While searching the interior of a residence with your firearm drawn, you enter a room and are immediately tackled. The suspect lands on top of you and grabs the barrel of your firearm with both hands. It is readily apparent that the suspect is much larger and stronger than you are. Even worse, he seems hell bent on taking your firearm. What's your next move?
Disturbingly, most officers that I've trained in firearm retention had no prior training in the area of in-hand-firearm retention from the ground. In a scenario such as the one described above, you have zero time to think and zero margin for error!
If you don't have an effective tactic to resort to, you might find yourself in a deadly game of tug of war over your firearm. If the suspect has a significant size and strength advantage, things could go from bad to worse real quick.
What you need is a tactic that will enable you to retain possession of your firearm while on the ground regardless of your exact positioning or the specific actions of the suspect.
One concept that has proven to be highly effective in realistic scenario based training involves using your non-gun hand to pry the suspect's hand(s) from the firearm.
This tactic works well regardless of your orientation relative to the suspect once on the ground. Whether you are on your back, with the suspect on top of you or on your stomach or side, this tactic works equally well.
From your back
When you're on your back and the suspect is on top of you, he has a tremendous leverage advantage. Rather than try to wrestle the firearm from the suspect's hand from this disadvantageous position, thrust the firearm to one side or the other. This action will probably result in the suspect toppling onto his shoulder in the direction of your firearm.
Off-balancing the suspect in the manner described will have a tendency to compromise his grip, possibly even causing him to release with one or both hands to help break his fall.
If the suspect maintains his grip on your firearm, position your non-gun hand so that the backs of your hands touch. For those of you familiar with the Harries technique for using a handheld flashlight in conjunction with your firearm, you'll recognize this is basically the same position.
To strip the suspect's hands from the firearm, simultaneously pull the firearm toward your chest and pry his hand(s) off using the outer portion of the forearm of your non-gun side arm.
From there, control the suspect's arms with your non-gun hand and assess the situation. Remember that it is very possible that the suspect's holding the slide has rendered your firearm inoperable. If this were the case, a round in the chamber could fire but you would have to conduct a malfunction clearance as described below in order to fire additional rounds.
From your stomach or your side
Being on your stomach or even on your side may require a slight modification to the tactic presented above. However, it's important to note that the underlying concept remains the same.
The goal is to position your non-gun hand/arm in such a way that it can be used to pry the suspect's hand(s) off your firearm as you pull the firearm toward your chest.
Depending on your position relative to the suspect's, you might not be able to place the backs of your hands together or use your forearm to pry. Instead, you might place the palm of your hand on the suspect's shoulder to assist in prying the firearm from his grasp.
Malfunction clearance
Since the Tap, rack, and asses malfunction clearance is usually practiced standing and with the luxury of using both hands, performing the same sequence from the ground requires a little improvisation.
After dislodging the suspect's hand(s) from the firearm, you could fire the round in the chamber if warranted. However, subsequent rounds may not fire, since the struggle for your firearm has probably prevented the slide from cycling properly.
If you pull the trigger and your firearm doesn't go bang, tap the magazine on something such as the ground, your knee or even the suspect (this could serve as a great distraction). Just make sure the muzzle is always pointed away from you.
After tapping the magazine, you need to rack the slide. Since you probably won't have both hands free, you will have to hook the rear sight onto your holster, belt or even the heel of your boot in order to work the slide.
Now assess the situation and tailor your response to the suspect's actions.
This process should remedy any malfunctions that may have occurred while fighting for your firearm. If your firearm is still non-functional after performing the tap, rack, and assess, you have what's often referred to as a "catastrophic malfunction." This basically means that your firearm isn't going to do anyone any good until you have time to get both hands on it. If this should occur, consider using your firearm as an impact weapon and scrambling to your feet as soon as possible.
Conclusion
After you've been knocked to the ground with your firearm in-hand is not the time to ponder what your next move will be. Realize that since handling firearms and fighting suspects are not mutually exclusive, there may very well come a time when you're in a scenario similar to the one described in the opening paragraph.
Practice the tactic presented here and determine for yourself if it's a valid approach to retaining your firearm from the ground.
Always have a plan B. Never give up!
