Train with us now for the day shall come!
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Injury Survival Part 1
Tactics to help a fellow officer or yourself survive serious injury
The gunfight is over. The attacking suspect lies dead on
the pavement, but your partner is badly wounded, leaking blood
profusely. Until EMTs arrive, what can you do, besides administer first
aid, to help this desperate officer survive?
Realizing your response could make a life-or-death difference,
PoliceOne asked five prominent trainers of survival psychology their
advice. And, what would they suggest if you were the injured party,
lying there alone or perhaps surrounded by others who don't know what's
best to do or say?
In this three-part series, these experts offer practical tactics you can use to...read more
Leadership in Executive Protection
What is leadership today? What has happened to the so called leaders of
the industry? Who really makes the decisions that affects the lives of
the people that we protect? Has the profession sold out?
As a former Recon Marine, I make all decisions pertaining to the
daily operations of any protection detail predicated upon two
principles:
1. Accomplish the mission.
2. Look out for the welfare of my men.
Seems pretty easy to me, how do I keep the principal from getting
hurt or embarrassed and how do I keep my team from getting hurt? So far,
my track record is pretty good. I’ve had zero casualties for VIP’s and
zero for my team. I’ve done protection operations in 46 countries. Some
extremely high threat, some nearly zero threat. I have taught protection
in another dozen extremely high threat countries. None of the people
that I have taught have ever had a VIP injured. There have, however,
been some...read more
Study Says Police More Forgetful After Chases or Altercations
Police officers who engage in at least 60 seconds of
intense physical energy while involved in a combative encounter may
suffer memory loss, according to a newly published study in the journal
Psychological Science.
Researchers found that officers chasing down a suspect or engaging in
a physical altercation with someone can often forget details of the
incident, including being unable to identify the suspect from a lineup.
The study’s lead author, Dr. Lorraine Hope, University of Portsmouth,
United Kingdom, said the study’s findings are a “warning” to officers,
police chiefs and even the court system.
“Police officers are often expected to remember in detail who said
what and how many blows were received in the midst of physical struggle
or shortly afterwards,” said Hope. “The results of our tests indicate it
may be very difficult for them to do this.”
The study followed 52 police officers – 42 men and 10 women – in
Winnipeg, Canada, who had been on the job about 8 years. All exercised
regularly and were considered fit and healthy.
The officers were split into two groups; both groups attended...read more
Focus on Training
Training for Deadly Force Encounters
For firearms instructors, it does not suffice to simply
teach fellow law enforcement officers how to shoot. Each officer must
master important fundamentals of marksmanship, such as grip, stance,
sight picture, sight alignment, and trigger control. The duties of
instructors include more than teaching students to hit a bull’s-eye.
Instructors must prepare them to survive deadly force encounters, or, in
other words, to win a gunfight.
Challenges
It is widely recognized that firearms qualification courses do not fully
represent a real-world gunfight. Qualification courses measure
officers’ ability to apply the fundamentals of marksmanship, but with no
one shooting back. Traditional flat-range drills help officers develop
basic weapon handling skills, such as the draw and reloads, some of
which also are tested during qualification courses. Mailboxes,
automobiles, and other props can be positioned on the range to teach
officers to seek and shoot from positions of cover and concealment.
Reactive steel targets, especially dueling trees, can create safe,
simulated “gunfights” in which two officers shoot against each other.
These head-to-head competitions create stress by pushing the officers to
shoot quickly and accurately.
Even more so than these tactics, shoot houses provide one of the best
instruction tools to prepare officers for the threats they will
encounter on duty. A shoot house allows instructors to teach law
enforcement techniques, such as how to...read more
Command and control in tactical environments
The lack of command and control we saw in Mumbai is a classic example
what can happen without a clear mission with objectives to achieve.
Automatic weapons, armored vests, 148,000 rounds of
ammunition, small squad military tactics and a plot to assault and kill
Americans. What foreign terrorist organization could have this type of
resolve to harm Americans? This terrorist cell is currently in Federal
court in downtown Detroit facing charges of plotting to kill Michigan
Law enforcement officers and their not a foreign terrorist organization.
This group is from Michigan and they call themselves the “Hutaree”
which they claim, means Christian warriors.
The plan was to murder a local police officer in an ambush. Then at
the officers funeral they were to attack the police procession in a...read more
Rolling the Dice – Train-the-Trainer
When you instruct, you are responsible for passing along
wisdom – not just information. Engaged cops and cadets are enthusiastic
to learn and become active participants in their own training. To
create productive, memorable, and vibrant classes, an instructor must
continually work on increasing audience participation. A good format
will include group discussions, lectures, guest speakers, case studies,
review games, and other activities. Active learning and audience
participation may require more from...read more
When do unarmed encounters become deadly force?
In teaching officers to control violent individuals, we
need to make some philosophical decisions. First is that an officer’s
life is more important than political correctness or potential
liability. I was in a class recently where the instructor was teaching
the use of an eye gouge when the situation reached the level of deadly
force. He called the technique “ocular displacement,” which sounds more
politically correct than “eye gouge.”
This political correctness has become a joke. If you are in a fight
for your life and cannot get to your weapons, you may be forced to use
an eye gouge. When your life is in jeopardy, are you more likely to
remember the term “eye gouge” or “ocular displacement” — silly question,
yes, but it makes the point. Furthermore, by even calling the technique
“ocular displacement” it could unnecessarily — and incorrectly — lead a
jury and/or the public to believe we’re hiding something.
Secondly, when does an unarmed encounter become deadly force? Most states and jurisdictions define deadly force as:...read more
Beyond the Band-Aid: Making Holes, Plugging Holes
With all the emphasis on making holes, how often do we consider
plugging holes; not just in victims and perps recently ventilated, but
our partners and ourselves?
Many of us pride ourselves on our ability to make holes.
They give out trophies and plaques in the academy for the cadet most
adept at making holes and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Conscientious readers out there will practice regularly and maintain a
high level of skill so that if and when the time comes, they can make
holes straighter and faster than the bad guy who’s trying to put holes
in them.
With all the emphasis on making holes, how often do we consider
plugging holes; not just in victims and perps recently ventilated, but
our partners and ourselves? It’s been fifteen years since the North
Hollywood Bank Robbery, a scene that left dozens of victims lying about
with multiple injuries. As the gun battle raged on, paramedics and EMT’s
were unable to...read more
P1 First Person: The illusion of seeing
Your shift has been quiet to the point of being boring.
You’re driving around, thinking about what you want to do on your days
off, and watching the minutes tick by, one at a time.
The alert tone snaps you out of your driving trance. “Accident with
injuries,” is broadcast, and you realize the address is only a few
blocks away, so you answer up to take the call. You pull up to a stop
sign along the way. You stop; look left, right, and then left once
again. All clear, you start to pull out into the intersection. The sound
of a motorcycle slamming broadside into your patrol car sounds like an
explosion.
You drive a car every day, both on the job and in your personal life.
You know the rules of the road, and you know there is a need to yield
to oncoming traffic. How could you not see...read more
FBI 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment – Emerging Trends
The gang estimates presented in the 2011 National Gang
Threat Assessment (NGTA) represent the collection of data provided by
the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) through the National Drug
Threat Survey, Bureau of Prisons, State Correctional Facilities, and
National Gang Intelligence Center (NGIC) law enforcement partners. An
overview of how these numbers were collected is...read more
