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Saturday, February 9, 2013

Front Row Seats

We're getting a front row seat on how to wage a one-man, asymmetrical warfare campaign.

We've got a former sailor and  LAPD officer that's running amok in southern California.  It is his belief that he was wrongly discharged by the LAPD.  It is his desire to correct those wrong doings, and regain his good name.  It is his belief that he has taken every available avenue through the legal system, and the system has failed him because of lies from members of the LAPD.  You can read his "manifesto" here.

So, I'm guessing this guy figured he had two basic options on how to exact his revenge on LAPD.  Option 1 was to enter a police station or LAPD headquarters, guns a-blazin', and kill as many people as he could.  He would get a body count, but he would assuredly die in the attack in fairly quick fashion, and be forgotten almost as quickly.

Option 2 is to terrorize his enemy.  He understands that taking the LAPD head-on would accomplish little.  But pick them off slowly, individually, methodically, and publicly, well, you kill two birds with one stone.
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What tactics is he using?
  • Pre-position supplies to allow your terror campaign to be extended
  • Publish your intent - a general list of grievances and specific targets
  • Kill some folks to show that you're serious
 So far, his plan is working like a charm.  Kill your enemies and humiliate them very publicly.

How much manpower and how many dollars are being sucked from all of these police agencies due to one man?  He is running them ragged.  Bleeding their coffers.

Perhaps more importantly, he's making them look inept.

Just like the NYPD cops that shot 9 civilians in Manhattan last August while trying to apprehend a bad guy, LAPD shot two old ladies in the town of Torrence because they were in a truck that looked like the one owned by the ex-cop.


 Holy crap.  No muzzle flash.  No defiant roars from an attacker.  Just a couple of old gals delivering newspapers.

Not as widely reported was another shooting by Torrence PD officers.  Same deal - the truck matched the description of the bad guy.  No one was hurt in that incident.

They look scared.
They look undisciplined.
They look untrained.
They look vulnerable.

As a study in what one determined, well-trained person can accomplish against a vastly superior force, it doesn't get much more vivid.  It will indeed be interesting seeing how this whole episode plays out.

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2 comments:

Adam said...

I can tell you that I'd be scared to death as well. That doesn't excuse the officers from opening fire without a legitimate reason. Just because you think it is, that isn't good enough. You have to know it. And the vehicles are different colors, different make/models. The blue one is a Toyota Tacoma. I think the gray one was a Nissan Titan.

I do not agree with his tactics and actions. But from a purely academic viewpoint, it's extremely interesting. The resources that are being expended are incredible. A $1M reward is being offered. That's insanity. The LAPD has reopened his case as well.

And yes, guerrilla warfare has always worked through the ages. There is a reason for that. I do hope he is caught quickly. But just imagine if there were just 100 such people (2 per state) doing the same kind of thing, even if it wasn't just against the authority. It would bring this country to a standstill.

Chief Instructor said...

Adam, I'll be there are a lot of LA cops wanting to work undercover right now! Take that target off of their back.

I'm actually very surprised that the Middle East terrorists haven't used this technique. In an urban environment, you could wreak havok, and just disappear. You eventually get caught, but you do lots of damage in the mean time.

The gun grabbers would use it to justify snatching up all guns. The police agencies would use it as justification for more hut-hut equipment, including drones (armed?), then.... martial law?

Time to head for the hills!