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One Specialist series-Pt. 2

One of the many things you’ll encounter when working a protectee alone is arrivals and departures especially at hotels when the hotel staff working the apron rush to open the rear passenger door. I will not, under any circumstances allow them to do so, irrespective of the threat level of the detail. Normally as I apporach the apron as I am scanning the arrival area and both sides of the street to make sure the area is safe. As we enter the apron I start zeroing in on who looks like they are going to rush to the doors. The wonderful about most hotels that have doormen working the apron is that they are often used to what a security detail looks like. Just your mere vigilant presence and look of awareness gives off an aura.

As soon as I get some eye contact, I gently motion my head back and forth in the standard “NO” motion at the same time placing my hand in front of my body, out of the view of the protectee with my index finger pointing skyward. As I am motioning with my head I am doing the same with my finger. If all fails, I will crack my door open and extend my right hand out of the door below the rear passenger window line and place it against the door while looking the person squarely face to face and lip, “NO” to them. That normally gests the job done. If all else fails, I verbalize, “I have it.”

As I exit the vehicle my head is on a swivel scanning all sectors of the arrival as well as aross the driver’s side of the victor. Before I open the rear hatch I have already determined that my protectee is ready to disembark and not handling any other business within the victor. I then slide past the rear door and open it with my left, while facing in the direction of where we are headed. I never open the door with my back in the direction we are traveling. If its going to happen I want to see it coming and not after I have recklessly abanoned my station by having my back to the area of vulnerability. As the hatch begins to open I transfer my left hand from the handle to the inner door portion and continue the momentum with positive control. At this juncture I am literally in the port covering my client in the open space of the door. When I see them shift to exite the vehicle I slide to my right clearing the doorway. Once out of the vehicle I strategically position myself based on the geography I am dealt.

Here is where I have to address the misnomer that you should always be behind the principal. When you are working alone, you are responsible for ALL 360 degrees of coverage, which means there are teams you have to protect from the front, at times from the rear, left or right depending on the area and people approaching. As we enter any establishment I always plan to enter before the protectee. Remember, you are going from a known to an unknown. Does this happen all the time? No, but you should always make a concerted effort to do so. At times I will tell the protectee, “Let me get that for you” This alleviates you looking foolish running around them, and bumping into them just to get the door. That looks foolish and crazy. Once you have done this a couple times Pavlov’s theory kicks in with them and they will start to slow down at doors.

Returning to the vehicle is basically reversing the process. As we start approaching the victor I start passing the protectee, scanning the immdiate area and grab the door while at the same time shift to the left the port. Once they begin to get in I cover the open door and close it when they are in. As I walk to the front of the vehicle I am scanning the area once again for any possible issues. Once in the vehicle I instruct the driver, “Lets Roll” and we are off to the next location where I repeat the sequence.

I will videotape this procedure this week at the course and post it to the BPISecurity youTube channel.

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