How Close Is Too Close With a Knife?

A cop nearly learns a real-world lesson from the Tueller Drill. Del Norte Sheriff Release Video of Fatal Police Shooting.

If you don't know what the Tueller drill is, see the link below the embedded video.

Cops responded to a domestic incident. The subject may have been high, or he may have been suffering a mental breakdown. He was going on about how we are living in the matrix. The most important point is that he was armed with a large kitchen knife.

Police who responded to the 911 call on Parkway Drive and Sherwood Lane at about 2:45 p.m. on Aug. 25 reporting a disabled vehicle in the roadway reported arriving to find Anderson, 38, holding a knife and “walking in the traffic lanes.”

The knife was on the ground, but it was very close to the guy. If you watch the bodycam video below, the cops keep taking their eyes off of him. Until he grabs it and runs at one of them. I think that the cop was very lucky that in the end he seemed more determined to stab his wife/girlfriend/whatever she was than stab a cop, because I don't think they could have stopped him if he hadn't veered off.

The article above is from the cop-hating, law-and-order-hating media, so the picture they include makes him look like an angel, and the quotes are about what a great guy he was, right up until he picked up a big-ass kitchen knife and ran at someone like he meant to end them.

Donut Operator (Who describes himself as "a former police officer and SWAT team member and avid PC gamer") has a breakdown of the videos - bodycam video from two officers at the scene - and some thoughts.

This is the video for Knife Wielding Man Nearly Takes Out Officer - Police Shooting Breakdown

As for the Tueller Drill, see this article. The Tueller Drill: Why the 21-foot Rule is Important for Self Defense.

Tueller basically asked how close is too close when it comes to a knife. A man is standing with a knife between 20 and 25 feet away. In that situation, could you draw and fire before the attacker can cut you? Tueller determined that at 21 feet, an attacker could reach the shooter before he could fire; it takes, on average 1.5 seconds for a knife-wielding attacker to cover 21 feet.

Which is why I am sure that if he stayed focused on the first cop he ran toward, he could have done serious damage before he was stopped.