There's no turning back

 

We were treated to an absolutely stunning sunset last evening. I took the vivid display as a sign that the 2014 Writers’ Police Academy is going to be fiery-hot with action and explosive excitement. You know we’re going to burn something, maybe even an entire room and its contents (arson investigation, anyone?). And, of course, we’ll find something to blow up because that’s how we roll. We’re all about the BOOMS and BANGS!

In a few days, less than a week, actually, writers from all across the U.S., Canada, and abroad, will descend on North Carolina like a swarm of hungry locusts— Hmm…perhaps murder of crows would be a more fitting description of this group.

Anyway…

Yes, the WPA weekend is an experience like no other. Actually, it’s three fast-paced days and nights of more fun than any adult should have while in public. Best of all, though, the WPA is packed full of more information than you could possibly absorb in a single weekend. And, we want to introduce you to a side of law enforcement not normally exposed to the general public. For a single weekend, you’ll become part of “the family.” So, welcome.

We’re in a new hotel this year, the Greensboro-High Point Marriott Airport, and we’re excited about the new location. We think you’ll be pleased.

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Marriott lobby

Also new this year is our hard-working staff of volunteers. Believe me, these folks stepped up to the plate and took off running, and they haven’t stopped yet.

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Polly Iyer, Robin Weaver, Ellis Vidler, Linda Lovely, Howard Lewis. Back  – Ashantay Peters

So, this morning Denene and I have begun our own journey to North Carolina. We’re the advance team. It’s our job to be certain all is well and in order before the real team arrives next week.

Are you ready to rock and roll?

Yes, you say…

Fantastic! Hang on, then, because the 2014 WPA wheels are finally in motion, and they can’t be stopped!

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 *I will be off-line most of today.

Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

 

You gave your all to protect and serve us, and for that we are eternally grateful.

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Chief of Police Michael Pimentel, 63

Elmendorf Texas Police Department

August 23, 2014 – Chief Michael Pimentel was shot and killed while conducting a traffic stop. There was a brief struggle with a suspect and the chief was shot numerous times.

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Agent Geniel Amaro-Fantauzzi, 35

Puerto Rico Police Department

August 25, 2014 – Agent Geniel Amaro-Fantauzzi was shot and killed while conducting an investigation at an apartment complex. Another agent was also wounded during the gunfire.

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Constable Cleve Johnson, 57

Titus County Texas Constable’s Office – Precinct 2

August 28, 2014 – Constable Cleve Johnson was killed in an automobile crash when his patrol car left the highway and struck a culvert. He is survived by his wife, two daughters, and two grandchildren.

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*Officer deaths by gunfire are up 45% this year.

Inside small town police dept's

Murder, rape, robbery, abduction, guns, knives, sirens howling through the night, blue lights dancing and flickering across storefront glasses and weather-beaten brick. Officers here. Officers there. Chiefs. Sheriffs. Deputy Chiefs. Patrol cars lined up as far as the eye can see. Motor pools, annexes, sub-stations. A division for this. A division for that. Divisions for art theft. For fraud. For art theft fraud. One for bad checks. Fugitive apprehension. Booking. Transports. Going. Coming. Walking. Running. People talking. People yelling. People crying. Happy. Sad. Screaming. Shots fired!! Over here. There. Around that corner. In the alley, and… And, well, this is a typical day in a large police agency.

Large cities and counties often employ more police officers than the entire populations of some urban locales. For example, the California city of Cupertino, one of the wealthiest cities in the U.S. and home of Apple, Inc., has a population of just over 50,000 residents. New York City’s police force is staffed by nearly 50,000 employees.

Los Angeles County California is home to the world’s largest sheriff’s office. The LASD sheriff and his deputies are responsible for the safety of over 3 million residents, their jails house approximately 20,000 prisoners per day, and they handle everything from patrol to fire watch and everything between.

Small police agencies are also charged with a plethora of duties. However, many small town departments often face challenges a bit outside of the typical law enforcement box. For example, one small town police chief once described himself as a jack of all trades, with duties that included performing mechanical work—new brake shoes and oil changes—on the department’s police cars…both of them.

A town sergeant (equivalent of a chief) was not only responsible for arresting drunks and murderers (if any), he was also personally responsible for reading residential water meters and collecting curbside garbage once each week.

Another small town chief has no physical office, so he uses a desk in a corner of a country store. On a counter beside the arrest and crime reports sits jars of pickled eggs and pig feet.

I’ve visited many small town departments, and they operate just as any other department in the country. Sure, rules and policies may vary, and they often do. But the job is the same. A murder investigation is a murder investigation, whether it takes place in Chicago or in Doodlebop, Idaho.

However, there’s a huge difference between a large law enforcement agency and the small town and county cop shops, and that’s the personal connection between the officers and the residents.

Most small town chiefs and officers know residents by their first names. They know their family members. They went to school together. Their kids play on the same sports teams. Most of all, though, they understand the needs of their communities. They respect their citizens and the citizens respect them.

Speaking of respect, I have a bushel basket filled to the brim with respect for all small town officers and county deputies. Those men and women are quite often out there alone, handling the same types of violence seen in any big city in the country. The difference, though, is that the small town officers sometimes have no back-up. They go it alone, calling on the sheriff’s office or state police to help out in an emergency. And that life-saving help could be an hour away.

Facilities and equipment are also a challenge faced by small agencies. There are no huge sums of tax dollars and reserves to draw on, therefore, local leaders do the best they can with what they’ve got. For example:

Small Town, U.S.A. police chiefs are administrators, but they’re sometimes called upon for patrol duty, including answering calls and running radar.

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The local mayor may serve as a police investigator in a neighboring town.

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Property rooms are sometimes nothing more than a locked closet containing shelving from a local hardware store.

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Security for narcotics, cash, and other valuable items may also come in the form of a hardware store purchase.

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Property room officers may also serve double duty as dispatcher and public information officer.

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A communication officer may serve double duty as cashier for water bills and other municipal responsibilities. Probably some of the few places where citizens pay for dog licenses at a counter equipped with bullet-proof glass.

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Even courtrooms are on a smaller scale. In fact, some serve more than one purpose. For example, the judge’s “bench” may also serve as a desk for the police chief, when court’s not in session.

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Courtroom seating areas also serve as multi-function space—public meetings, community play practice, etc.

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Sometimes, an entire department consists of a staff of only one to three officers, if that many.

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So, please do think of the small town officers, the officers out there working alone where things could go from zero to totally wrong in the blink of an eye.

Imagine being by yourself when you stop a car driven by a known killer, a guy who’ll kill a cop quicker than the officer could say,”Help!”

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Writers, feel free to write small town agencies practically any way you choose. They operate in a world far different than their big city counterparts. Remember, though, the job is the same, but with no immediate help in an emergency situation.

 

 

Prison use of force training

We’ve all seen and heard all sorts of stories involving law enforcement and their use of force tactics and techniques. But what happens AFTER the arrest and conviction? How are prison staff members trained to deal with violent inmates and the permitted use of force against them? Well, here are a few (there are more) interesting training tips straight from the horse’s mouth, a 1996 state manual. My how times have changed over the past two decades.

*Keep in mind that prisons and police agencies do NOT operate under the same standards, code, rules, and law. And, these techniques and training guidelines have changed over the years to reflect modern law and policies. Well, they should have changed…

1. In 1996, some state corrections officers received 2 whole hours of classroom training on Use Of Force. This “lengthy” training period included:

– Applicable case and statutory laws regarding justifiable use of force.

– Liability to the agency when use of force is used.

– Who can be sued.

– Elements of and those necessary for an inmate to file a federal lawsuit.

– The liability of an officer in the event of a prisoner escape.

– Amount and level of force allowable per specific incident.

*Notice how the focus is on lawsuits and how blame is centered around the officers.

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2. Use of Less Than Lethal Force

– Discussion of authorized equipment, such as an officer’s hands, Stinger rounds, electronic control devices, imapct weapons (batons, etc.).

– When lesser means are ineffective.

– Lesser tactics include verbal commands and use of force.

 

3. Weapons Discussions/Classroom Training

– Learn color codes to identify each chemical agent (CS/blue, Smoke/yellow, Tear Gas/red, O.C. – pepper spray – /orange. Practice devices are gray.

– Learn when it’s appropriate to use chemical agents, and the liability involved when doing so.

– Decontamination procedures.

– Where to direct O.C. spray (pepper spray) – A prisoner’s eyes are the primary target, followed by nose and mouth.

– Use of gas masks.

– First aid for O.C./pepper spray exposure = fresh air, cool water, and reassure the inmate with a calming tone of voice.

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4. Hands-on Training

– Officers learn the proper technique for holding and throwing gas grenades.

– Fire gas Guns and shotguns

– Start thermal fogger.

 

But, he only had a knife

 

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It’s doubtful that an officer could draw his weapon and squeeze off a round, without aiming, if a knife-wielding suspect began a charge from a distance of twenty-one feet or less. Suppose the officer did properly assess the threat, managing to draw his weapon and fire. How long would it take to think about and perform those two basic tasks?

In a controlled test, the officer with the quickest response was able to draw his weapon from a security holster in a little under 1.5 seconds. The slowest was a about 2.25 seconds. Sounds pretty fast, huh? Maybe not.

The average suspect can cover the distance (21 feet as seen above) to the officer in as little as 1.5 seconds, nearly a full second quicker than the slowest officer is able to defend himself.

Today, officers must rethink the twenty-one foot rule a bit. Sure, the thug is potentially a deadly threat, but not an actual deadly threat until he makes some sort of hostile movement toward the officer. Of course, the officer should have his firearm in a ready position as soon as he perceives the threat. And this is a situation where the officer should always choose his firearm over a non-lethal weapon, such as a Taser or pepper spray. Remember the the old saying, “Never bring a knife to a gunfight?” Now there’s a new addition to that rule. It’s, “Never bring a Taser to a knife fight.”

The key to knowing when it’s time to shoot is simple. If the officer feels that his life, or the life of an innocent person, is at risk, then the shoot is justified. However, the officer must be prepared to articulate his reasons for pulling the trigger. Was the suspect making stabbing motions while advancing?  Was he charging at, or lunging toward the officer?

There are reasons, too, that may not justify the shoot, such as the suspect being so intoxicated that he couldn’t possibly have followed through with the threat. In short, the threat must be real, or at least perceived as being real in the eyes and mind of the officer. However, if the threat is real and incoming, then there’s no doubt…deadly force is justified.

In addition, the officer must be able to recognize when a threat is over. If the suspect drops his weapon the justification for deadly force ends immediately.

She loathed those boots

I wrote this three years ago, to the day. I’m still not over it.

Here goes…

Nearly twenty years ago, I stopped at a service station/bus stop to fill the gas tank in my unmarked police car. In those days, the department had a contract with a fuel company that allowed us to fill up at various spots throughout the city, and one of those places also served as this particular bus stop.

Rain was coming down in sheets, but I stopped anyway because but I liked to fill my tank when it hit the halfway mark so I wouldn’t be caught short during an emergency.

I was finishing up, placing the nozzle back into its proper spot on the pump, when I saw three young men approaching a waiting bus. Gusty winds blew the rain sideways at times and I was getting soaked. But the men (all three had a sort of homeless look to them—shaggy hair and dirty, well-worn clothes) seemed to be in no big hurry, splashing and tromping through puddles as they made their way across the asphalt, towing tattered, rolling luggage behind them.

One of the guys held a small puppy in his arms. It was obvious by the way he carried the scared pup that he didn’t care about her. And she was filthy. Her white coat was nearly gray and quite matted.

The first two men presented tickets and climbed aboard the bus. But when the third man, the one carrying the dog, attempted to board, the driver said, “You can’t bring that dog on this bus.” So the man looked around a couple of times and then sort of tossed her onto the wet pavement, and climbed aboard. The bus pulled away with a burp of black exhaust.

The pitiful puppy never moved. Instead, she looked confused and simply stood in the rain, shivering. I ran over and scooped her up and she immediately snuggled deep into my arms. So I carried her back to my car, cranked the heat on high, and headed home to tell Denene that we had a house guest. But I promised that we’d only keep her until we could find her a good home. After all, we already had two active-duty police canines living with us, a huge rottweiler and an overgrown lab that was a true sweetheart. We did not have room for a third dog. No way. Wasn’t going to happen.

Well, we fed the little poodle and gave her a drink of water. Then we gave her a name and a permanent home. She was irresistible. Pebbles (I don’t remember how we decided on her name) quickly found a place in our hearts, and she was by our sides day-in and day-out for almost two decades. She tagged along on each of our moves, on a cross-country RV trip, hikes, to the beach…everywhere we went. In fact, we never went anywhere or did anything without her.

And she was actually kind enough to endure our little quirks, like the time we bought her a raincoat and boots for Christmas. She hated to get her feet wet, but she loathed those boots even more. She tolerated the raincoat, though.

Pebbles was at my feet every day during the writing of my book on police procedure. She was my first “listener.” And she even caused a bit of a stir with my editor, who called one day to ask why, in the middle of a paragraph about fingerprinting, did I write,” Do you need to go pee-pee?” Well, at that time I was using voice-activated software and I’d forgotten to switch it off  when I was preparing to take her outside for a break. I guess I missed the odd text when I proofread the chapter.

Denene and I enjoy our dessert around 8pm. Pebbles also enjoyed her own dessert at precisely the same time—four cheese-flavored Goldfish crackers. Not three. Not two. Not five. Exactly and precisely, four. And we’d better not have been a minute later than 8, either, or she’d drive us nuts until we gave her her “fish.”

In the beginning, Pebbles was too frightened to sleep alone, so we allowed her to claim a spot on our bed. You know, until her anxieties passed. Well, you know the name of that tune. She slept with us every single night of her time with us. She had her own tiny pillow and blanket, too. And a cold nose and pointy toenails. She insisted on touching me from time to time during the night, making sure I was there. Or, if she was cold she’d snuggle as close as she could get. Sure, I hated it so much that I’d roll over and put an arm around her until I felt her go back to sleep. Yep, the three of us were as thick as thieves. Best friends. Pals forever. All for one and one for all.

And yesterday, when she suddenly fell ill, we were there when she left us, snuggling close one final time before she closed her eyes and sighed.

And I cannot begin to tell you what a huge hole was left in our hearts. We’ll miss her, always.

Damn, I loved that dog…

Why the heavy fire power?

 

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Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

 

You gave your all to protect and serve us, and for that we are eternally grateful.

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Deputy Sheriff Joseph James Dunn, 33

Cascade County Montana Sheriff’s Office

August 14, 2014 – Deputy Sheriff Joe Dunn was struck and killed by a vehicle that was being pursued by officers. The driver fled the scene but was eventually captured and taken into custody.

Deputy Dunn leaves behind his wife and and two children.

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Sheriff Mark A. Hecker, 53

Butler County Nebraska Sheriff’s Office

August 12, 2014 – Sheriff Mark Hecker suffered a fatal heart attack after struggling with a subject he was attempting to take into emergency protective custody.

Sheriff Hecker leaves behind his six children, five grandchildren, and two brothers.

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Lieutenant Patrick Libertone

Los Angeles County California Sheriff’s Department

August 12, 2014 – Lieutenant Patrick Libertone suffered a fatal heart attack while conducting a traffic stop. He leaves behind his wife and four children.

Reporters who make up S...

A few days ago, Huffington Post columnist Sabrina Siddiqui wrote a story titled When Cops Shoot, They’re Trained To Kill. They Never Shoot To Wound. In this piece, Siddiqui wrote, “ Officers have long been trained to shoot to kill because that is the only way they say they can neutralize a threat.”

In the very next paragraph she quotes John Firman, director of research, programs, and professional services at the International Association of Chiefs of Police, who clearly stated that police officers do not shoot to kill. Firman also went on to explain why officers are also not trained to “shoot to wound,” as I’ve also detailed on this blog and others, many, many times. In fact, just yesterday I posted an article titled Cops Are Not Trained To Kill.

The title of Siddiqui’s article was extremely misleading, was wholly inaccurate, and was quite possibly an attempt to further stoke the fire surrounding the shooting of Michael Brown. I’d rather believe, though, that Ms. Siddiqui, like many people, simply doesn’t know any better. I’m sure she’s never been exposed to these deadly situations and that’s why her opinion is so obviously skewed. And I’m here to help her understand, if, that is, she’s open to learning (I can recommend a great book about police procedure).

Anyway, yesterday, Siddiqui’s story and headline was revised. Apparently someone deep in the bowels of HuffPo realized the story title was basically a false statement. So it was changed to Why Do Cops So Often Shoot To Kill? The rewrite of it and parts of the article were no better, though—fact-twisted at best. A big squiggle of misleading non-truth included the line, “When faced with a perceived threat, why is it that many officers shoot to kill, rather than simply to wound?” Immediately following the new sentence with the same meaning as the old, Siddiqui again quoted John Firman who shoots down (pun intended) the meaning behind the author’s attention-grabbing headline.

In a possible attempt to further sensationalize police-involved shootings, Ms. Siddiqui waded into the recent police shooting of a knife-wielding St. Louis man. This incident, too, has the public outraged because police shot and killed the suspect who threatened their lives. The outcry over the St. Louis shooting is because much of the public feels that officers should have opted for TASERS instead of firearms. Well, TASERS are not for use when the situation calls for deadly force.

As my former mentor, a salty old sheriff’s captain, once told me, “Never bring a knife to a gun fight, son. You’re bound to lose a perfectly good knife.”

*For everyone out there who has no experience with suspects who charge you while pointing the sharp end of a knife at your midsection, I’m including (below) a copy of an article I wrote about how and why police defend themselves against edged weapon attacks.

As a last attempt to fan the race card flames and poke all cops in the eye, Siddiqui wrote this comment, “Studies have found that police officers are more likely to use excessive force toward black men than toward whites.”

A well-written and unbiased story would have included why this occurs, if it does. So, out of professional curiosity, I followed up on Siddiqui’s source for this comment and found it was an article published by an online magazine called New Republic.

New Republic’s stats were obtained from a college experiment where students were exposed to various video situations. The undergraduates pressed a button when they thought a suspect had “the weapon.” Students in the college study consistently thought a black man had the weapon as opposed to a white man.

HOWEVER, when mostly white police officers were brought in to participate in a similar study…well, I’ll quote the article. “According to a comprehensive comparison of police vs. civilian shooting rates published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, training makes an even clearer difference. Though police officers took longer to decide whether to shoot if the person was black, that analysis found trained officers weren’t influenced by race when it actually came to pulling the trigger.”

Not quite the same study result that Siddiqui wrote, is it?

Okay, I’ve rambled enough. Here’s the article on knife-wielding attackers.

Shoot or Not To Shoot: The 21 Foot Rule

As a long-time police academy instructor and instructor trainer for defensive tactics, officer survival, and weapons retention and disarmament, I feel more than qualified to answer a question I’ve seen popping up on a few expert loops in the recent days. The original question was, “What kind of martial arts technique is best to disarm a knife-wielding suspect who is on the attack.? The answer is quite simple. There is no foolproof technique. The suspect has initiated deadly force and that force must be responded to with the amount of force that’s necessary to stop the threat to the officer’s safety. The officer must defend himself with deadly force, if possible.

There is a long-standing, proven rule that an officer cannot draw, point, and fire his/her weapon if the attacker starts the assault from a distance of 21 away from from the officer (not 25 feet, and not 30 feet), such as in the photo above. We measured this distance to be exactly 21 feet from the attacker’s front foot to the officer’ front foot.

However, if the officer already has his weapon drawn, in the ready position, he’ll be able to effectively fire a round to stop the threat. Remember, officers are taught to shoot center mass, not shoot to kill, or to shoot a weapon from the attacker’s hand. That stuff is for TV.

In the photo above, the officer’s weapon is still in the officer’s holster and he should be contemplating other means of survival, such as running for cover, or preparing to go into a defensive tactics mode – hand-hand combat, with the almost certainty of being cut. I have nasty scars on all five fingers on my right hand, and my head, as proof of this tactic.

In the two photos above the officer would easily be able to stop the threat by firing a round or two.

Now, let’s go back to Sabrina Siddiqui. I think it would be a fantastic idea for each and every one of you to send her a brief email message stating that her story titles are extremely misleading, false, and, well you get the idea. Also, please encourage her to accept my invitation to attend the Writers’ Police Academy. I’d love for her to have the opportunity to see and experience first-hand the things about which she so cluelessly writes. After all, the purpose of the WPA is to educate writers about all things cops and robbers, right?

So here’s my invitation to Sabrina Siddiqui – You are invited, as my guest, to attend the wildly popular Writer’s Police Academy taking place on September 4-7, 2014 in Jamestown, N.C. The WPA is a hands-on event where writers from across the world attend an actual police academy to train and learn about all things cops and robbers in order to bring realism to their stories. I will personally see that you have a spot in the firearms simulation training so you can experience what it’s like to be in an officer’s shoes during an actual shooting or edged weapon situation. The ball is in your court. I look forward to hearing from you. Please contact me, Lee Lofland, at lofland32@msn.com to confirm.

At the very least, it would be a great story – everyone’s favorite authors driving, shooting, handcuffing, investigating murders, and much more.

Here’s Siddiqui’s email address. Please write her today. Right now. Flood her inbox with my invitation to attend the Writers’ Police Academy. I think she needs our help, and we’d love to have her help educate the public. She’s a wonderful writer who could really do the country a lot of good right now.

sabrina.siddiqui@huffingtonpost.com

 *By the way, the title of today’s article was made up s*** to grab your attention. I posted it to prove a point.

Cop's are not trained to kill

We’ve all seen it on TV and in movies, and we’ve read it in books. You know the scene, the one where the good guy draws his trusty six-shooter and shoots the gun from bad guy’s hand. Great skill, huh? Well, it’s darn near impossible shooting is what it is, especially when the good guy is in a stressful situation and must make a split-second decision. Like when his life may be ending at any moment!

First of all, only the best of the best marksmen could come remotely close to shooting with such precise accuracy. It takes a lot of practice to become an expert sharpshooter, and practice is not something many cops have the opportunity to do. Ammunition is expensive. In fact, with shrinking  department budgets many agencies supply only enough rounds for annual mandatory in-service firearms qualification. SWAT teams and other special teams may be allowed extra ammunition for training, but not patrol officers and investigators, the cops on the front lines day in and day out. And there’s the time thing.

Officers work odd, long hours, sometimes for a couple days at a time if they’re working on a particularly time-sensitive case. But they have to sleep sometime. If not, fatigue can be a huge factor in an officer’s reaction time during deadly incidents. Therefore, heading to the range in lieu of grabbing a few hours sleep before working the graveyard shift just ain’t gonna happen.

Police officers are trained to shoot center mass for the purpose of stopping a threat to their lives or the life of another. Nothing else. No hands, feet, fingers, or toes. CENTER MASS ONLY.

In other words, police officers are not trained to wound. AND, they are not trained to kill anyone. Not now, not ever.

Again, police officers are NOT taught/trained to kill! The goal is to stop the immediate threat.

The center mass of a human, the torso, is the largest target on the body. Obviously, the largest target would be the easiest target to hit when having to return fire in a shootout. Taking aim and shooting a suspect in the hand, arm, or leg while dodging bullets as they zip by your ears is simply not practical. At least shooting center mass gives the officer a fighting chance to stay alive.

Hands, arms, and feet are the fastest moving parts of a body, and attempting to hit one greatly decreases the officer’s chances of hitting her target. Actually, hitting anything that’s moving, on purpose, would involve some pretty good shooting. The fact that the officer could also be moving at the time of the shooting further decreases the chance of him hitting a hand or arm.

Now, suppose the officer did manage to wound a suspect’s hand. So what. The bad guy may be so intent on completing his goal of killing the cop that he switches hands to continue firing. Or, a shot in the leg would probably do nothing to deter a suspect who’s intent on killing a cop. How about the shooters who are high on meth? Those folks do some crazy, unexpected things, and wounding them often does little, if anything, to stop them.

I remember a guy who pulled and fired a gun at several police officers and was shot 33 times. He survived. In fact, he continued walking toward the officers.

The shootout I was in with the bank robber is another good example. I shot the suspect 5 times, once in the head and four times in the chest (all were center mass shots—center mass of what I could see). Yet he still got up and made a final charge. A sheriff’s captain and I tackled him during his run at other officers. When we rolled him over he still had the gun in his hand and was pulling the trigger as fast as he could. Thankfully, he’d fired all the rounds and the gun was empty. I can assure you that shooting the robber in the hand or foot was not an option. He was shooting at me and there was no time to take aim at his trigger finger.

What about the rounds that miss the hand and foot targets? I believe the percentage of hitting center mass targets during shootouts is below 20%. So that means at least 80% of the rounds fired are stray bullets floating around occupied neighborhoods and city streets.

The number of missed shots would greatly increase if officers were forced to aim for much smaller targets. Besides, there are large arteries in the arms and legs. A single round to the femoral artery could cause a pretty rapid death. Dead is dead, no matter where the wound is located.

I’ll say it again, no one can know what it’s like unless you’ve been cursed at, hit, slapped, stabbed, cut, spit on, and shot at. No one, but the officer(s) involved in a shooting incident can speak with any authority about how he/she perceives a threat. Even two officers at the same shooting scene could and often do perceive the event(s) differently. But someone sitting at home forming an opinion based on the agenda-based stories they read in the Huff and Blow Post or Fox Not News…no way.

Once more…police officers are NOT trained/taught to kill anyone. Remember this, if you don’t remember anything else you’ve read on this blog in the past six or seven years. Well, that, and the bit about cordite. NO ODOR OF CORDITE in your books!