Todd Fletcher It’s time to go to the range. You pack up your range bag; you make sure you have your eye and ear protection; you grab your favorite blaster and holster; and then, after checking to ensure you have the rounds to feed it, off to the range you go. After you arrive, you get everything set up and loaded, throw on your eye and ear protection and start hammering away at the same old boring targets you always…
Ed Nowicki The results may be surprising to some. Hollywood has been churning out cop movies from the days of the humorous Keystone Kops silent movies of the 1920s to the “bang bang, shoot ’em up” movies of today. So, what are the best cop movies? Why not go to the inspiration – real or imagined – and ask the cops? After all, you don’t ask football players for the best baseball movies. “The Ten Best Cop Movies” were determined…
Ralph Mroz “There’s more to shooting than shooting” is how I often make the point that there’s much more to armed self-defense for cops – both on- and off-duty – than knowing how to shoot. I will often get nods of agreement in return, but, regrettably, most people continue to think that, if they can hit an eight inch target from five yards in two seconds (without concealment), they are good to go. And, don’t even get me started about…
Stephenie Slahor You have a project or need, but not enough money to fund it. Does that sound familiar? A federal, state, local, corporate, private or foundation grant might finance training, equipment, a project, or a process. To follow are ideas for researching grant applications and sources. It is strongly advised that you do your “homework” because you likely won’t be the only one applying for that grant money. Your application must stand out from the crowd and that’s where…
Lt. John Domingo and John G. Peters, Jr., Ph.D., CTC, CLS ©2017, the authors. A.R.R. When confronting a wildly out of control suspect who is high on drugs or is afflicted with mental illness, the “gold standard” progression for Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) has been to capture, control, restrain, and transport. It is undeniable that the raging person must first be captured, usually by one or more LEOs, before the other phases can take place. However, for decades, LEOs have…
Todd Fletcher Due to the short duration and quick time frames of law enforcement gunfights, officers should train to fight quickly and effectively in condensed time frames. Placing quick, threat stopping hits on target is the core of all gunfighting skills. In order to accomplish this goal, we must train to develop fundamental and practical skills in new officers while continuing to improve the skills of more veteran officers. Once these skills are developed, these officers must be challenged to…
Todd Fletcher There are a number of catchphrases which firearms instructors have been repeating over and over for what seems like an eternity. Regardless of the instructor’s home base, these phrases are generally accepted and repeated throughout the country without a great deal of critical thought. Instead of offering help to our students, the use of these phrases oftentimes contributes to a lack of improvement. From this point forward, I suggest we stop using the following phrases and truly focus…
Kathryn Loving People have stopped talking to each other, and it didn’t happen overnight. Technology has grown so fast that most of us can’t keep up. Suddenly, it’s easier to text, tweet or “like” than talk, yet the absence of human contact and interpersonal relationships leave out a basic psychological need – the need to communicate face-to-face. Police are not immune to this reality and, in fact, law enforcement has had to adapt their methods of communication in order to…
Christa M. Miller What are some of the best practices which commanders can utilize to foster millennial officers’ educational aspirations? It may be an understatement to say that American policing has become exponentially more complex in the decade and a half since 9/11. A greater emphasis on local level homeland security has gone hand in hand with higher demand for better response tactics toward the mentally ill, minority communities and other groups. Agencies need officers who can think their way…
George Petronis Training exercises which utilize realistic scenarios coupled with realistic weaponry provide great potential for positive learning through stress inoculation. The last issue of P&SN called attention to the limitations of traditional “on the line” firearms training in preparing an officer for a lethal encounter. On the line training is irreplaceable for teaching basic gun handling, but it will not prepare you for the physical and emotional stresses of coming under fire. Over the decades, there have been numerous…