Newhall Shooting - A Tactical Analysis. Michael E. Wood

occur. That, in macrocosm, institutional policy must stay focused on reality and not be shaped by “political correctness.” That in microcosm, those whose duties take them into harm’s way must be prepared early and constantly to face the worst, and must be trained and equipped to neutralize the most violent and well-equipped human adversaries a dangerous high-tech world can produce.

      Mike’s analysis of the evidence resolves at least one controversy about the issue. It also gives us a better look at the histories of the four victim officers and the best profile yet of “the face of the enemy,” with his in-depth reconstruction of the background of the two cop-killers. And, thanks to Mike Wood, another generation of America’s finest has a better opportunity than ever to learn from the sacrifice of those four young state policemen.

      Alleyn. Frago. Gore. Pence.

      Remember.

      Massad Ayoob has been teaching firearms and officer survival tactics since 1972. He served 19 years as the chair of the Firearms and Deadly Force Training Committee of the American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers, serves presently on the Advisory Board of the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association, and for more than 30 years has been Law Enforcement Editor of American Handgunner magazine. He may be reached through http://massadayoobgroup.com.

      Preface

      Officer George M. Alleyn. Photo courtesy of the California Highway Patrol Museum.

      Officer Walter C. Frago. Photo courtesy of the California Highway Patrol Museum.

      Officer Roger D. Gore. Photo courtesy of the California Highway Patrol Museum.

      Officer James E. Pence, Jr. Photo courtesy of the California Highway Patrol Museum.

      It has been more than 40 years since the last shots were fired in the driveway of the Standard station and J’s Coffee Shop in Newhall, California, so it is only natural for some to question the need for and timing of this book. Why this book? Why now?

      It’s immediately apparent that the Newhall shooting was an action of great historical significance, as it was the deadliest law enforcement shooting in American history to date. Never before had America seen so many law enforcement officers perish in a single action, and it would be almost four decades before this kind of carnage would be revisited (sadly, twice in the course of a few months¹). The significance of this event alone justifies an exhaustive reporting, but I had more specific goals in mind when I started on this project.

      Foremost in my mind was the desire to honor these brave officers who lost their lives while acting in defense of their community. Each of these men was in the spring of their lives, having just embarked on promising new careers that would allow them to provide for their growing young families, when all was cut short by the gunfire of felons. They left behind wives, children, extended families, and friends that were left holding the shattered pieces of unfinished plans and unfulfilled dreams, and who were forced to endure the long, solitary pain that lives on well after the loss has been erased from fleeting public consciousness.

      It didn’t seem right that their valorous sacrifice was largely forgotten by the very people they died to protect, and I was determined to reignite a consciousness of that gift. These men and their families deserve our thanks and respect, not only for what they did and what they gave, but for what they represent as defenders of the public against the forces of evil that would otherwise destroy it. They deserve to be honored.

      It’s with this goal in mind that I gingerly, cautiously approached my second motivation of delivering a thorough tactical analysis of the incident to determine the lessons that could be learned from the action.² I am entirely cognizant that any criticisms of the officers and their actions could be misconstrued as a degrading, personal attack on them, but I want to assure the reader that this is not my motivation or intent. These officers acted with great heroism and performed to the very limits of their training and abilities in a frightening, fluid, confusing, and violent action unlike anything most of us will ever face. My evaluation of their actions is not intended to demean them, discredit them, or treat them with any kind of dishonor. Instead, I propose that a thorough analysis that aims at identifying mistakes so that their fellow warriors can learn from them and increase their own survival quotient is the best way to honor their sacrifice. Absent this kind of analysis, the loss of these officers would be purposeless and merely tragic, which is a much greater insult to the memory of these fine men.

      To a certain extent, this process of analysis began many years ago. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and some allied agencies attempted to distill the lessons learned, disseminate them throughout the law enforcement community, and incorporate them into their training and education processes. However, we now have the benefit of an additional 40 years worth of experience, maturity, study, and insight into the dynamics of personal combat, and this provides us the opportunity to derive new observations and challenge the validity of some old accepted ones. The fact remains that Newhall is more than just a footnote in the history of American law enforcement. It is a schoolhouse fully capable of educating a new generation of warriors in the mechanics of survival.

      All of this brings us to the third motivation for this book, which is to ensure that the lessons of Newhall, once identified, are fully integrated into the training and education of today’s warriors.³

      The American law enforcement community was left severely shaken in the wake of Newhall, and it is axiomatic that Newhall was a watershed event that changed the nature of law enforcement tactics, procedures, equipment, training, and education. However, four decades later, the corporate knowledge on the incident is spotty within law enforcement circles, and while Newhall plays prominently in the training of some law enforcement cadets, many officers complete basic and advanced training without ever being exposed to the shooting and its survival lessons. Even among officers exposed to the Newhall shooting, there is a great inconsistency on the quality of the information they receive. Myths and misunderstandings abound.

      More importantly, there is ample evidence to indicate that some of the lessons of Newhall have yet to be fully incorporated into the training and education process for America’s law enforcement officers. Some agencies appear content to declare that they learned the lessons, fixed what needed to be fixed at the time, and have moved on, leaving Newhall behind as a distant memory, irrelevant to today’s law enforcement operations. I submit that there is still a great amount of work to be done on this front, and I hope this book, in some small way, will force agencies and instructors to reevaluate their training mechanisms through the lens of Newhall.

      So, back to those original questions: Why this book? Why now? I submit that while the gunsmoke that filled the parking lot of J’s Coffee Shop has long since drifted away, the echoes of the gunfire should still be ringing in our ears. The survival lessons of that desperate night some 40 years ago are just as relevant today as they were then, and we would be wise to note them.

      The study of combat and self-defense is big and complex. It’s been said that each of us has a piece of the puzzle, but that no single person can truly wrap his hands around it all and see the entire “blind man’s elephant” for what it is. I respectfully submit to you this book, my own small, personal piece of the puzzle, and hope that it will somehow help you to become better prepared for your own fight against evil.

      Semper Vigilans!

      Endnotes

      1. The fatal shooting of 4 Oakland police officers on March 21, 2009 was quickly followed by the shooting of 3 Philadelphia police officers on April 4, 2009, reopening many of the old emotional