TIIII tDoI,Icti SNIIDIiII 4 Complete Handbook p8[tcs by Burt Rapp rl, I I i,.t ' THE .rr i' : I' POLICE (, SNIPER A Complete Handbook ["u*!ff[r[iiffi ,-( Neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility for the use or misuse of information contained in this book- It is sold for entertainment purposes only! Be Warned! THE POLICE SNIPER A llandbook Complete by Burt Rapp Loompanics Unlimited (- Port Townsend, Washington TABTE OF CONTENTS lntroduction.. ......1 Military Firefighters vs. Civilian Armed Differ Encounters: How They .....5 Setting The Urban .......8 THE POLICE SNIPER: A Complete Handbook 01988 by Inompanics Unlimited Sniping ln The Open Country: .. The Rural Environment ........12 All Rights Reserved Missions Printed in U.S.A. SWAT ...11 Tactics SWAT .....29 . The Police Sniper's Role ....35 ... Sniping Techniques .......S0 Types Barricaded Suspect ...Ts Published by: Tactics Loompanics Unlimited Night Operations And .....80 Make-Up PO Box 1197 SWAT Team ...... .Bl . Port Townsend, WA 98368 Sniper Selection Of The Police ....95 Maintaining Training And ..103 Weapons ...120 Ammunition... ...191 Ammo ISBN 0-915179-77-6 Handloading: Low-Cost Practice ....199 Library of Congress Catalog Scopes... Sights And .......14S Card Number 88-M5201 Sight Testing: Checking Out Your Scope ...163 .... Auxiliary Equipment ....162 Primer Appendix I - Ballistics: A Quick ....177 ... Appendix ll: Glossary ....194 INTROIIUCTION There have been some recent books on sniping, but not one tailored to police needs. Reprinted or re- worked military texts don't give the police sniper a realistic outline of what he needs to know. One problem is that much of what's been printed has been adapted from military craft. This approach leaves serious gaps because the civilian police func- tions and needs are quite differ:ent from the all-out warfare practiced by the military. This requires a de- finite re-orientation and re-planning. SWAT teams have usually been organized along the lines of infantry squads, rather than conforming to civilian police needs. This is why we see SWAT team members designated as "point" and "rear guard," as if they were about to go out on infantry patrols. This also explains why many SWAT team members still dress in camouflage, although the dominant colors in the city are grays and blacks. This book will deal with the topic differently from any other so far. We'll first examine the police sniper's role, to lay out what he needs. His duties will determine his equipment and tactics. We'll have to take a quick look at what a SWAT team is and does in order to understand how the sniper fits. The second part will deal with training and tech- niques. We'll cover selecting the sniper, basic re- -1- I quirements, and the skills he must have or develop to police planners expect a hostage-taker at 800 yards, do the job successfully. who is also equipped with a nuclear weapon which he Finally, we'll deal with equipment. This is the least threatens to detonate if the President doesn't come in important part of the book, because there are many person to negotiate with him. good rifles suitable for the police sniper, and despite ln real life, opponents arelar less challenging, and the claims of manufacturers of overpriced and over- the worst cases rarely, if ever, happen. While it's re- blown "sniper rifles," superlative precision is usually assuring to be prepared for the worst, you're far more not needed. Precision is also not necessarily costly. likely to have to deal with less threatening problems. This discussion won't lead the reader down the We also won't waste time dealing with unrealistic path of the high-ticket items. This is a common mis- topics, such as leading a target. A military sniper may take, made by people who don't stop to think that get the chance to open fire upon an unsuspecting many agencies don't have budgets to buy superlative enemy soldier, but a police marksman can't expect a and high-priced equipment. ln fact, most agencies barricaded felon to present himself as a target by can get along with much less. strolling out in the open. lf the suspect exposes him- This book will have to generalize in many ways, be- self at all, he'll be still, holding a hostage as a shield, cause it's impossible to lay out a plan or a precise or he'll rush from one piece of cover to another. prescription in print that will be suitable for all de- There are certain issues which are "hot potatoes" partments. Small agencies, limited in both manpower and police officers are reluctant to discuss them and budget, will have to cope in a different way from publicly. This is a dilemma. lt's a mistake to shy away the large ones. The larger agencies face larger from difficult issues because of their sensitivity. At problems, but their equipment and facilities are often the same time, an officer who expresses an opinion the envy of police administrators who have to make on a "sensitive" topic, or suggests a controversial do with much less. procedure, risks causing a negative reflection upon It's easy to make up an equipment list when the his department. This could even result in a lawsuit if writer is not the one who has to lay out the money for a situation calling for such a procedure ever comes it. lt's also easy to be dogmatic and specify a training about. For example, if there's a tacit understanding day each week for the hypothetical SWAT team. For that a hostage's life is to be sacrificed to prevent the many agencies, this is impossible, and even monthly suspect's escape, expressing this in print opens the training is hard to arrange when the members are on door to a litigious survivor or relative. For this reason, different shifts. it's impossible to express thanks to any particular This book also will not make the mistake of dealing agency or individual, although many intelligent and exclusively with worst-case assumptions, which is dedicated police officers helped in the preparation of common among police planners, a legacy from our this text. military heritage. With the same outlook as military The reader will notice certain expressions, such as staffs anticipating a "nuclear Pearl Harbor," some "manpower," and the use of the masculine pronoun, -2- -3- I throughout this book. This is not an attempt to be sexist, but simply for simplicity. lt's easier to write MITITARY FIREFIGHTS VS. "he" than "he or she." ln this regard, females can be as competent snipers as males. We'll cover this more CNILIITN ARMEII ENC OUNTERS: thoroughly in the section on selecting snipers. HOW THEY IIIFFER This is a basic re-orientation for the police sniper who has had military experience. lt's necessary be- cause the military's purpose is to take lives and the police try to save lives. ln war, prisoners are burdens at best, because they drain resources needed to guard and feed them. Police, on the other hand, strive to bring back prisoners, not corpses, and this objec- tive determines procedures and tactics. The police officer tries to resolve a confrontation without violence, while the soldier accepts deadly force as the first choice. The police officer who pulls the trigger inevitably has to justify his action to superior off icers and sometimes to an outside investi- gator. He may also have to prove he's not civilly li- able. ln war, the objectives are usually to take and oc- cupy territory and to destroy the enemy. lf the fight- ing takes place in the enemy's homeland, there are usually no restrictions on destruction, and any per- son not wearing a friendly uniform is a target. Enemy civilians can be targets as well as their military. The sniper, however, usually fires at a uniform. Because the military sniper opens fire at a uniform, anyone in the enemy's uniform will do, although the sniper prefers to "take out" officers. The soldier can fire at a shadow. The police sniper must identify his -4- -5- target positively before firing. Unlike the military setting, there are no warm-up or sighting shots sniper who shoots a private by mistake, the police rl allowed. ,f sniper's likely to be sued or even criminally charged ,u:t The police marksman's shot must strike only the in- if he kills the wrong person. ln the same way, no "re- tended target. When a military sniper fires, a bullet connaissance by fire" is allowed. The police sniper 6i'' which passes through his target and wounds some- cannot fire into bushes, rooms, and closets to "clear" ;i one else causes "collateral damage." This is not them of possible adversaries. lIt,/I usually allowed in civilian life. The only possible ex- ln war, even friendly civilians take their chances. ception would be two suspects standing in line. Police officers have the duty to evacuate and safe- This brief review shows why the military approach guard bystanders and other innocent people. Offic- to sniping isn't directly applicable to civilian police ers re-direct traffic and keep civilians at a safe dis- objectives. While the officer with a military sniping tance with an "outer perimeter." background may be an excellent recruit toi a similar Life is cheap in wartime, and both soldiers and civ- role in a SWAT team, he must understand that his ilians are expendable. ln civilian life, police officers' role will be very different from the one he filled in the service. lives are not expendable, nor are those of bystanders. Even the suspect has rights. The military sniper has done his job even if he only wounds his target, unless he has orders to the con- trary. A wounded enemy requires medical corpsmen and stretcher bearers to take him off the field of bat- tle. He ties up resources in his care and treatment. The police sniper's first shot must incapacitate in- stantly, especially if hostages are present. "lnca- pacitate" is usually a euphemism for a kill, because there isn't any reliable way, using gunfire, to render a suspect incapable of aggressive action without in- flicting a wound that's likely to be lethal. The military sniper takes shots at ranges of many hundreds of yards, and military sniper rifles have scopes suitable for extreme ranges. By contrast, ranges in police work are usually much closer, as we've seen. The police sniper must always be prepared to make a hit with the first shot from a cold barrel. ln a civilian -6- -7 - J This is why police officers cannot be free with their sufficient preparation. The environment is so differ- firepower, but must exercise restraint. lt's the re- ent that officers must take special precautions and sponsibility of the police to evacuate as many by- prepare for the unexpected. standers to safety as quickly as possible. 1I:? ? The problem of innocent people endangered by NOTES gunfire is actually two-fold. The police must be care- *lit, n' ful not to wound innocents themselves, but they also ai have a responsibility to prevent the suspect from in- 1. SWAT Team Manual, Robert p. Cappel, Boulder, CO, Paladin Press, 1979, p.21. juring anyone else. lf the suspect is firing wildly, this makes the situation urgent. IIOSTAGES Hostages are more readily available to the suspect, if he so wishes. Because of the nature of the city, and the population crush, there are likely to be potential hostages within reach, as when a supermarket stick- up is interrupted. The presence of hostages makes resolution by negotiation more important than other- wise. TIIE MEDAI The medi a are almost always present when a situ- ation "comes down." This requires officers to keep media representatives at a safe distance. LIFE IN TNE BIG CNY SWAT operations in the city are different from both rural policing and military urban combat. A different set of rules applies, and previous experience isn't -10- - 11 - * TONGEN NANGES SNIPING IN OPEN COUNTRY: Ranges are often much greater because of open -. THE RURAI, ENVIRONMENT fields. Buildings are tar apart, and usually not buiit in wooded patches. RUGGED TENRATN This is unfamiliar to anyone brought up on city Because roads are few, it may be necessary to streets, but more like the situations covered in in- leave vehicles and move in on foot. lt may be nebes- fantry training in the armed services' Woods and sary to park vehicles many hundreds of yards away open countryside can affect the situation strongly, as to protect them from gunfire. terrain largeiy determines tactics' The police sniper, however, cannot revert to any military experience he's had, because "fire and maneuver" won't often QUIET solve the problem. Although the country has its own repertoire of There are several features of rural SWAT oper- sounds, they tend to be soft and rusfling. Foreign ations that strongly affect the picture: sounds such as clicks and ratiles tend to Carry. This is why a suspect or officer can betray his locaiion by the noise from keys, pocket change, and weapons. BACKW AND SUPPITES Help and reinforcements are often far away, and re- WEATEER sponse time can be hours' A negotiator may not be available when needed. Medical help may be an hour Exposure to weather can be a problem if it rains, if away by air, and several by road' The rural officers it's too cold, or if it's too hot. Shelter isn't as com- must be more self-reliant, and in practice they tend monly available as in the city, and you can't duck in- to carry more equipment and supplies with them than side a doorway or take up a position in a room. their urban counterParts. Any supplies you have will be what you bring in COWR with you.'lf you get hungry, you won't be able to send down to thscorner for a pizza. You'll be munching on Cover is equally important, but can be sparse. ln a Granola bar, if you remembered to bring some' rolling country, you can find "dead ground,'; shallow -12- -13- J