Yesterday’s Shawn Ryan Intelligence brief discussed the threat of terrorists and criminals wearing uniforms to better facilitate their attacks. I’ve written about this issue for more than a decade. It’s probably time to update my thoughts on the topic.
Most recently, we saw terrorists wearing uniforms during the October 2023 Hamas terrorist attack in Israel. Several groups of terrorists wore green fatigue uniforms similar to those worn by the Israeli Defense Forces.
That wasn’t the first time. Here is a brief list of worldwide terrorist and active killer attacks where the perpetrator(s) wore uniforms of some type.
One of the Turkish suicide bombings
In 2003, at least 76 Al-Qaeda operatives conducted a series of suicide bombing attacks in Istanbul, Turkey. Some were dressed as police officers.
In 2004, some of the terrorists involved in the Beslan school attack wore police and military uniforms during their assault on the school.
In 2008, some of the terrorists involved in the Mumbai, India attacks wore Indian security forces uniforms.
In 2011, the killer/bomber in Oslo, Norway wore a home made police uniform to facilitate his attack.
In 2013 a US Embassy in Ankara, Turkey was attacked by a suicide bomber. How did the bomber get past security? He was dressed as a mailman and was carrying an envelope.
In 2014, Iraqi suicide bombers dressed as the police.
In 2015, A terrorist cell was apprehended in Belgium. They had Belgian police uniforms, explosives, and rifles. The terrorists were going to dress as cops, bomb police stations, and shoot citizens in the street.
In 2015, kidnappers attempted to abduct a woman in South Africa while wearing police uniforms.
In 2020, the Texas Walmart active killer was wearing a uniform shirt with a badge.
The Texas Walmart killer
Why uniforms? In a crisis, people wearing uniforms aren’t generally questioned. If a bomb goes off or a terrorist starts shooting, every cop and fireman for miles around will be responding. No one will be looking at what type of uniform someone is wearing as long as he appears like he is helping out.
The uniform gives people access to areas into which they would be denied entrance if they were dressed in normal clothing. Think about terrorists wanting to detonate a secondary device to kill a large number of police and fire personnel at a bomb scene. Would any cops on the perimeter of a bombing incident stop a person in a paramedic uniform running up to the scene with a large first aid bag?
Nope. And that bag might be filled with C-4 and nails instead of bandages. I can’t think of a better way to kill a lot of cops and firemen.
How do terrorists get police uniforms? It’s easy. They steal them.
I have a friend who worked on an FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force in one of the largest cities in the USA. His unit investigated regular burglaries of dry cleaning businesses for years. In these burglaries, the only items taken were police uniforms that officers had dropped off for cleaning. This has been happening for almost 20 years and you don’t hear a thing about it in the media. We’re ripe for an attack of this nature.
Besides dry cleaner burglaries, think about how easy it would be to burglarize a police officer’s home. Lots of not-so-smart cops have FOP emblems on their license plates or “thin blue line” bumper stickers. All the terrorist has to do is drive through a mall parking lot looking for obvious signs signifying that a cop owns one of the parked cars. The terrorist then casually follows the cop home to find out where he lives. As soon as the house appears unoccupied, the terrorists break in and steal the uniforms. It’s easy to do. If you are a cop, you shouldn’t have any police identifiers on your personal vehicle.
You should also consider that he “uniform” may not be a police or military uniform. How easy is it to get a letter carrier’s uniform? What about a UPS delivery uniform? It’s very easy.
Bank robbers in the town where I once worked wore reflective vests as to help facilitate their crime. The 2022 NYC subway active shooter wore a reflective vest as well. Aren’t those uniforms of a sort?
Additionally, have you considered that emergency vehicles could be considered “uniforms?” In 2019, an active killer in Oslo, Norway stole an ambulance to conduct a vehicle run-down attack. Last month, three Humvees were stolen from a military base in California. How do you think the criminals/terrorists are going to use those vehicles?
What can we do about the problem?
1) Closely scrutinize anyone who is wearing a uniform. Realize that wearing a uniform may be a ruse for a person to get access to secure areas for any number of reasons…espionage, theft, or even placing a bomb. This article is primarily about terrorists using cop uniforms, but a firefighter uniform, a military uniform, or even the uniform stolen from a UPS truck driver will cause you to pause before pulling the trigger. That pause is exactly what the terrorist is looking for.
2) Look for odd behavior. You could be the most diehard cop hater in the world, but you have to admit that people obeying the law generally don’t have to worry about cops just randomly shooting or beating them. You can also assume that cops probably aren’t throwing fragmentation grenades and setting the timers of bombs. If you see a police officer or officers doing something obviously “unpolicelike,” be on your guard.
3) Grooming standards. You should recognize that most police departments in the USA have grooming standards. You don’t generally see cops in uniform with long, poorly- groomed beards or long hair. Cops will also be wearing a complete uniform in most jurisdictions. If a person is wearing a police uniform shirt, blue jeans, and tennis shoes, he might not be a cop.
In most states, potential police candidates must be over 21 years of age to even apply for the job. If the guy in the mismatched cop uniform looks to be 16 years old, something isn’t right. Pay attention to how your local cops dress so that you can recognize any discrepancies you might see. Keep an eye out for suspicious activity around dry cleaning businesses, laundry places, and costume shops. If you see suspicious activity, call the (real) police.
4) Equipment. Look for bulletproof vests as well. Most cops in the USA wear soft body armor under their shirts or an exterior body armor carrier. You can easily see the armor itself or its outline through the shirt. Body armor is harder to steal than uniforms. There’s a good chance that the terrorists won’t be wearing concealed body armor. Hard armor rifle plates in an external plate carrier aren’t normally worn by beat cops. Someone who is wearing a plate carrier as a cop is most likely in a police special assignment (like SWAT). Their plate carriers will have clearly identifiable “POLICE” patches on both front and rear. If the guy shooting at you is wearing an unmarked plate carrier, he may not be a cop.
What kind of gun is the person in question carrying? You won’t see many American cops using an AK-style rifle on patrol. Their sidearms will also tend to be full sized Glock, S&W, Sig, or HK pistols. I’ve never seen a uniformed cop in the USA carry a Makarov, Tokarev, or Hi-Point in his holster. Terrorists from the middle east and Africa might screw up this detail. They might mistakenly choose a pistol that they have the most familiarity with (the former soviet block pistols are cheap and readily available in the Middle East) instead of a gun that matches what the local cops carry.
Along with the gun, evaluate the officer’s gun belt. Since police departments usually buy their officers’ gunbelts and accessories, those accessories tend to be somewhat uniform in appearance. If the guy is wearing a leather gunbelt, with an off-brand drop-leg tactical holster and nylon magazine pouches, he’s either working for a screwed up department or he isn’t really a cop. Most police officers’ gear will be of the same material and color as all the items on his belt. Seriously mismatched gear is a danger sign.
Almost all cops will also have a portable radio and a TASER on their belts. If they are working, they need radio communications. Terrorists might forget those details or find it more difficult to acquire a radio than a uniform. A uniformed cop without a radio is a pretty rare sight.
5) Marked cars and multiple officers. If you see a cop, but don’t see a marked police car nearby, the “cop” might be an imposter. Very few agencies use regular foot patrol officers in today’s age. If an officer is assigned to foot patrol, he will most certainly NOT be armed with a long gun. Cops also tend to arrive in large numbers to any serious crime scenes. If there is shooting going on and you don’t see any other cops or hear the sirens of additional responding officers, something is wrong.
Pay attention to the tactics that foreign terrorists use. We will eventually see them here.
Closely scrutinize anyone who is wearing a uniform. Realize that uniform may be a ruse for a person to get access for any number of reasons: espionage, theft, or even placing a bomb.
Finally, if you are a first responder to a terrorist incident, take perimeter control seriously. Make sure you aren’t the one responsible for getting your co-workers killed.
