The Real World Is Multidirectional

In my four decades of teaching firearms to law enforcement, a disturbing trend became evident.  Square range training is already limiting, but agencies limited it further by only moving in one general direction, backward.  When confronted with deadly force, the prevailing mindset was to “move to cover” or “run to cover.” In most cases, that movement was to the rear.  The problem is, without regard to how “safe” and or easy it can be to facilitate, it’s just not real.  The real world is multidirectional, not just about where you are and where you came from.  It is critical to train officers to move in whatever direction provides cover or ends the fight. That may be forward or not at all.  If we only teach rearward movement, we are ignoring the multidirectional world. 

Patterning

Most officers only train when it is required. This makes it critical to pattern real-world responses to force.  Regardless of the level of force, what is taught must relate to their world, not the square range.  Defaulting to what’s the easiest to teach or using “safety” as an excuse to do nothing but stand in a line and qualify is the norm.  While it appears to be getting better, too often, it’s about getting through training but not preparing the students. 

It establishes a singular pattern of response for officers.  If “A” happens, then do “B”.  If everything in life was that easy, no problem, it isn’t.

In fact, “B” just may get you killed, and “C” and “D” may have been a better solution.  Shooting is simple; fighting with a firearm is a whole different story, and if never taught, most will be figuring it out during their first gunfight, and that is never good.

End the Fight!

Once the fight starts, your goal is to end the fight.  Everything else can wait.  What you do and how you do it must end the fight as quickly as possible.  In the case of deadly force, that often means taking actions that will kill someone.  As politically incorrect as that may be, it is reality, and no amount of sensitivity can change it.  Depending on the situation, you may be required to stand there and put rounds on target as quickly as possible at close range.  You may even need to take a step or two forward. 

Up close is messy, but it is better to end it than back up and extend the fight. Or worse, get killed, leaving the threat alive to kill others.

Understand the first move may not involve the gun.  Departments are taking more time to teach “combatives,”  and you may need to go hands-on, not necessarily to disarm, but provide enough time and distance to shoot them. That almost always involves either moving to engage them (forward) or standing your ground. 

Clint Smith was famous for saying, “you don’t get to pick your fight; you just get to decide how to end it.” 

Well, that’s life; if that fight finds you, then having all the tools, training, tactics, and mindset at your disposal is critical. Part of that mindset is understanding it will get ugly. You may get shot, you may die, but if you end the fight, maybe you just saved someone else. There are at least a few well-documented instances where the decision to run got officers shot in the back by suspects who went on to kill more officers. Losing officers is part of the deal, but doing so where it could have been prevented is unconscionable.   

So what to do?

            Training must include movement in every direction and, more importantly, decision-making.  Focus on ending the fight, unharmed if possible, but ending the fight nonetheless.  Getting yourself killed saves no one and protects no one.  Officers learn to make these decisions during force-on-force or similar training methods, but they must be trained.  Fighting for your life with a gun is not “natural;” it is just the opposite. You are training them to ignore instinct and do what works, not what “feels right.”   Force on force is the perfect venue since reality can be at the fore while remaining safe. However, it remains one method; live fire training is also important. 

 Firearms training must allow for more than one decision and require them to be decisive. It is not good enough just to get people qualified.  Real-world fights tend to be measured in seconds, maybe minutes, but not much more.   If you have no idea how to fight, you go to guns.  We found this out in the 1980s when our Sheriff’s Office took away the baton. They had already removed mace, so either you fought them or shot them, and more people were shot than was needed. 

Practice shooting “on the move” and encourage movement in general, but don’t “always” move. Movement should be deliberate, period; nothing you do with a gun should be “automatic.”  It was a huge part of my training for officers and the SWAT team: Move because it is to your advantage; if not, don’t. Sometimes, the best solution is to get that gun on target as fast as possible, maybe from a position of retention, ending the fight immediately. 

Hands-on training is very important. While not everyone will be an MMA fighter, everyone should be able to hold their own. It may not always be easy, but it is important. 

Bottom Line

Options are important, tools are critical, but where only one choice is taught, that’s what will get used.  Please provide them with the tools, train them how to use them, and teach them how to decide what to do in as real an environment as possible. Teaching officers to “run to cover” may just get them shot in the back, saving no one. Sometimes it just sucks to be a cop, but it does not have to be a death sentence. Teaching cops to win is not a bad thing; it should be the only thing!