What practice should be avoided in darkness to prevent silhouetting your partner?

What practice should be avoided in darkness to prevent silhouetting your partner?

• A. Keeping a flashlight on the second officer
• B. Shining light directly at the suspect
• C. Speaking loudly
• D. Entering without backup

Answer: (A)

In darkness, silhouettes reveal where officers are by creating bright outlines or shapes against the darker surroundings. The best thing to avoid is keeping a flashlight aimed at the other officer, because that light makes that officer pop out while the partner remains silhouetted in shadow. By not lighting the partner directly and instead using lighting that’s off-axis or kept low, you reduce the chance of giving away your team’s positions to a suspect. The other options involve drawing attention to the suspect or safety concerns unrelated to silhouettes, so they don’t address the lighting dynamic that creates silhouettes.

In darkness, silhouettes reveal where officers are by creating bright outlines or shapes against the darker surroundings. The best thing to avoid is keeping a flashlight aimed at the other officer, because that light makes that officer pop out while the partner remains silhouetted in shadow. By not lighting the partner directly and instead using lighting that’s off-axis or kept low, you reduce the chance of giving away your team’s positions to a suspect. The other options involve drawing attention to the suspect or safety concerns unrelated to silhouettes, so they don’t address the lighting dynamic that creates silhouettes.