Hamilton, Mt shooting

[ny10570 745]

This shooting occurred back in January but the video is making the rounds again after the officer was cleared last week. The officer stopped a motorist for a traffic violation and suspicion of DWI. During the interview the perp pulls his gun and fires on the officer. Luckily the first round in the perps revolver was either spent or misfired(I've seen it reported both ways). In the attached photo you can see that had the first round fired this would have had an entirely different outcome.

Now its pretty much common knowledge that the most dangerous thing an officer does during his patrol is car stops. Between the people in the car and the other cars on the road there are a lot of ways to get hurt or killed. I also understand that the more often you do something the harder it is to not become complacent. Anything, no matter how dangerous can eventually become routine if you do it often enough. So how do you guys handle traffic stops? Are you overly complacent? Why are motorists allowed to stay in their vehicle? Thanks for the input.

[OnTheWheel 43]

The Officer's placement "in the window" was a bad choice. Had he been in the suggested position, behind the "b" piller, it would have given him a different point of view and may have prevented the perp from having the gun directly in his face! Having the flashlight in the strong hand, the list goes on but it all worked out in the end. You have to treat each stop as if it was your first out of the academy, use all your tactics and don't let "time on the job" get the best of you.

[WAS967 97]

Im not an LEO, but am I right in guessing that you keep the occupants in the vehicle because it maintains better control over them and maintains the LEO in a relative "position of power"?