Richmond rookie officer's training helped foil carjacking

BenGoodLuck · #1

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/ ... 30033.html

Feb. 2, 2006, 5:10AM

By ROBERT CROWE
Houston Chronicle

Holly Mong was just six months into her career as a police officer when she shot two armed men who tried to hijack her car outside her Jersey Village apartment.

Police said Mong, 22, a Richmond Police Department rookie, was wearing civilian clothes about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday when two suspects climbed into her Jeep Liberty and pointed guns at her head as she was starting the vehicle. "It was her training that helped her react in that situation," said detective Sgt. C.J. Harper of the Jersey Village Police Department.

On her off day, she was about to drive to Richmond to attend an in-service training class. "The suspects had no way of knowing she was an officer," said Jersey Village Police Chief Charles N. Wedemeyer.

When the men ordered her to move to the passenger seat, she grabbed her gun from her purse and fired several times, killing one man and striking another.

Police later found a third suspect hiding nearby in a getaway car.

da.suxor · #2

It's scenarios like this that make me think...

Do you risk grabbing your firearm if your assailant already has drawn on you? I mean if they get disracted, sure. But this case had two armed assailants. How did she draw and fire on both of them yet get away unharmed?

ElGato · #3

Surprise, Speed, Accuracy, Training and Mindset

She had it,

They didn't.

Tomcat

flintknapper · #4

ElGato wrote:Surprise, Speed, Accuracy, Training and Mindset

She had it, They didn't.

Tomcat

That pretty much sums it up!

da.suxor · #5

Surprise can get you dead to. If I have drawn on someone, and they make a sudden move that I feel is threatening, I start firing COM until that threat stops. Perhaps that is a rational and a lifelong conditioning, but I just think that that scenario was either luck, or some dumb ass criminals (I know, that is a given).

flintknapper · #6

da.suxor wrote:Surprise can get you dead to. If I have drawn on someone, and they make a sudden move that I feel is threatening, I start firing COM until that threat stops. Perhaps that is a rational and a lifelong conditioning, but I just think that that scenario was either luck, or some dumb ass criminals (I know, that is a given).

This is actually a "repost". Go down a few threads and read "off duty police officer......"

Without question, there are situations where you would not want to draw your weapon. In this case, the officer is in a vehicle and then the perps. force their way into it. First rule of survival for women (or men for that matter) is: NEVER get into a vehicle with a BG. So, she's got that going against her already, regardless of how it happened.

The fact that they didn't remove her from the vehicle.. tells me that big trouble lay in store for her. After all, they were not there to take her to a surprise party, (at least...not one she's going to like).

I am sure she did not relish the idea of trying to get to her weapon without being shot. I also think she knew in her heart, that this situation was going to have bad ending if she didn't try.

As I said in my post in the other thread: I don't usually advocate drawing against a drawn weapon...BUT in certain situations it can be done successfully. I then went on to give a few reasons why.

In this case, (and in this case only), I believe she did exactly the right thing, at exactly the right time.

Atta GIRL!

oilman · #7

Without question, there are situations where you would not want to draw your weapon. In this case, the officer is in a vehicle and then the perps. force their way into it. First rule of survival for women (or men for that matter) is: NEVER get into a vehicle with a BG. So, she's got that going against her already, regardless of how it happened.

The fact that they didn't remove her from the vehicle.. tells me that big trouble lay in store for her. After all, they were not there to take her to a surprise party, (at least...not one she's going to like).

I am sure she did not relish the idea of trying to get to her weapon without being shot. I also think she knew in her heart, that this situation was going to have bad ending if she didn't try.

+1 seems to me she was between a rock and a hard place. Either attempt to shoot now as the situation was unfolding or risk being assualted/killed later when the BGs had driven off with her and were more in control of the situation.