From Familiar To Fatal In One Critical Second
A recent winter was a dark and bitter one for law enforcement, and the freezing cold had little to do with it. In Washington State, still mourning the murders of a Seattle cop on Halloween night and a Pierce County deputy the week before Christmas, four officers were shot to death in a Lakewood coffee shop. All were killed by a determined, lone suspect. In Rochester, New York, the PD was still celebrating an officer’s [...]
Spike Strips – Are They Worth It?
One phrase we see in both criminal and civil proceedings is “officer created danger.” It also appears in the legislative attacks on the Graham standard and other legal precedents that provide policing’s legal framework. Spike strips in their natural state - in a hard plastic case, unused. [...]
Hypocrisy: Hazardous To Your Health
Buckle Up For Safety. Click It Or Ticket. Protected Or Ejected. No matter what clichéd phrase you want to throw out, the message is always clear — seatbelts save lives. Not wearing one has consequences, be they financial or mortal. These are the kinds of missives we relay to the [...]
Code 3 vs. Pursuit Driving: Is There A Difference?
I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty sure most of us became cops so we could drive fast legally. Who can deny the attraction of having droves of people get out of your way while burying the gas pedal into the floor in conjunction with the bright lights a-flashin’ [...]
OFFICER SURVIVAL | What If Grasshoppers Had Machine Guns?
I often flashback to certain past events in my life, like Marine Corps School of Infantry (SOI), circa 1989. I was an 18-year-old Private sitting with the others in my platoon, paying close attention to a crusty old Gunny who was going over the finer points of how to lay [...]
Situational Awareness: Condition Orange At All Times?
My partner and I were working the graveyard shift and had taken a coffee break in a restaurant. We were engaged in an intense discussion about something so important I can’t remember what it was, when from my left side I felt a hand touch my shoulder and voice say, [...]
Street Cop Tactics
Over the years, I’ve watched what’s been written about tactics and their application by cops. I noticed much of the material is geared toward SWAT and specialized units. Perhaps this is because the perception is SWAT needs these tactics more than patrol cops? But by the time SWAT gets there, [...]
THE ARROGANCE OF IGNORANCE | Are You That Good … Or Just Lucky So Far?
There’s an old saying you can’t fix stupid, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep trying. I started pondering that issue the other day, following an interesting discussion I had with an officer. He’s one of those patrol officers I’m pretty sure every department has; the one convinced he’s seen [...]
A SHOOTING STORY | Should I Feel Bad About Not Feeling Bad?
You could see it in his eyes; he was definitely one mean old SOB. The business ends of two Beretta 92F’s and one MP-5 were pointed at him from about 10' away, and yet he seemed contemptuously unconcerned. “The business ends of two Beretta 92F’s and one MP-5 were pointed [...]
DEATH AT WHOSE HANDS?
GOOD AFTERNOON MA’AM! It’s day two of the police academy. I’m the shrink lecturing right after lunch. Great. I have an hour to talk to these shiny young faces about the toll a police career can take on their psyches. How to get their attention? Pop quiz time. “On average, [...]
Killing Our Students
This post is respectfully dedicated to all law enforcement officers killed by other law enforcement officers. May GOD forgive us. I have never used this bully pulpit to promote my personal livelihood of being in the firearms and tactics instruction business. Occasionally, I’ll make reference to something we learned in [...]