Recommended Police Use of Force Articles: November 2009

Every couple of weeks I link to the most recent police use of force articles that caught my attention. Right after the link I post a quote, summarize the article, or discuss my thoughts about it.

I have fallen a little behind on these posts. Several are over a month old. I promise I will catch up over this next month.

Tactical Preschool Parts 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 27: Military Field Trip, 28, 29, and 30 by TGace

More tips from the Tactical Preschool series. My favorites of this set are 23 and 27: Military Field Trip. Check out 1-10 and 11-20 also.

Training for the right side vehicle approach by Robert Loughman

Like a bad parent, we dogmatically indoctrinate faulty methodology, reducing our students’ ability to think freely, turning officers into mindless robots with feet made of clay. Ultimately, we cannibalize our young officers and tactical operators, decrying their lack of weapons craft and situational awareness during deadly force encounters, disposing them into the ash bin of public and legal scrutiny.

Perhaps our imperfect solution may be to think out of the square range box. One unique way to accomplish this is to build into firearms training a fluid and flexible, ever-changing firing line. For the earth is not flat…, and on the street… down range does not exist.

An excellent article describing how to train for a gunfight with someone in a vehicle. This is an example of what departments should be doing for firearms training.

Drill that helps you keep your eyes on the suspect by Lt. Dan Marcou

Marcou introduces the tool belt drill. A simple drill that builds muscle memory with the weapons and equipment on your duty belt so that you can keep your attention focused on an external subject like a suspect.

This drill reminded me of a theme that Dr. Bill Lewinski kept reiterating during a seminar: The officers that perform the most effectively during critical incidents have an external focus rather than an internal focus.

Florida sheriff adds realism to range training by Gary Davidson

Another good example of a police training program trying to get out of the square range mentality.

Why should I care about a museum? by Jim Donahue

Remember the last time you were the target of disrespect from some ill-mannered, snot-nosed, dirtbag-in-the-making kid on the street? You might have been called a name or worse. You were treated like their worst enemy.

and

There can be no denying that a chasm has developed between cops and certain segments of our population. In some cases, us guys in uniform have done things to make the situation worse. Whether intentional or not, it has happened.

The police cannot effectively police a society that doesn’t want to be policed. Public support is vital to success in our mission.

Creating a national museum is going to help us regain the public support that we once had.

Everything Donahue writes is laced with passion and this article is no exception. His appeal and arguement is strong. I donated to the museum after I read this and you should too. Click the link to make an online donation to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

The Kung-Fu BS by Phil

Phil responds to an officer that says what many of us have heard, “In 15 years of police work, I’ve never needed any of that Kung Fu bullshit.” Here is a taste of Phil’s response:

There are many lessons of extraordinary value to be learned from persistent training in “Kung Fu Bullshit” that extend well beyond the obvious layer of punches/kicks. The dedication to return, every class, despite pain and fatigue. Loyalty and commitment to your school and your teachers (who, if they are worthy instructors, show similar values in return, and thus provide examples for all students to admire). Discipline and self-control, for this is the foundation of any success–debate me if you will, this is the fundamental solution to everything in life.

DSM Safety Banners: Easily Recognized Identification by Frank Borelli

When I went through some realistic force on force active shooter training, I realized that there is a strong possibility of friendly fire incidents. During the training, the instructors observed that officers wearing a neon colored police traffic vest never got hit by friendly fire. Based on that experience, I advocated police officers should add a traffic vest to their go bag for active shooters.

DSM has manufactured a product that attempts to do the same thing. One advantage of the DSM banners is they are small enough for plainclothes and off duty officers to keep with them.

How your eyes can cast your fate in a firefight and What new gaze pattern findings mean for your training by Force Science

“We are not teaching officers to shoot accurately at the speed of a gunfight before they graduate from academy training,” Lewinski declares. Much more instruction and practice is needed to prepare them to deal with rapidly unfolding, dynamic, high-threat encounters.”

I have seen some of the videos that were made during this research project. Watching them and comparing the gaze patterns of officers who successfully completed the scenario with those officers that didn’t was more instructive than these two articles. Hopefully Force Science will post those videos sometime in the future.

Magpul Facial Recognition Drill by Tgace

This is an interesting twist on scanning drills. One variation I might suggest would be to receive a description of a suspect over the radio and then you have to confront that person out of a crowd in a Reality Based Training scenario.

Doorways are where the truth is told by Trigger Pull

Two more good posts by Trigger Pull.

Like bullets doorways never lie. You probably don’t know what’s waiting for you on the other side, but rest assured if you enter that doorway lazy, with bad tactics, and not ready for the fight, the doorway will sooner or later bite you hard.

The value of outside training by Trigger Pull

The best way to stay ahead of the learning curve is to send your guys to outside training.

For those who haven’t met him already let me introduce Mr. Murphy by Tgace

A nice collection of 114 humorous and true military and police cliches. My favorite is:

6. If it’s stupid but it works, it isn’t stupid.

A Trained Response: Master Response to Violence by Kevin Davis

Trained responses in our tactics, techniques and procedures and especially in our skills for dealing with violent encounters, are not an option. They are indeed the life-blood of how we will react in actual violent encounters.

Opinion: San Jose police don’t deserve Mercury News’ unfair criticism by Joseph McNamara

I love when former law enforcement officials smack around newspaper reporters and editors that misrepresent events. Here is a good example.

The Gallup Poll annually reports on the most trusted of 16 American institutions. In the latest poll, the police were third with a score of 59 percent, newspapers 10th with a score of 25 percent. After viewing the reporting on the San Jose police, it is not hard to understand why newspapers score so low.

Related posts:

1. Recommended Police Use of Force Articles: December 2009 Every couple of weeks I link to the most recent...
2. Recommended Police Use of Force Articles: September 2009 Every couple of weeks we link to the most recent...
3. Recommended Police Use of Force Articles: October 2009 Every couple of weeks we link to the most recent...
4. Recommended Police Use of Force Articles: August 2009 Every couple of weeks we link to the most recent...
5. Recommended Police Use of Force Articles: April 2009 Every couple of weeks we link to articles that we...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.