some gems in here. telling 911 what you're wearing is a total gem.
OK. Think that's overboard?
Here's the situation...
Say I'm responding to a residential burg call, or an intruder call. I arrive and wait for at least one more officer to go in with me. I'll make sure a perimeter is set, and then we enter the house. ANY movement outlines a potential target--and yes, we practice this constantly. We are NOT going to kick in the door, unless an emergency exists.
So, dispatch has the homeowner on the line who whispers--"There's someone in the house" and that's it. Let's say that the information includes the fact that the intruder has a gun.
Like I said, we practice--and we can be VERY quiet inside a home. So, we round a corner--and all we see is someone there with a gun in his or her hand--with no other information. Guess what? You'd better be dropping that gun REAL fast, BEFORE we see you. And, you'd better be trying your best to touch the ceiling with both hands and acting like a statue. Anything else can get you shot. Multiple times.
Now, suppose that we have additional information like "The caller states that their (fill in the blank here) has the top floor secured, and is guarding the stairs up to the top floor with a firearm. The person is wearing (fill in the blank), and their name is (fill in the blank). Much better.
We will then clear the rest of the home, including the basement as applicable. We will then call out to you...
"To the people upstairs; this is the police. Are you OK?" If you reply "Yes", we'll ask for names. Hopefully the dispatcher is still on the phone; we'll probably give dispatch a code word to tell to you and ONLY you, and we'll ask for the code word to tell us you're OK.
Identifying yourself is a REALLY good thing. Trust me on that.