Trends in Police Training – Part 3
Here are parts One and Two covering the Law Enforcement Education Program presentation at this year's SHOT Show. Good Enough? How good do you have to be? No one will argue that you should not [...]
Trends In Police Training — Part 1
This was the second year that AmericanCop has been a co-sponsor for the Law Enforcement Education Program (LEEP) during the SHOT Show. LEEP is a long-running, law enforcement-centric version of SHOT Show University, focused on [...]
Train To Win The Fight, Not a Contest
One of the most difficult things for police firearms trainers to do is stay focused on practical training. Too often, training is focused on what will win contests. It's one reason why I cringe when [...]
Tactical — Not A Dirty Word
The word "tactical" has been co-opted by the sales industry and has largely lost its meaning. Tactical is not just a word you attach to something to sell; its meaning has driven success for as [...]
Giving Commands
Recently, body-worn camera (BWC) footage from a police department on the West Coast was sent to me. While the sender wanted to discuss something else, the commands given were of interest to me. Or, I [...]
Where Did These Words Hurt You?
Anytime two or more shooters get together, there will be disagreements, discussions, or differences on something, just like with any other group. The discussions between those shooters can be more spirited because of their emotional [...]
Where Are They Taking My Gun? — Post-Shooting Forensics
Whether you work for a department having civilians or sworn in charge of your forensic investigation unit, there are certain common denominators throughout the country. Understandably, no matter what the circumstances of an officer’s shooting [...]
The Significance Of S.H.I.T.T.
Perhaps the most gratifying thing a police supervisor can hear is one of his officers telling another, “Yeah, the sarge really has his shit together,” or any of those other scatological allusions which convey the [...]
It Has Happened Before — Norco
Today, patrol rifles are common in patrol cars. They are routinely issued to patrol, and often, most officers in an agency have a rifle. This was not the case in the 1980s. Back then, most [...]
Making Ready
There was an interesting confluence of events over the weekend. The first was the anniversary of Patrick Rogers' death. A good number of experienced private sector trainers were influenced by Rogers and likely connected to [...]
The Danger of Higher Ready Positions
There’s a balance to maintain between safety and acceptable risk We can agree that there's room for a variety of techniques in firearms training and law enforcement tactics. However, we must also honor fundamental principles. [...]
Target Selection
What targets do you use for practice, qualification, and teaching classes? Does it matter? I believe so. Saying that it doesn’t discount a lot of research, experience, and anatomical factors in defensive shootings. These are [...]
Tactical Anatomy
In recent years, tactical anatomy has had a renaissance. Some instructors are again emphasizing it while integrating it into their coursework. Others (like this author) make it a primary focus. What we have lacked is [...]
Survival Medications: A Review Of Jase Medical Base Case
(Editor’s note – making preparations like these for yourself and your loved ones allows you to be better focused on the task at hand during a widespread disaster or emergency.) In this article, we examine [...]
Triage: Prioritizing Treatment In Mass Casualty Events
Mass casualty incidents (MCIs) are unpredictable events that can result in a large number of injured or ill individuals, overwhelming the capacity of local healthcare systems. In such situations, first responders play a crucial role [...]
Emergency Medical Response Is In Your Hands
In a world where uncertainty is the only certainty, medical emergencies occur without warning. Preparedness can be the difference between life and death. This is where the importance of first aid kits, trauma kits, and [...]
Focusing on Manual Safeties
As a trainer, I work with cops from a wide variety of agencies, and it’s always interesting to me when students from diverse backgrounds make the same mistakes in training. One example that I see [...]
Shifting From One Side To The Other
Lateral Transitions - No, not Literal. Lateral - moving side to side, sideways. Why? Two-fold. 1st, BadGuys move. Few people will stand there and not move once gunshots begin to be fired. You see it [...]
On Target: Reading Wind and Trajectory
Understanding the impact of wind on a projectile's trajectory is crucial for precision shooting. Trajectory refers to the path that a projectile or object follows through space because of external forces acting upon it. For [...]
Dry Practicing Safely
It's good to see that there is a solid consensus on the importance of dry practice. Trainers of all backgrounds are recommending it to their students. There is a lot of discussion about what to [...]