OFFICER SURVIVAL | The Value Of The FTO
We need good cops now more than ever. Unfortunately, with budgets and the political climate being what they are, it’s getting harder than ever to attract quality people to our line of work. Every time [...]
STREET LEVEL | Not If, But When: Will You Be Ready?
On Aug. 27, 2011, Hurricane Irene made landfall over North Carolina’s Outer Banks and began a trail of destruction stretching all the way to Canada’s eastern seaboard. Irene impacted almost 100 million people, with over [...]
STREET LEVEL | The Moving Shooter: Everybody’s Nightmare — A Sergeant’s Role
Scene 1: Just as you pull up and slam the gear lever into park, 40-50 screaming, sobbing, panicked people pour out of the north double doors of Sunrise Mall, and with them, the unmistakable staccato [...]
Luck of the Draw – First Responder Wellness
By Alicea Reddy “I’m fine.” Ask any Cop how they are doing and that is the answer you will get. Because they are conditioned to turn off normal reactions and emotions in order to do [...]
Home Defense
Given current and emerging threats such as the open U.S. Southern border and crime surges throughout the major cities, law-abiding citizens have a commensurate and justified concern about rising home invasions. What are some recommended [...]
“HOW’S THAT AGAIN?” | A Failure To Communicate
I’m a seasoned, okay, salty 26-year veteran of two major California law enforcement agencies. I’ve worked many aspects of the job — corrections, K-9, narcotics, traffic, auto theft, community policing — the list goes on. [...]
Being Mindful
Have you ever walked into a room on a mission to retrieve something important only to stand there and think, ‘What did I come in here for?” how many times have you held your keys [...]
School Violence
"Sometimes we are responsible not because we are to blame, but because we are the only ones who can change it." [...]
CIVILIAN INVOLVED DEFENSIVE SHOOTINGS | Be Fair, Be Honest and Be Clear
Civilian who uses deadly force may suffer post-shooting trauma and civil litigation, and will most certainly be subjected to widespread, mostly unqualified second-guessing. The civilian usually has no standing legal immunity, and no agency, union [...]
Driving While Shooting – Just Because We Can, Doesn’t Mean We Should
We have seen numerous officers across the country engage in officer-involved shootings (OIS), firing rounds out of their patrol car's windshield. You can explain shooting out of the windshield if your car is either parked [...]
Roka Arms’ Downrange Tab and Training for Off-body Carry
Most of us carry concealed firearms in or on our beltline, whether with a strong side hip holster, inside the waistband, or “appendix-ish” carry. At least one American Cop writer advocates for carrying smaller revolvers [...]
REALITY CHECK II | Plastic Practice
Probably one of the biggest shortcomings of law enforcement is the lack of training or time in the area of firearms. Mainly, it’s due to budgets, manpower and lack of range facilities. Here, I won’t [...]
Dark Angel Medical Direct Action Response Training: Essential Lifesaving Skills
Basic first aid training was once considered sufficient for law enforcement officers. That is no longer the case. When survival is measured in seconds, will you know what to do? Just as we train for [...]
IMMEDIATE CASUALTY CARE IWB SERIES | Essential Trauma Gear Made Practical
Immediate Casualty Care was founded by Jon Grabo, a full-time firefighter and paramedic, to provide training and low-profile gear for private security, on and off duty first responders and the prepared citizen. Jon wanted [...]
A SILENT KILLER | Mitigating Exposure Risks from Lead at Shooting Ranges
The risk of lead poisoning is a very real safety hazard that every agency and officer needs to take heed of and take steps to mitigate. Every shooter does, as well. It’s a hidden [...]
SEAL THE BOX | Treating Sucking Chest Wounds
With an open chest wound, the victim may develop tension pneumothorax. Tension pneumothorax is the second leading cause of preventable trauma deaths on the battlefield. It is the progressive build-up of air within the [...]
Working the Thumb Safety for new 1911/2011 Shooters
It has been interesting to watch the re-invention of STI into Staccato and, simultaneously, see the resurrection of a 1911-style pistol into the police duty-use world. I used a 1911 pistol on patrol and in [...]
Roka Arms’ Downrange Tab and Training for Off-body Carry
Most of us carry concealed firearms in or on our beltline, whether with a strong side hip holster, inside the waistband, or “appendix-ish” carry. At least one American Cop writer advocates for carrying smaller revolvers [...]
See The Threat Or Hear It?:Training for visual stimulus with Reactionary Gap’s Muzzle Flash Simulation System
Do we respond more quickly to an auditory stimulus or a visual one? A significant amount of the research I’ve looked at, including two papers linked at the end of the article, says we respond [...]
STOPPING THE THREAT | Pairing Natural Response with Engagement Method
To incapacitate a threat as quickly as possible, many will agree shot placement is a key factor, accomplishing this with the double tap or controlled pair, (two aimed shots) into a vital area being taught [...]