Officer Safety During Police-on-Police Encounters

Concerns about officer safety often center on procedures, tactics, and equipment. Topics such as dynamic entry, arrest and raid plans, pursuit, vehicle positioning and approaches, firearms, less-lethal devices, and vehicles are common areas of discussion. An area of officer safety receiving attention recently is police-on-police encounters. These are situations in which an off-duty, plainclothes, or undercover (UC) officer is taking official action in the form of an arrest, foot pursuit, or armed encounter and is confronted or challenged by an on-duty police officer.