North Hollywood Shootout on February

North Hollywood Shootout

On February 28, 1997, two individuals robbed the Bank of America in North Hollywood, California. This incident ended in a spectacular shoot-out between the criminals who committed the robbery and a final total of 350 police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). News helicopters caught virtually the entire incident on videotape, providing a unique learning opportunity for law enforcement officers everywhere.

This incident demonstrated that many policies and practices the LAPD has developed for Special Weapons Attack Team (SWAT) responses to armed crises are highly effective and that they can save the lives of both civilians and police officers. In addition, the police who initially responded performed well. Original response by patrol cars contained the area until SWAT members could arrive.

One lesson from this dramatic event is that large departments have a distinct advantage. However, such an incident could occur in a smaller municipality. This means that smaller towns should have a policy for rapidly combining forces when necessary so that they too can have adequate response for such an onslaught.

Another valuable lesson involves both the limitations as well as the advantages of body armor. The police officers had enough body armor to save lives, but not so much that it hampered movement. The bank robbers had so much body armor on that they could not move easily and could not easily take complete cover. Both protection and mobility are important for police officers.

This incident also demonstrated the importance of good communication between police officers. Because they knew that one officer's weapon had malfunctioned, others were able to cover for that individual. The SWAT team also learned that their policy of always having all their gear with them is crucial to an effective and fast response, because there was no delay while the SWAT team got the specialized firearms and ammunition they needed to do their jobs.

One thing the patrol officers who responded first needed but did not have was small caliber rifles. If they had had this, they might have been able to accurately aim for the bank robbers' heads. Conceivably, this could have ended the incident sooner, by taking them out before they had a chance to take cover or escape the immediate bank area.

This incident especially demonstrates that unless we take care, criminals will sometimes have better weapons and better protection than our police officers. For instance, body armor must be periodically upgraded to match the firepower available to criminal elements in our society. New body armor has been developed that can stop bullets from assault rifles, and it is imperative that our police officers be equipped with them. In addition, patrol officers should be equipped with urban rifles, and receive the training to fire them accurately. Different weapons serve different purposes, and a rifle will be appropriate at times when a shotgun would not be a good choice.