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TOP cover aUtUmn 2012 9

POSt inCident mAnAgement

meeT

mr. pim

Written By Steve hOWSOn

as an ex-chief inspector in kent police where i served all my service
in uniform roles, a good two thirds of my career was spent in Firearms

roles as an aFo, operational Firearms commander, inspector heading
the tactical Firearms Unit and latterly chief inspector firearms training.

spent a decade as a spontaneous / Initial Tactical Firearms of the matter. An ex-colleague had been kidnapped at gun-point by
Commander and the last four years of my service as a a man in the Paddock Wood area of Kent following his attendance
Cadre Tactical Firearms Commander. During that last at a domestic dispute. The officer was forced to drive to a public
four years of service I was encouraged to develop a Firearms house in the Tonbridge area which was only a stone’s throw away
Command Training Unit in conjunction with our Sussex from the local ‘nick’.
I colleagues and in doing so met and worked with some On my arrival at the scene I was required to put on an armed
very capable and professional people. In July 2005 I retired from containment whilst efforts were made to negotiate the man out
the Police Service but was not allowed to walk of the public house. One of the containment
away. That is my excuse anyway! points was the rear yard of the ‘old- nick’. I
I was positively encouraged and enticed into …there was ‘a found myself with a trusted colleague on
a ‘civilian’ role at the Command Training Unit. a containment point behind a small brick
I have loved every minute of it, designing, mad man’ in wall approximately 30 meters from the front
developing and assisting with the delivery of a of the pub. Within minutes of getting into
variety of Firearms Command courses. It has the saloon bar containment a man showed himself at the top
been my absolute pleasure to train in excess window of the pub and shouted out that he was
of 1,500 students from across the UK and with a shotgun the landlord and that there was ‘a mad man’
the SBA in Cyprus (although I still await my in the saloon bar with a shotgun threatening
invite to that beautiful Mediterranean Island threatening a a uniformed cop. Further information from
to deliver an external course and I am certain other armed containment points confirmed
that I will not be short of willing ‘bag carrier uniformed cop the same and that the sound of gunfire had
volunteers’ for that one!). I have to date been been heard from inside the pub (unknown to
an operational Post Incident Manager for five us the subject had fired the shotgun twice at a
shooting incidents, three fatal and two non-fatal public telephone on the saloon bar wall).
incidents and remain operational to this day. I suppose, outside of “Jump down!” we demand of the landlord. God bless him,
the Met, one of the most experienced PIMs in the UK and as a he did, onto the balcony below and then about ten feet onto the
consequence regularly get the nickname of ‘Mr. PIM’. pavement below that. A big fellow he was, but he still managed to
So what got me interested in Post Incident Management issues sprint to our location and, to our surprise, dive acrobatically over
in the first place? As is quite often the case in policing circles, it was the wall. Unknown to us at the time he had actually fractured one
an operational experience in 1984. Okay let’s get the ‘flintlock’ rifle of his ankles in his descent, which makes the sprint and dive even
jokes out the way immediately! As a newly qualified AFO/OFC I more remarkable! People do the strangest things and are capable of
was called out from home to go in an armed capacity to my old the most incredible acts when under stress and pressure.
Police Station at Tonbridge, Kent. I will now cut a very long and Five minutes elapse and our man exits the pub with one arm
harrowing story short to protect the innocent and get to the crux around the neck of our uniformed colleague, holding a shotgun