Former Seattle Police negotiator shares perspective on Alabama hostage situation

There are indications of fight or flight in negotiation situations – when a suspect is holding a hostage and the police have to intervene.

That’s the crisis that played out over seven days in Alabama.

A former Seattle Police Department hostage negotiator, Bruce Wind, told Seattle’s Morning News that a good negotiator knows his tools and when to use them.

Wind says he too noticed in the news conference with police officials in Alabama that they didn’t disclose what they did to get the hostage, a 5-year-old boy, out safely. But he did hear someone call the efforts of the negotiators “fruitless.”

Wind says a term like that isn’t fair to a negotiator. “The hostage did survive.” In an effort like that, part of the negotiators job is to simply stop the hostage-taker from committing more harm to a victim and delaying a threat so that police can determine their tactics and move in.

He knows from first hand experience. Wind once negotiated with a man holding an infant, who was shot by a marksman, just to his side.

“In this case, I was signaling the marksman that I thought something was about to happen.” It had only gone on for 20 or 25 minutes, Wind says. The man was holding his infant son in his arms – the police had originally been called for a domestic dispute.

He knew something was about to happen. As he talked to the man, he saw his muscles tense up, he made indications that he was praying, and his hand around the knife grew tighter.

He started tapping his side to let the marksman know what he saw. “[The marksman] never saw my intent.” He too had seen the signs, and took his shot.

Wind grabbed the baby and ran.

Negotiations, tactics, they change over time. In that particular situation Wind had only been talking to the suspect for less than a half-hour.

In Alabama it was nearly a full week.

Read more:
Relief that child hostage in Alabama is safe