having just arrived in the mail boxes a couple of days before, is a guarantee for a busy E-911. That's when two man units are especially needed. And for me, it's an honor to be part of that picture.

But I must admit when I took my original training some time back the weapons session left me with a nagging concern for a little over a year. After all, I kept thinking, when it gets down to the nitty gritty, in a real situation, will I be able to measure up to what is expected of me? Would I cave in, freeze up or do something really stupid?

I've been around guns most of my life and my habit with a pistol or revolver was always to pull the hammer back first, before that first shot, so that I had a quicker pull and better site on the target. The instructor was adamant about not pulling the hammer back and with the safety off, keeping my finger on the trigger guard. His statement was clear. Safety off, finger on the trigger only when I see a weapon, the trigger pull must be a full pull because if I'm fixing to take a man's life, I need to be thinking about the entire process.

The year went by with me pulling the weapon a total of three times. All three situations were on building entry with another officer, looking for a subject in the middle of the night. Maglite in the left hand, weapon in the right with safety off, finger on the guard and a certain portion of my anatomy puckered up real tight. In all three cases, the building was empty.

And then it finally happened. It was around midnight on a recent Saturday night, riding with a Sheriff's Deputy by the name of Randy. A 911 call came in that there was a guy with a gun who shot up a car with unknown victim status and a fight going on all at the same time at a residential location on the west side of town. We called in 10-17 along with a couple of other units and headed that way. About 30 seconds later, 911 informed us the shooter left the scene at a high rate of speed in an old white caddy with a dark top and no make on the license plate.

As we were heading towards the area, Deputy Scott in another unit came across the radio saying that he had spotted the shooter who failed to stop for his blue light. A 10-0 high-speed pursuit is now in progress. After a few intersections, we joined the chase. It was the shooter, followed by Scott, then Randy and me, and Deputy Buddy behind us. We were absolutely flying for about 15 miles of mostly rural road. The ride was nothing short of pure excitement with everybody's adrenalin pumping at the max. Randy and Scott were fantastic drivers, having been to the class for High-Speed Pursuit Driving in Columbia.

Then the shooter turns back towards town and we have at least seven units from three agencies on the radio, blocking intersections in anticipation of us coming through. The shooter, who tried to run a number of people off the road during the chase, was not about to quit. But after running through town the shooter finally spun out on a turn at the by-pass and hit a telephone pole in a parking area of an abandoned fast food establishment.

Four transformers on top of the pole blew up with a tremendous shower of sparks and still the shooter keeps going. Down into the driveway around the fast food place and he is still moving. Scott blocks the driveway behind the shooter, Buddy moves into the exit driveway which is the only way the shooter can come out, and Randy and I drive around some trees flanking the property on the exit side. The shooter comes around the building, up the driveway and crashes head on into Buddy. Randy and I jump out of our unit and start running around the trees towards the shooter from two directions.

It was like the gun instructor was talking to me. I swear I think I heard his voice as I was running around the tree. "Safety off, don't pull the hammer, finger on the guard until you see a weapon." I came around the tree and here was the shooter, six feet away, trying to climb out of the driver door window. I leveled the weapon in both hands, aiming right at him while screaming, "Show me your hands! Show me your hands." His hands popped out of the car, minus a gun thank God, and the other officers rushed him and it was over. Then I went around the other side of the just about totaled caddy and started looking for his weapon, which we later found out he dumped during the chase.

Afterwards, with the electricity off a couple of miles in all directions, I helped direct traffic for a few hours. Had lots of time to think. I realized and was satisfied that all of the training worked. And I didn't loose it; rather, it was all kind of automatic and I did what I was supposed to do. All of the officers did their job well and I felt honored to be part of it. I also wondered briefly, would I have shot him if he had a gun in his hand? I guess I'll know the answer to that one the next time, when and if it actually happens.

I did mess up one thing though. My tactical, pullover, ballistic vest. It was in the back seat of the patrol car. I never thought about putting it on! That will never happen again. From that moment on, if I'm in a patrol car, I'm wearing a body vest. Stuff can happen all of a sudden and awfully fast too, you know what I mean?

I am so very proud to serve the citizens of South Carolina, my Governor, SLED and the Law Enforcement Agencies that have given me the opportunity to be a … South Carolina State Constable - Awesome!

Jim Bruce
State Constable
4th District
SC State Constable Association
803 789-4242
brucej@infoave.net