Officer Survival

OFFICER SURVIVAL

Officer Survival2022-01-26T11:01:38-08:00

Christmas Stories From Patrol

Coming up on Christmas, I’m reminded of the ones I worked over the years. That got me thinking about good Christmas stories. Two stand out, one of which I’ll share here: a cautionary cop tale that eventually came to be. The others are from friends of mine who are still working the roads or streets. Christmas Tree This Christmas tree was in the driveway on Christmas Eve. Never a good sign. Not long [...]

By |December 19th, 2023|

CARS AND CRASHES | In ‘N Out

By |December 13th, 2022|

I don’t know about you, but I’m sick and tired of cops dying. I hate seeing updates via ODMP.com (Officer Down Memorial Page) every time a cop is killed. In the last decade, I’ve been to 22 funerals. The lion’s share of these has been in the last 7 years, [...]

OFFICER SURVIVAL | Perception

By |December 6th, 2022|

The rain was pouring down on us as we took up positions of cover on the quiet residential street. We’d responded en-masse to deal with a deranged man who’d just stabbed his father — luckily only inflicting minor injuries. The man had then taken every knife in the house and [...]

Avoid Being Complacent

By |December 6th, 2022|

After more than two decades in police work, I sometimes struggle not to get complacent on patrol. After you have conducted thousands of traffic stops and, most of the time, nothing bad has occurred, you may not use as much caution as you once would have. After checking your 500th [...]

SHOOT TO KILL | Explaining Deadly Force Can Be Tricky

By |November 29th, 2022|

This “bad guy” is presenting a very large target, so a center of mass shot would be in order.   Kids can ask the damnedest questions. I’ve stood in front of a variety of tiny urchins in my time and I’ve learned the hard way: you have to [...]

REALITY CHECK II | Tier 1 Training Everyone Deserves It

By |November 1st, 2022|

In military jargon, Tier 1 or Tier 2 often designates the degree of funding a unit receives. The tier number also decides where these people fit in the big picture of real-world application. If the Army has a very qualified unit comprised of the finest of all troops, it would [...]

Qualification Vs. Training – Part 1

By |October 25th, 2022|

Qualify or Train? Is there one of these that a law enforcement agency is legally required to do? If not, what about ethical or moral requirements?   If you said Qualify, well, you would generally be mistaken. The courts have consistently addressed the need for agencies to train their officers [...]

Like a box of chocolates – vehicle stops and approaches

By |September 27th, 2022|

“Life is like a box of chocolate; you never know what you’ll get until you bite into one.”   Whether pro-active policing is still a thing or not, working street cops will make traffic stops. Most of the time, the officer has no idea who is in the vehicle and [...]

DEADLY DEA

By |August 16th, 2022|

As an FBI agent, I was fortunate to be “loaned” to the DEA for three years in a training capacity. My tactical training and survival unit was supervised and populated by some of the finest agents I’ve ever known. Three of its members, Chuck Franklin, Victor Cortez and Frank White [...]

OFFICER SURVIVAL | The Value Of The FTO

By |July 26th, 2022|

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 agencies are under attack and budgets cut, it becomes that much more difficult to recruit [...]

Go to Top