Up Close & Too Personal
Retention Position Work Why Despite what some on the errornet opine, we do get into confrontations at very close distances, under 3-5 yards, and even arm’s length. Many of those end up going to the [...]
Small Unit Tactics for Patrol
principles /prĭn′sə-pəl/ noun A basic truth, law, or assumption. "the principles of democracy." A rule or standard, especially of good behavior. "a man of principle." tactics /tăk′tĭks/ noun The study of the most effective ways [...]
Think About The Hands
Our hands do both good and bad things. On the BadGuy side of the equation, they are what is going to hurt you. Not her eyes, not his feelings. Their hands. They will push, punch, [...]
If The Christmas Tree Is In The Yard
“Sheriff One, Frank 32, code 6 (back-up), there’s a Christmas tree in the front yard!” That was an evening! Street Cop Knowledge Back when I was a baby cop, I finished up my field training [...]
Managing Personal Risk
Expert Witnesses are the people who get to tell the triers of fact why things happened the way they did. Why what you did was reasonable and in line with your training. Or it wasn’t. [...]
Understanding the Terrain – Your Brain
Recently, I had the opportunity to take Understanding the Terrain: An Overview of Brain-Based Tactical Training Design from Dustin Salomon. It is focused on developing training that works better with our brains. The shooting portion [...]
Cop Culture – Where We Fail
Lately, I’ve been reflecting on the shifts happening within modern police culture. As we seem to be emerging from yet another intense anti-law-enforcement cycle, one that drove historic staffing shortages, we now have the opportunity [...]
Communicating Down
I’ll admit “we” get too focused on material things – gear – and training while neglecting fundamental skills. One of which is communication. There are a tremendous number of facets to that. On the radio, [...]
Managing Personal Risk
Expert Witnesses are the people who get to tell the triers of fact why things happened the way they did. Why what you did was reasonable and in line with your training. Or it wasn’t. [...]
Small Unit Tactics for Patrol
principles /prĭn′sə-pəl/ noun A basic truth, law, or assumption. "the principles of democracy." A rule or standard, especially of good behavior. "a man of principle." tactics /tăk′tĭks/ noun The study of the most effective ways [...]
ThunderStick Summit’s Q&A Session
The last weekend of September saw the fourth ThunderStick Summit out at the Staccato Vegas facility in Pahrump, NV. Thunderstick is a yearly three-day event focusing on the defensive use of shotguns. Four years ago, [...]
Increasing Survivability
I spent this past weekend taking Heiho Consulting Group's Applied Defensive Handgun Skills class. To say it was not what many perceive a shooting class to be is an understatement. One example, my round count [...]
Everyday Carry Medical Gear
Snake Staff Systems is a Utah-based company specializing in medical gear for everyday carry (EDC). Now, EDC has come to mean a variety of things, some of which are realistic and others not. In this [...]
Preparing For Medical Emergencies
When I went through the 1st Responder curriculum (a prerequisite for EMT), in 1987, we were taught A-B-C for Airway, Breathing, Circulation. Next was M-A-R-C-H: Massive Hemorrhages, Airway, Respiration, Circulation, and Hypothermia. I can’t recall [...]
Training for the Small Town
Small departments are the norm. How do you provide the ongoing, recurrent training every cop needs? The best number I have seen indicates that there are over 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the country. Police [...]
Stop The Bleed And More Medical Considerations
May is National Stop the Bleed Month. The goal of that program is to get as many people as possible, regardless of where their paycheck comes from, trained to stop death from hemorrhaging (bleeding) caused [...]
Up Close & Too Personal
Retention Position Work Why Despite what some on the errornet opine, we do get into confrontations at very close distances, under 3-5 yards, and even arm’s length. Many of those end up going to the [...]
Patrol Rifle Selection Standards & Stag Arms
Are there measurable standards for law enforcement equipment? Yes. Unfortunately, beyond body armor, their existence is not well known. Some exist only in draft form and are released for comment. One of those is the [...]
Kneeling – One Knee or Two
Last month, we looked at the roll-over prone position. This month, we will take some time to discuss a couple of kneeling positions. Fundamentally, the single-knee and double-knee positions apply the spectrum of firearms. Why [...]
Laying Down On The Job
I get it. Standing upright while shooting makes everything easier. You can move forward, backward, and sideways. Turn around. And lower yourself. Unfortunately, standing upright is not the most stable position. Nor does it radically [...]