Mike Boyle
Those of us who have been in the law enforcement field for 30 or more years continue to marvel at the tools readily available to today’s line officers. This is particularly true of firearms and related gear.
Back in the day, I was issued a six-shot revolver and my Sam Browne belt contained a pair of dump pouches, a hickory stick and a set of handcuffs. Body armor was not an issued item and our shoulder weapons – mostly shotguns – were personally owned. Contemporary officers would absolutely consider our gear grossly inadequate, but, nonetheless, we got the job done and never gave it a second thought.
If an officer from the 1970s could have somehow teleported himself to the present time, he would have been in awe of the evolution of police weaponry. Revolvers have given way to autopistols. Patrol rifles have pushed shotguns to the back burner and have given officers a very decisive tool for close quarters problems, as well as the ability to reach out to far greater distances than a pistol or shotgun. Security holsters, red dot optics, lasers, weapon mounted lights, and much improved ammunition round out the picture.
But, from an officer safety perspective, are we really better off? Although the number of officers feloniously slain in the line of duty has dropped since the 1970s, it is not for lack of trying on the part of the bad guys. What about officer performance in deadly force situations? That remains a mixed bag and, although we seem to be making progress, there is still a long way to go.
No Free Lunch
I will confess to being as much of a gearhead as the next guy, but I tread very carefully when selecting equipment which I or others may have to use in a worst-case scenario. Exactly how is this new widget better? Does it correct deficiencies in what has come before? Will it somehow enhance user performance?
A trend I have noted among many law enforcement agencies is that the quick fix to a problem is to throw money at it and hopefully it will go away. The harsh reality is very often it’s not the hardware side of the equation, but the software side which needs to be addressed.
Some years ago, I received a phone call from the lead trainer of another agency who told me his outfit was swapping off their traditional pump-action shotguns for a state-of-the-art autoloader. A short time before our conversation, one of their officers had been involved in a blue on blue shooting and it was felt that an upgrade in weaponry would have made a difference. When I asked exactly what they were going to do differently in their training considering the manual of arms was more complicated, I knew I had struck a bad chord. Better gear may indeed help the cause, but only supported by a thorough and comprehensive training program.
I recognize that training can be very expensive when you consider the cost of ammunition, support equipment, an officer’s time, paying outside contract instructors, or renting a training facility. But, unless you are willing to commit to proper training to get officers up to speed with the new gear, you’re only spinning your wheels.
Good training makes a huge difference. As we all know, rifles have pretty much replaced traditional shotguns as the shoulder weapon of choice for patrol officers. One of my training associates ran his troops through an intense, multiday training program when his outfit purchased rifles for all of their officers. A very short time later, an officer who was not one of their better shooters responded to an incident where an armed assailant was some 80 yards away. One shot solved the problem. Did training make a difference? It absolutely did.
Over the last few years, the gear in everyday use by patrol officers has evolved at a rapid clip. In the not so distant past, semiauto rifles, lasers, weapon mounted lights, external body armor carriers, and red dot sights were solely in the domain of SWAT officers. But, now, all of that has changed. Let’s take a quick look at some of these innovations and see if we are moving in the right direction.
Red Dot Sights
No doubt, the hottest ticket in police firearms is miniature red dot sights for handguns. At this point in time, every major manufacturer of pistols used by law enforcement has expanded their line to include variants which will accommodate a red dot sight. This, of course, has caused holster manufacturers to follow suit and duty rigs which will accommodate a red dot equipped pistol are available from Alien Gear, Blackhawk® and Safariland®.
I was not the first kid on the block with a red dot equipped pistol, but I knew that, if I wanted to remain relevant as a trainer, I had to get with the program. Truth be told, my first efforts with a red dot on a pistol were not pretty and I really had to wonder what, if any, value it had for the law enforcement officer. My perspective began to change when I took a course on red dot sights and began to apply what I learned. In short order, I realized there may be something to this whole red dot thing!
To cut right to the chase, shooters who cut their teeth on, and have used iron sights for many years, often struggle when going to a red dot and my experience is hardly unusual. On the other hand, new shooters seem to pick it up a bit faster since they don’t have old habits to break.
I would offer that going from iron sights to a red dot is just as big of a change as when we went from revolvers to autoloading pistols. I don’t suppose there are that many officers today who were on the job when that happened, but it was a huge game changer. Today, there are all sorts of resources and very well credentialed trainers available who can guide you through the process. There is really nothing magic about mastering red dot sights and what it comes down to is getting familiar with the sighting fundamentals and slowly working up to game speed. This simply isn’t going to happen over the course of an afternoon and a really solid program will probably take three days to build officer confidence.
Will a red dot sight make for better shooters? That very well may be, but only if their training is up to the task. In fact, officers not afforded proper training may find their performance suffers. To my thinking, if you can’t make the effort to follow through with some solid training, you are better served with traditional irons. Along similar lines, red dot sights will never win over the hearts and minds of many shooters and I wouldn’t categorize anyone as a Fudd if they prefer to stick with iron sights. At this point in time, my training pistol is red dot equipped, but my concealed carry pistol wears irons and I have no plan to switch anytime soon.
Weapon Mounted Lights
Affixing a weapon mounted light affords the user a great many advantages over a handheld flashlight. Coordinating a handheld light with a pistol can be difficult even in a static, low stress range environment. Affixing a WML to the pistol automatically lines up the light with the muzzle of the gun. Basic operational skills such as drawing from the holster and snapping into a shooting position, reloading, and clearing stoppages are so much easier. When you consider that the majority of police action shootings unfold under less than optimum light conditions, a WML affords a huge advantage. I, for one, am fond of illuminators which also feature a laser aimer in addition to the light.
So, what’s not to like? With a little bit of training, a WML light on your pistol can be a lifesaver. Should you ignore training, that same light can be a huge liability. For example, some officers have not gotten the message that WMLs are a threat management tool and should not be used for routine searching and probing and are a supplement – not a replacement for a handheld light. Training should include transitions from a low threat situation with a handheld flashlight to the WML as the danger factor increases. Using a pistol with a WML for routine searching will inevitably cause the muzzle of the pistol to cover something or somebody it shouldn’t.
Another training issue is switch manipulation. Most WMLs for pistols feature a rocker switch or a button which should be activated with the thumb of the support hand. Using the trigger finger to activate a WML is a recipe for disaster and officers who fall into that bad habit are prime candidates to have a negligent discharge when stress levels run high. Your trigger finger has one job to do and it’s important that training stresses the use of the support hand thumb to activate the light.
WMLs on shoulder weapons also have much to offer. New generation high candela lights can reach out great distances and give an officer a huge advantage in a low light fight. Most WMLs used on rifles, shotguns and SMGs feature an easy to activate pressure switch and officers need to train to a level where light activation becomes intuitive.
Low light training should include dynamic scenarios where officers have to move, use cover and reload. Getting off the square range with predictable phases of fire, and including a dynamic drill or two in the mix, will reinforce both officer skill and confidence they need in order to prevail in a deadly encounter.
Rifles Take the Lead
The concept of the patrol rifle has caught on in a very big way for a lot of reasons. Unlike a shotgun, recoil is a nonissue and you can reach out well beyond practical pistol distance. At closer distances, just about everyone can place hits with far greater precision than with a pistol. Unlike a pump shotgun, there is some continuity between a rifle and pistol in that they are self-loading, magazine fed systems which should speed up the learning curve.
There is no question at all that AR pattern rifles are easy to shoot to an acceptable standard. Unfortunately, it has been my observation that many departments shortchange their officers and, as long as they can meet the minimum marksmanship standard, they are good to go. I am familiar with agencies which have issued rifles to officers with only one day of training, half of which consisted of butt time. To be truly proficient with any weapon system, rifles included, you need to place a heavy emphasis on basic operational skills as well as marksmanship. That just isn’t happening with eight hours of training.
Again, the basics (including qualification) are mastered on the square range. But, once officers have a command of practical marksmanship and basic gun handling, more dynamic exercises should be incorporated into training including movement, use of cover, shooting around vehicles, low light, and two officer tactics. Again, minimum standard will yield minimum results and any advantage afforded by a rifle will be forfeited.
Holster Skills
Duty holsters with multiple levels of retention are widely utilized by uniformed law enforcement professionals and, like other types of critical gear, require training. In my basic classes for new officers, we continue to devote quite a bit of time to holster skills before we move on to live fire. Drills utilized in our in-service training require a fast response from the holster to achieve a satisfactory score and I don’t think this is at all unreasonable. The bad guy already knows what he is going to do and has put his plan into action while you are playing catch-up. When you factor in a little dose of reality, those par time standards on the qualification course begin to seem a little too generous.
Contemporary duty holsters feature multiple levels of retention. The good news is that a practiced hand can release them in a single fluid motion and draw in a very snappy manner. Also, that draw practice can be done off the range (unloaded gun, check it twice) to minimize draw time. Considering that a determined adversary with a contact weapon can close a seven yard gap in about 1.5 seconds might give you some perspective on why a fast, efficient draw stroke is critical.
Can you draw with your support hand? In the event of an injury to the dominant side, the ability to draw with the support hand is critical. External vest carriers have become more popular in recent years and this is yet another hurdle to cross, particularly when combined with a security holster. After practicing this, several officers in my outfit relocated gear affixed to their vest for better weapon access.
Even in the age of Level III security holsters, weapon retention training remains critical. I’m sure many of you have also seen videos of incarcerated criminals practicing gun snatches in the prison yard. Without question, some highly motivated gangbangers have already figured out how to defeat security measures in popular retention holsters. You just better have a Plan B!
Putting the Priorities in Perspective
State-of-the-art gear is indeed important, but it still takes a back seat to mindset, tactics and skill at arms. An upgrade in equipment can make a good shooter better, but poor shooters will not reap any benefit, especially if they aren’t properly trained. If you are in a position to upgrade the equipment your officers use on the job, make sure that proper training is part of the package. Without this critical component, officers may “figure it out,” but it may very well be the wrong way.
Sadly, there are still far too many agencies which are content just letting their officers slide along and only perform training which is minimally required. In an era of time where officers’ actions are constantly under the microscope, this is indeed tragic. If your department’s training comes up short in use-of-force training and the tools you utilize to keep yourself and others safe, you may have to go find it on your own. After all, it’s your life.
Captain Mike Boyle served with the New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife, Bureau of Law Enforcement, and has been an active firearms instructor for more than 30 years. He has been an assistant police academy director and remains active as an academy rangemaster and instructor. Mike has served on the Board of Directors of the International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors (IALEFI) since 1996. He is the architect and coordinator of IALEFI’s Master Instructor Development Program.