Hey, hey, hey, hey! Watch out!
[narrator] The backcountry,
a rugged and remote place covering 97% of America,
and filled with wild and unruly offenders
who live by their own rules.
[officer speaking]
[narrator] In these vast rural locations,
it takes a special breed of officers to uphold the law,
serve justice,
and keep backcountry crooks at bay.
-[officer speaking] -[gunshots firing]
-[siren blaring] -[narrator] Backcountry residents
are playing by a whole different set of rules.
Some folks out here have hours of free time...
[children screaming]
[man yelling]
[narrator] ...lofty ambition.
-[woman screaming] -Oh!
[siren blares]
[narrator] ...and just the right amount of screws loose.
[man] Yeah.
[narrator] Across miles of remote terrain,
police have to figure out how to apprehend perps
that are feisty, elusive and quick on their feet.
[officer] Hey!
[Taser crackles]
[narrator] And patrolling the country roadways is no different.
[officer] We've got one rollover.
[narrator] On Highway 89 in Utah,
an officer is responding to help a distressed driver...
[tires screech]
...when he's struck out of nowhere by a skidding vehicle.
He's launched over 30 feet...
...hitting the car like a human pinball.
He broke several bones,
but thanks to the level-headed driver who stayed on the scene,
he got immediate medical attention and recovered.
There's no better way to bomb around the rugged backcountry
than on an ATV.
They're called all-terrain vehicles for a reason.
-[man 1] Whoa! -[man 2] Wow!
[narrator] They're fast...
...and furious.
But one thing to remember,
-no seat belts. -[siren blares]
[siren blares]
[officer] Sprint four-wheeler.
In Arkansas, state police have pulled over an ATV rider
for driving on an unauthorized road.
[officer speaking]
[man speaking]
[narrator] But this four-wheeler decides he isn't sticking around.
[officer speaking]
[narrator] Leading the deputy deep into the woods on an all-terrain race.
[officer speaking]
[narrator] The ATV is faster as it cuts through the trees,
but the sheriff is catching up to this little moonshine Mario Kart.
The backwoods bad boy manages to outmaneuver the officer
and escape through the narrow trees.
[officer speaking]
[narrator] Clutching his precious can of gas,
the off-road offender refuels on the go
and is moving so quickly his hat blows clean off.
He ditches the jug...
...before flooring it into the thick foliage.
[officer speaking]
[sirens continue blaring]
The more remote you are, the less inclined you are
to have a need or want to interact with law enforcement.
The person that you're responding to apprehend
knows that your backup is further away.
He knows that you're it, and if he can deal with you
and dispatch you, or escape from you,
he probably already knows how to survive in the wilderness.
[officer speaking]
[narrator] This ATV assailant was arrested a few hours later
and charged with evading arrest.
Hawaii's backcountry is a dense jungle
eight times the size of New York City,
the perfect cover for a resourceful perp trying to duck the law.
And it's up to Hawaii's Five-0 to catch crooks in these adverse conditions.
[officer speaking]
[narrator] An armed man has been on the run for nearly two days,
evading police in the thick jungle.
But officers believe they're closing in on his location.
[officer] Police Department, come outside, bud.
You have the police surrounded.
Come out with your hands up. Do it now!
We got movement.
They're probably gonna run out the back corner.
Yeah, heard it.
[narrator] Just as they expected, he makes a run for it
and heads straight into the dense and unforgiving rainforest.
[officer] Police! Show me your hands!
Stop right now!
[narrator] The officers split up into two teams and try to corner him.
[officer] Right here.
[narrator] But the rugged terrain makes communication tricky.
And suddenly...
-[gunshot firing] -[officer] Shots fired!
Shot fired!
[narrator] The suspect opens fire.
[officer] Hold. Hold. Hold.
He shot at me from over there.
[breathing heavily]
It came from a southbound direction.
Running towards 27th.
And sounded like shots fired.
This is 915. Copy.
[officer] Scotty, you're good.
[officer on radio]
-[officer] I think they got him. -[officer on radio]
[narrator] One of the teams receives a transmission
that this Jungle Jim has been apprehended...
[officer speaking]
[narrator] ...and start to search for the abandoned firearm
to submit as evidence.
[officer] Let's move up there.
[narrator] But out of nowhere...
[officer speaking]
[narrator] ...the suspect emerges.
[officer] Put your hands up!
[gunshots firing]
-[officer 1] Yeah! I think I was hit. -[officer 2] You okay?
[gunshots firing]
[narrator] Police are pinned down in the thick tree cover
with no idea where the shots are coming from.
-[gunshots firing] -Got him!
-[officer] Put your hands up! -[gunshots firing]
-[officer 1] Yeah! I think I was hit. -[officer 2] You okay?
[narrator] In Puna, Hawaii, police are in pursuit of an armed suspect
in the remote jungle,
when he suddenly opens fire.
[gunshots firing]
One of the cops is struck
as the tree cover makes it impossible to tell
where the shots are coming from.
-[gunshots firing] -[officer 2] He's still shooting!
Up there. Got him.
-Where you hit? Where you hit? -[officer 1] I don't know.
I felt something. I don't know if it's a bullet.
[narrator] And the officers fire back.
[gun shots firing]
[officer] Let me see your hands!
[narrator] They finally get visual confirmation
that the shooter has been disarmed...
[officer speaking]
[narrator] ...but not before the jungle canopy caused chaos.
When the officers split up...
[officer speaking] Stop right now!
[narrator] ...the thick, remote jungle makes radio communications unreliable.
[gunshot fires]
[officer] Shots fired.
[narrator] After the suspect opened fire,
they received a garbled radio transmission
stating the gunman was apprehended.
[officer on radio]
-[officer] I think they got him. -[officer on radio]
[narrator] These troopers think it's safe to lower their guard
and focus on gathering evidence.
[officer] Put your hands up!
[narrator] That's when the chameleon criminal comes out guns blazing.
[gunshots firing]
[officer 1] Yeah! I think I was hit.
[narrator] This officer got lucky.
The bullet somehow struck his Taser holster.
-Close call. -Where you hit?
-[officer 1] I felt something. I don't know if it's a bullet.
It might have been ricochet.
[officer 3 speaking]
Those that live in really remote places can be more self-reliant,
maybe more rugged as far as more physically adapt to the environment.
So it takes certain tactical law enforcement who can adapt to that.
[narrator] The suspect was ultimately killed in the gunfire,
but no officers were injured.
[officer on radio] One to Charlie Four.
[narrator] Even the most routine police work can be an existential threat.
[indistinct radio chatter]
[narrator] In southern Alaska, a state trooper has pulled over
to remove a dead moose from the icy highway,
when out of nowhere...
...an impaired driver slams into the back of the police cruiser,
narrowly missing the officer.
What are the odds?
There's literally no one on the road.
[Dr. Penn] Further up north with the remoteness,
you have lots of threats there that we in urban areas may not even think about.
That involves for our law enforcement to be trained differently,
to be prepared to fight crime differently.
[narrator] In remote locations,
criminals are not the only danger.
[moose grunting]
[tires screeching]
[narrator] This is like a terrifying game of moose Frogger.
This sheriff in Lake Tahoe gets called to the scene
of a grisly breaking and entering.
[bear grunting]
[narrator] Using a rock, he frees this bear
that somehow locked itself in a car while looking for food.
When you get into places that are remote,
-[bear grunting] -...you have to deal with stuff
that the average police officer
would not have to deal with on his worst day.
[narrator] While some animals opt for vehicles...
-[grunts] -...others are looking for a bigger score.
[bear grunts]
[narrator] At a ski resort in Aspen, Colorado,
a black bear has managed to find its way into the kitchen
-in the dead of night. -[loud thud]
And when a security guard investigates the ruckus...
[grunts]
[narrator] ...he gets thrown like a rag doll by the hangry bear.
[grunts]
[narrator] It must have been unsatisfied with the room service.
[bear grunts]
[woman] You guys, this moose is chasing this person.
[narrator] In Anchorage, this rogue moose
is in pursuit of a woman walking her dog.
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! Watch out!
[narrator] The moose catches up to the woman,
rears up and kicks her in the back of the head,
knocking her northern lights out
before police are able to subdue it.
A moose stomp is powerful enough
to break bones and rupture organs.
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! Watch out!
[narrator] This woman had to be taken to the hospital
-to have her head stapled shut... -[woman] Are you okay?
...but has fortunately made a full recovery.
[Dr. Penn] Moose can weigh 2,000 pounds or so,
and they can cause damage and even death.
The officer in remote areas is trained for the wilderness
and trained for the animals that are in that wilderness.
There is a communal aspect that takes place.
[woman] Are you okay?
Looking to prevent and intervene
to ensure that customs are being followed
of respect for the wilderness,
and policing is different there.
[narrator] In Tacoma, Washington,
officers are moving in to free an elk stuck on a swing set.
[officer speaking]
[narrator] Luckily, his bulletproof vest is also antler proof.
[officer speaking]
-[narrator] Aggressive wildlife... -[moose grunts]
isn't the only threat Mother Nature throws at rural first responders.
In the fresh powder of Park City, Utah,
a lone skier is carving the backcountry slopes.
But when he takes a tumble,
-the entire ground falls out from beneath him... -[man grunts]
...trapping him in a skier's worst nightmare,
the frozen hell of a mountainside avalanche.
[man screaming]
[narrator] When cops get a call in the wild backcountry,
they have to be ready for anything...
[grunts]
[narrator] ...even a cute and cuddly teddy.
Now he's never gonna finish making guacamole for his cave warming party.
-[officer 1] You got him? -[officer 2] He got him
[grunts]
[narrator] I wonder if they booked him with teddy theft.
[man 1] Where do you wanna put this thing now?
[officer] Back of the truck. Back of the truck.
[narrator] Don't worry, he managed to post bail.
What are you laughing at?
[narrator] In the remote mountains of Utah,
a backcountry skier is knocked down...
...when an avalanche sweeps him off his feet.
[man grunts]
[narrator] He's carried over 200 feet in less than 10 seconds...
[man grunts]
[screaming]
[narrator] ...and buried alive under 4 feet of snow.
[man speaking]
[screaming]
[rescuer] We got you, buddy. We got you.
We got you, buddy. We're right here.
-[man] All right? -[rescuer] We got you.
-[man] All right? Yeah. -[rescuer] You all good?
-Okay. -[man] I'm all good.
[narrator] Avalanches can weigh up to a million tons.
And this guy was fortunate he wasn't thrown into a tree at 30 miles an hour.
Miraculously, skiers saw his pole sticking up through the snow
and acted quickly to dig him out.
[rescuer] We got you, buddy. We got you.
[narrator] But in more dire circumstances,
it's up to the professionals to step in.
First responders and law enforcement in remote environments
undergo specialized training designed to save lives
in the most difficult to reach places on earth...
Off belay.
[man speaking]
[narrator] ...and one crucial rite of passage
for any potential arctic lifesaver...
...cold water immersion.
[groans]
[Michael] Part of the cold water immersion is to prepare your body
and set yourself up for and know the signs of hypothermia
and know what to do to offset the hypothermia
so you can continue to do your job.
[narrator] First responders endure these brutal conditions
so when the time comes for a life or death rescue...
...they're tough enough to take anything
the unforgiving arctic conditions can dish out.
[man speaking]
[narrator] In the Gulf of Alaska,
a coast guard helicopter has made contact with a sinking fishing vessel
after being overwhelmed by frigid, stormy seas.
[coast guard speaking]
[narrator] The four-man crew has no way to escape,
leaving the coast guard with a matter of minutes to rescue them
before the ship capsizes,
dragging them under the icy waves.
[coast guard speaking]
[man speaking]
[coast guard speaking]
[narrator] With no other options,
the coast guard sends down a highly-trained rescue swimmer,
-[coast guard speaking] -[man] Perfect. Perfect.
[coast guard speaking]
[narrator] As the guardsman swings towards the boat,
the stranded crew clambers out of the sinking ship.
They battle pummeling waves as they edge across the vessel to meet the rescuer.
[coast guard speaking]
[narrator] The coast guard pulls the crew off the sinking boat
and into an inflatable raft.
[coast guard speaking]
[man] Right, sounds good, sir.
[narrator] Surrounded by 10-foot swells,
one wave could launch them into the boat hull,
ripping apart the inflatable raft
and sending the fishermen and their rescuer to an icy death.
-[coast guard speaking] -[man speaking]
[coast guard speaking]
[man speaking]
[coast guard speaking]
[narrator] One by one the rescue swimmer loads the fishermen into the basket.
-[man speaking] -[coast guard speaking]
[man speaking]
[coast guard speaking]
[narrator] Miraculously, all four crew members were airlifted out safely...
[man speaking]
[narrator] ...as the capsized fishing boat
is swallowed by the sea just seconds later,
First responders in remote locations
are some of the most well prepared in the world to take it all on.
Hey, hey! Watch out!
And they can do what it takes to save your life.
[bear grunting]