Sunday Controversy. The attack on the Alabama Detective. UPDATED!!!

NOTE:  This is a talk about police tactics, not a defense of the ATTACK!  Don't get it twisted and stay on target people!  Don Bacon, a reader of mine found a link that everyone should read...

via Police One.

The incident began when the plainclothes detective in an unmarked car stopped Cunningham’s SUV in connection with some burglaries in the area. When he approached, he asked the suspect to stay in his vehicle while he waited for backup.
The suspect refused to comply with the officer’s commands, approached the officer and questioned him about why he was being stopped. A fight ensued and the suspect assaulted the detective with his own weapon.
The detective was rushed to the hospital and backup pursued the suspect. He was arrested along with a second man. The second man has not yet been charged with any crime.

We're talking TACTICS!

A plainclothes detective, presumably in an unmarked car is going to make a stop on a felony suspect and approach him alone?

The detective tells the guy to stay in the vehicle and he refuses to comply and he doesn't escalate immediately?

Again from Police One....

“A lot of officers are being too cautious because of what's going on in the media," the officer said to the news site. "I hesitated because I didn't want to be in the media like I am right now."
Details on the incident have not been fully released, but the department said the suspect was able to grab the officer’s gun and beat him unconscious. A few onlookers took pictures of the officer and posted them on social media — praising the beating of a cop.
The six-year veteran didn’t shoot the man while he was being assaulted because of the national outcry surrounding police shootings, he said to the publication.

Story here and here.

The assault on the detective was nothing short of barbaric.  I do not condone it anyway.....

But the explanation smacks of being a weak excuse.  A search for a reason to explain away poor police tactics, a lack of officer safety, substandard situational awareness, improper weapon retention skills and general lack of self defense training.  The guy screwed up, approached a felony suspect solo, got behind the self defense power curve and was unable to get ahead of it again.  The only good thing to come of this is that he wasn't killed with his own weapon.

AND THAT'S THE REAL TEACHABLE MOMENT HERE!  Police Officers must work on unarmed self defense!  They have to practice weapon retention, lift weights and workout like they're convicts!  I do and I don't wear a badge (doing an indoc for search and rescue in Oct though).  Too many people have or are getting MMA skills, working out is too popular etc...for these skills not to be priority number one for law enforcement.

This detective didn't avoid shooting and killing the suspect because of national media attention.  He didn't because he couldn't.  Not admitting that cold hard fact is....just wrong....that's my opinion...what's yours?