The right to protest is enshrined in the 1st Amendment of the Constitution and it is an essential component of any democratic society. People participating in peaceful protests and the communities they live in need to be safe and it’s law enforcement’s job to ensure this happens.

The ability of LEOs to identify people carrying weapons (concealed or otherwise) is an important part of keeping us safe.

Recently a Second Sight Trainee who is an experienced law enforcement officer (John), used our active threat assessment techniques to identify two different people carrying concealed handguns at a peaceful protest.

This is John’s story.

About John

John is a retired police officer.  He is a highly decorated and spent his final years in law enforcement working with a gun interdiction unit - a group tasked with investigating gun violence and keeping illegal guns off the streets.  

John completed Second Sight’s Nationally Certified Threat Awareness for Law Enforcement Program in 2018.  John now works at the district attorney’s office as an investigator. He is responsible for monitoring a county-wide camera system and assisting in the investigation and prosecution of cases.

Observing a Peaceful Protest

Our systemic observation techniques are based on establishing a pattern of consistent behavior in the location you are observing. These patterns of behavior leads to the identification of behavioral deviations - behavioral deviations can lead to the identification of potential threats.

Deviations are assessed to determine if they require further attention. Most deviations are innocuous, explainable, and can be dismissed. Others are not, and become a focus for further observation or action.

John and another investigator were tasked with monitoring the camera system during a protest.  While observing a crowd of 300 to 400 people, John was able to identify several people deviating in how they were watching their environment, the clothing they were wearing, and in what they were doing.  John identified these deviations as not explainable, so he continued to observe them. 

Threat Indicators

While observing one of these two individuals, John started to see a cluster of behavioral indicators that led him to believe this person may have been carrying a gun. People carrying concealed weapons often display several behavioral indicators.

Here is what John saw. In bold are the technical names for these behaviors we teach in our training classes.

1. One of the males was standing against a wall (Position of Advantage) and kept placing his hand in his sweatshirt pocket (Security Feel and Hands in Pocket). 

2. When John saw the male remove his hand from his pocket, he could tell there was something heavy in the pocket causing his clothing to stretch (Clothing Fiber Stress) and one side of the clothing to hang lower than the other (Jacket Displacement). 

Take a look at the set of demonstration images below. You can see the lines in the jacket and that one side is hanging lower than the other.

3. When zooming the camera to observe this individual in more detail, John could see the imprint of what he believed to be a gun (Printing).  Look at the set of three example images below, you can faintly see the outline of a gun in the right front pocket.

What Happened Next?

John relayed this information to observers on scene who continued to watch this particular individual.  One of the observer teams (who were using binoculars), saw the man reach into his front pocket and place his hand on the object and pulled it out enough for him (the observer) to see the handle of a handgun. 

The same observer, who is also Second Sight trained, was also able to identify a second small group of males who were deviating from the crowd.  One of the males was also later identified as having a handgun. 

Important Disclaimers

Realize that no single behavior is an indicator of wrongdoing or criminality. We also do not know if the person carrying the firearm was licensed to do so. Behavior serves as a starting point for further observation.

Why This Matters?

Law enforcement needs the ability to distinguish the true threat from those people that simply look or act differently. Through a focus on identifying patterns of behavior, behavioral deviations, and specific threat indicators our police officers can identify and safely address potential threats. An important job that police need to be able to do in a safe and impartial manner.

If you would like to learn more about systematic observation and active threat assessment, please check out our online courses, including Threat Awareness for Law Enforcement and Security Professionals and Situational Awareness for Safety. A personal safety course for everyone.