Every couple of weeks we link to the most recent police use of force articles that caught our attention. Right after the link we post a quote, summarize the article, or discuss our thoughts about it.
Dog Brothers Badassery by Tgace
How does one train for “realistic effectiveness” and longevity at the same time?
There is a video featured in this post that can be summed up as ‘Fight Club while armed with clubs’. While the video is interesting and the training realistic, the injuries the participants sustain seem to limit the length of their fighting career. Tom uses this video to kick off a discussion about finding the sweet spot in reality based training.
Police use-of-force cases are too important for snap judgments by Steven D. Strachan, Chief of Police for the City of Kent
All of these things serve to cumulatively bring down the public trust in the courts, the police and the media. It doesn’t help and it doesn’t serve the truth.
This chief of police has written a Seattle Times editorial about the use of deadly force and public trust in the courts, police, and media. In a short piece, he touches on the tactics of defense lawyers to distract attention from the real issues to totally unfounded ones.
Chief Strachan’s article seems like an excellent use of the newspaper to connect with the community. By writing it himself he ensures the message is focused directly where he wants it and builds a personal connection with his public. These are the same reasons why many are touting the benefits of social media like blogs, Facebook, and Twitter. Check out his other article, Four myths that complicate efforts to confront gang violence.
The Elephant in the Room by Ralph Mroz
Mroz talks about two issues he thinks are unrealistic standards, that we are responsible for every round that we fire and that we must confirm the danger to ourselves before we shoot.
Why We Don’t Shoot: The unwritten use of force policy by John Wills
I submit that we operate on the street each day juggling three deadly force policies. The first one is our agency’s official/written policy, the second is our own deadly force policy, and the third, is our agency’s unwritten use of force policy.
Wills shows that the actions of police and city leaders shape how officers actually use deadly force more than written policy. It is an actions speak louder than words message and a little bit of a rant but many officers would agree the theme is right on the money.
Stoppage and Malfunction Clearing: Fix it and Get Into the Fight! by Bank Miller
Miller provides a comprehensive set of videos showing how to resolve pistol malfunctions. I like how his videos show the technique first in slow motion to properly display the action, then in real time by a master to show how fast it can be done.
Frivolous lawsuits against police by Joe the Cop
To put this bluntly, Rakeem is a far better provider in death, as the subject of a lawsuit, than he showed any sign of being as a living, breathing thug.
and
The morale of good, hardworking officers is damaged when they see the town they work for paying out large awards to miscreants who view any arrest, or fight with the cops, as a potential winning lottery ticket.
Joe writes the police blog, Arresting Tales. His good writing and insights have pushed it into my list of top 5 police blogs.
The Importance of Basics by Brian Willis
The high speed, low drag, really cool tactical stuff is simply the basics mastered then applied to real world situations. In order to get to this level we need to master the basics.
Policing Rural America: Gotham City by Pat Novesky
The problem is that knowing all these villains — and the villains knowing us — can lead into traps that affect our tactical decision-making, and those mistakes can get us killed.
Novesky gives several officer safety traps that rural officers can fall into. My experience is that these traps are just as valid for urban cops.
Approach to Breach by Larry L. Beresnoy
It’s the hallmark of SWAT. The high speed low drag conga line of operators all in one line ready for anything that comes there way. But are they really ready? As a tactic, what are the benefits of being in a straight line with limited space between each operator?
Beresnoy gives the modifications his team has made to the traditional breach on high risk warrants.
To access this link you will need a Police One logon for restricted users.
How would you perform in these off-duty active shooter drills? by Chuck Remsberg
Another example of reality based training that reveals how prepared your officers really are for critical incidents.
To access this link you will need a Police One logon for restricted users.
Training Gaps Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 by Brian Willis
As law enforcement trainers it is incumbent upon us to continually examine our training programs and practices to determine what gaps exist.
The four parts of this series focus on three gaps: incomplete training, missing elements, and training that is not reflective of reality. These issues are in most use of force training. Get rid of them and you have one of the best programs in the country.
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