During SHOT, Streamlight gave several of us the new Pocket Mate task light they’re offering.
It is a mini-USB rechargeable, one-and-a-half-inch LED light with both a hook on it and a pocket clip.
The output varies between 45 and 325 lumens – which is impressive when I think back to different lights I used in my cop career. The weight is right at a half-ounce. Depending on the setting chosen, you will get twenty to sixty minutes of use.
Keep this with your keys, in your range bag, clipped to your hat, and you should be able to find what you dropped on the floorboard, tape up your target in low light, or help with dressing out that game animal.
I’m looking forward to using mine in upcoming classes.
Now, as I sit here, I’m reading just how many officers were shot from Friday morning on. Thirteen officers – nine in Phoenix, two officers shot in Maryland, one in New Mexico, and another officer shot in Pennsylvania
There are many reasons this could be happening:
• Constant attacks on law enforcement from all quarters which seems to target the uniformed street cop;
• Lack of command support;
• Deliberate failure to prosecute criminals under the guise of reform;
• Sentencing reform that is removing consequences by either letting the convicted out earlier or never sentencing them to begin with;
All of this has emboldened the violent criminal element across the country.
You’ll note in the weeks ahead the resurrection of some of the articles from the print version of American COP that covered mindset, mental conditioning, and tactics. I hope you’ll use these to apply common sense and vigilance to your daily tasks on duty and off, whether sworn or not.
In the meantime, I ask the working cops here to remember the tenants of the Below 100 program:
• Wear your seatbelt (car crashes are still killing too many of us);
• Wear your vest (there’s no excuse for ever going on the road, the street without armor);
• Watch your speed (yes, when driving and when making decisions, clearing structures, and the like. If you can slow things down, it may well help);
• WIN – What’s Important Now? (Are his hands what I need to worry about? Am I directing traffic and need that reflective vest to be seen?);
As they say, Remember: Complacency Kills!