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 should say, how they were given. (Note: this is not a criticism of the officers, I'm using what I heard for a discussion point.) The video showed officers arriving at the scene of a "man with a gun" call in [...]
CIVIL UNREST AND RIOTS
When people think of prisons, one of the images that often first comes to mind is a riot. To be honest, this is not an unrealistic line of thinking because unrest does tend to occur quite a little bit in our correctional facilities on a regular basis. A literal [...]
ADRENALINE DUMP | Flight Or Fight
Those who work in law enforcement and emergency services deal with the almost mystical substance that is known as adrenaline. A lot. Of course, all humans have some experience with this bodily-produced drug, some more than others. Let’s take a look at the effects that it can have on our [...]
Chair Qual: Barricade Skills With A Simple Folding Chair
In many carbine classes shooters are shown several ways to adapt their long gun to cover to make a mid-range hit. This is often exposure to a technique, but without a great way to measure or track performance and subsequently carbineros do not sustain those capabilities to a high degree.
Vehicles Vs. Pedestrians
By Jason Hoschouer According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the first recorded pedestrian traffic fatality occurred on Sept. 13, 1899. Henry H. Bliss, a 68-year-old real estate broker, was knocked down and run over in New York City. He was taken to a local hospital and later [...]
The Traffic Stop
Sovereign Citizens. May 2010, West Memphis, Ark. — Jerry Kane and his son Joe are stopped by West Memphis officers. The stop ends in tragedy when Joe exits the pickup truck and opens fire with an AK-47 on the two officers, killing them both. Joe is 16 years old. The [...]
In ‘N Out
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, [...]
Crashman Explains …
The Accelerometer If you’ve spent any time around accident reconstructionists, you’re familiar with the equation √30df. We tend to geek out when we happen upon some pristine tire friction marks at the scene of a collision (those are skid marks for you uninitiated). The “30” is a constant number people [...]
Professional Courtesy
How Much Is Too Much? Most of us have been pushing our beat car around town when some yahoo screams by at the speed of heat. You feel the familiar adrenaline rush, hit the lights and you’re off to the races. You stop the car, schlep up to the offending [...]
DUI Or Diabetic Emergency?
While on patrol in the middle of the day you respond to a solo vehicle collision. Upon your arrival, you see a man who appears to be unsteady on his feet standing outside of the vehicle. When you ask him if he’s okay, he slurs an answer you don’t quite [...]
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 [...]