Ray Minor is the sales director for ATS Armor, a premier company whose mission is to defend life through the design, manufacturing, and application of the most advanced body armor in the world. In short, they’re in the business of saving lives.

As an expert on Force on Force instruction and on body armor, Ray’s workshop is about ballistic vests and shock plates, as well as shooting a variety of rounds at them to give WPA recruits a first-hand, hands-on experience of live rounds striking an officer’s vest. Ray will also be discussing terminal ballistics and the materials involved. We are extremely grateful that Ray is joining us for the most exciting Writers’ Police Academy we’re ever produced. And when I say exciting, well, be prepared to be BLOWN AWAY!! Well, perhaps that’s a poor choice of words since we do have several live-fire sessions going on throughout the weekend.

Still … you can indeed expect to experience the world of law enforcement at its best and its worst. We’ve added some heart-pounding sessions to the schedule that you’ll not find anywhere else in the world. Yes, writers, we’re taking you even deeper into a cop’s world, to places civilians do not see.

We have helicopters, guns, police cars, K-9’s, handcuffing, explosives, PI’s, TASER training, bloodstain pattern investigations, fire and FIREFIGHTERS, homicide investigation, courtroom testimony, and much, much more.

And thanks to instructors like Ray Minor, you are about to embark on the experience of a lifetime. It is THE writer event of the year!

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Ray with the TASER/Mossberg X12 which shoots the TASER XREP- eXtended Range Electronic Projectile. 

By the way, we now have a couple of spots available, so hurry to sign up before they, too, are gone.

Finally, tonight is the deadline for the Golden Donut Short Story Contest. HURRY! The grand prize is a free registration to the 2017 WPA and the coveted Golden Donut Award.

 

Ah, the search warrant. Many officers can’t wait to go on their first door-kicking, flash-bang-tossing raid. Beats writing traffic tickets, right? After all, what good is all the exhausting and demanding training and fancy equipment if you can’t use it?

Sure, the excitement is there. The adrenaline rush is over the top—from zero to sixty in the blink of an eye. And the danger level … WHOOSH! It’s through the roof and then some, and then add a little more.

But there’s another side to executing a search warrant, a troublesome and sad side that most people don’t see (but your protagonists should and most often don’t), and it’s after the door is breached when officers often encounter a host of unpleasantness, such as:

  •  While pawing through the kitchen drawers you notice an abundance of tiny black pellets. There are more on the counter tops, and on the stove top, especially near a large container of rendered bacon fat that’s used to season food or in lieu of olive and other costly cooking oils. A closer look reveals dozens of teeny-tiny footprints in the container of congealed animal fat, and in thin layer of slippery, slimy grease that’s coating the surface of the range.

Also present are marks indicating the dragging of a rodent’s tail, and more of the black pellets along with obvious chew-marks and tooth prints in the grease and around the edges of the container. A frying pan with remnants of the morning’s scrambled eggs sits on a rear burner. No, that’s not freshly-ground pepper dotting the top of the leftover, dried-up eggs.

Listen carefully and you’ll sometimes hear faint squeals and squeaks coming from inside the walls of the range. You don’t want to get closer, but you do it anyway. Yes, there are indeed baby mice living inside the stove, and they’re crying for their mother. And this is only the first room …

  • A favorite place to hide drugs is in or behind a toilet’s water storage tank. But there’s no bathroom in this house so you continue the search by moving to a bedroom, if that’s what you want to call it. Four walls, a tattered mattress on the floor (no bed frame), and lots and lots of filth and dirty clothes, everywhere. Chicken bones, beer cans and bottles. Yellow-gray sheets that were probably white a few years ago, a clock radio with its guts hanging out of the broken plastic casing, and ROACHES EVERYWHERE. Thousands of them. All sizes, too. On the floor, the bed, the walls, a wooden chair in the corner, the ceiling, in the closet, under your feet, and on YOUR PANTS LEGS!

But the search must go on…

  •  What’s in the white five-gallon bucket in the corner? There’s a dishtowel draped over it, as if they’re hiding something there. So you pull back the cloth and WHAM! You now know the location of the bathroom, and it hasn’t been emptied for days.
  • A malnourished skin-and-bones mixed-breed dog is backed into a corner. Most of the fur is missing from its back and around the head. Its lips are pulled back and a mouthful of plaque-coated teeth are aimed in your direction. A low rumble comes from somewhere deep inside the animal’s throat. There’s no time to call for animal control so you pull out the pepperspray. Never mind that it rarely works on dogs, but you feel better with the can in your hand. You back out and close the door.
  • In the next bedroom you discover five little kids inside playing with a few broken plastic toys—a dump truck, a tractor and, ironically, a battered three-wheeled police car. The oldest one … four, or so.

“Where’s your mommy?”

Five sets of shoulders inch upward.

No shoes. Dirty pants. No shirts. Faces crusted with food and sleep and grime. Lint in their hair.

A rat the size of a squirrel walks nonchalantly across the floor near the baseboard. It disappears into a large hole in the sheetrock. Roaches crawl across the boys’ feet and legs, marching like soldiers on a mission.

No more than five feet from where the kids are seated is a ragged microwave perched on an equally ragged nightstand. An overflowing ashtray. Two empty beer bottles. Drinking glass half full of room-temperature tea. Aluminum foil. Plastic wrap. A glass cookie sheet covered in wax paper. A plastic bag. White powder. Baking soda. And crack cocaine.

Kind of takes the edge off the adrenaline rush, huh?

 

 

“Hey, Sarge,” said Officer Trevor “Curly” Barnes. “Would you do me a favor and see if you can get a clear set of prints from this guy? I’ve tried three times and all I get are smudges. I must be out of practice, or something.”

“You rookies are all alike,” said Sgt. DooRight. “Always wanting somebody to do the dirty work for you.”

“But—”

DooRight dropped a fat ballpoint pen on a mound of open file folders. “But nothing. All you ‘boots’ want to do is bust up fights and harass the whores.” He pushed his lopsided rolling chair away from his desk and placed a bear-paw-size hand on each knee. “Well, paperwork and processing both come with the job.”

“I’m serious, Sarge. I can’t get a good print. I think the guy’s messing with me, or something.”

DooRight sighed and rolled his eyes, his trademark “I don’t want to but will” expression. “All right. Go finish up the paperwork and I’ll take care of the prints and mugshots.” The sergeant pointed a meaty finger at the young officer. “But hurry up and get your ass back down to booking. I get off in thirty minutes and I’ve got plans.”

“That’s right, it’s Thursday night, huh?”

“Yep, Bingo night. And me and the little woman never miss. So, if you ever hope to see a day shift assignment you’d better be back here in ten minutes to take this slimeball off my hands.”

Twenty minutes later, Sergeant DooRight was on the phone to Captain Miller, the shift commander. “That’s right, Captain. The guy doesn’t have any prints. Not a single ridge, whorl … nothing.”

A pause while DooRight listens. Officer Barnes leaned toward his boss, trying to hear the conversation. DooRight waved him away. “No, sir. Not even a freckle,” he said to the captain.

Another pause.

“Nope, not on any finger.” DooRight leaned back in his chair. “All as smooth as a baby’s bottom. Beats everything I’ve ever seen.”

More listening.

“Yes, sir. I checked his toes, too. Nothing there either. Slick as a freshly waxed floor.”

Sergeant DooRight opened a pouch of Redman chew and dug out a golfball-size hunk of shredded black tobacco leaves.

“Nope. Best I can tell he’s not from around here. Says he’s from Sweden and he claims his whole family’s like that. According to him not a one of them has any prints, and I can’t imagine the FBI will accept a card with nothing but black ink smudges. He said his family has a condition called adermatoglyphia. You ever heard of it”

A beat of silence.

“Me either, Captain.”

DooRight shoved the “chew” inside of his mouth, maneuvering it with his tongue until it came to rest between his teeth and cheek. He looked like a hamster after it had filled its mouth full of sunflower seeds.

The sergeant placed a hand over the receiver and turned to Officer Barnes. “I’d better call the little woman to let her know we won’t be playing Bingo tonight, and she ain’t going to be happy. No, sir.”

Credit: Nousbeck et al., The American Journal of Human Genetics (2011)

Adermatoglyphia, or “immigration delay disease” as it’s also known, is an extremely rare and unique condition originally found in members of only four Swiss families. What’s so unique about the condition? Well, for starters, people with adermatoglyphia produce far less hand sweat than the average person. But, perhaps the most startling characteristic is that people with adermatoglyphia do not have fingerprints.

In one instance, a female member of one of the affected families traveled to the U.S. but was delayed by border agents because they couldn’t confirm her identity. Why? No prints to compare.

Until recently, the cause of adermatoglyphia has been a mystery. Now, however, scientists have learned that the affected members of the Swiss families all had a mutation in the gene called Smarcad1. And this mutation is in a version of the gene that is only expressed in skin.

So, all you mystery writers out there…yes, there are people who do not have fingerprints.

Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

 

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Deputy Sheriff David F. Michel, Jr., 50

Jefferson Parish Louisiana Sheriff’s Office

June 22, 2016 – Deputy David F. Michel, Jr. was shot and killed during a pedestrian stop. While speaking with the man, the suspect pulled a handgun from his waistband and began firing. Deputy Michel was shot multiple times and the shooter continued to fire at him after he was down.

Deputy Michel is survived by his wife and father.

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Sergeant Stacey Allen Baumgartner, 39

Patton Village Texas Police Department

June 19, 2016 – Sergeant Stacey Allen Baumgartner was killed during a pursuit when his patrol car was broadsided by an SUV. He is survived by his wife, son, and daughter.

deputy-sheriff-zach-larnerd

Officer Zachary Larnerd, 26

Gainesboro Tennessee Police Department

June 15, 2016 – Officer Zachary Larnerd died as a result of injuries he received in a vehicle crash that occurred in January while responding to a domestic call. His patrol car left the highway, went down an embankment, and then struck a tree, pinning him inside.

Officer Larnerd is survived by his father, the chief of the Gainesboro Police Department.

 

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

There it is, the word sung by Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke in the movie “Mary Poppins.” Now, say it out loud. Or, if you prefer, say it in reverse – dociousaliexpilisticfragicalirupes. Either way, it takes us somewhere between one and two seconds for it to roll off our tongues, give or take a tenth of a second or two. That’s pretty quick, yes?

I suppose I could stop here and let you go about the remainder of your day with this ear worm digging its way into your brain:

It’s supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious

If you say it loud enough, you’ll always sound precocious

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Um diddle, diddle diddle, um diddle ay

Um diddle, diddle diddle, um diddle ay

Um diddle, diddle diddle, um diddle ay

Um diddle, diddle diddle, um diddle ay…

But let’s stick with the time it takes to say that word. For me it’s somewhere between 1.01 seconds and 1.22 seconds, depending upon how quickly I start after clicking the button on the stopwatch.

Now, imagine that you’re a police officer who’s responded to a call where a suspect used a baseball bat to beat his spouse and children. You arrive at the scene and hear yelling, screams, and children crying from inside the home. You knock. No answer. Still more screaming. You force open the door and rush inside where you’re immediately faced with a man pointing a handgun at a badly battered woman. He begins to turn toward you. How do you respond to the threat, and how long does it take to do so?

Well, your body and brain must first of all figure out what’s going on (perception). Then the brain instructs the body to stand by while it analyzes the scenario (okay, he has a gun and I think I’m about to be shot). Next, while the body is still on hold, the brain begins to formulate a plan (I’ve got to do something, and I’d better do it asap). Finally, the brain pokes the body and tells it to go for what it was trained to do—draw pistol, point the business end of it at the threat, insert finger into trigger guard, squeeze trigger.

To give you an idea as to how long it takes a trained police officer to accomplish those steps, let’s revisit Mary Poppins and Bert the chimney sweep, and that wacky word supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Remember, it takes us a little over one second to say the entire word.

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To put this scenario into perspective, a police officer’s quickest reaction time (based on a study of 46 trained officers), when they already know the threat is there, AND, with their finger already on the trigger, is 0.365 seconds. That’s far less than half the very brief time it takes Bert to sing that famous word, and certainly not enough time to stop, draw a weapon from its holster, take aim, yell a bunch of commands, check for passersby, look for accomplices, and, well, you get the idea.

So, when confronted with a potential deadly force situation, officers must perceive/identify the threat, evaluate the situation, develop a plan of action, and then set that plan in motion, and they must do so in the time it takes to say “supercali.” Not even the entire word—about the time it takes to blink.

Go ahead, try it. Blink one time and then think about all the cool things you could accomplish during the time it took to quickly close and open your eyes.

Blink.

During a traffic stop in Arkansas, a passenger in a vehicle shot at officers, killing one. The man fired the first round at the face of one officer. That shot occurred in less than supercali. Actually, it was more like, su-BANG!

The suspect then continued to fire at the other officers on scene, shooting several rounds during our imaginary supercalifragilisticexpialidocious timeframe. The officers were not able to return fire.

How about you? Are you able to make extremely complex decisions in less than a second? How about decisions that involve life or death?

Blink. A suspect just fired a round at you.

I dare say that many of us can’t decide what to select from a fast food menu within that scant time frame.

Blink. Round number two. Have you managed to draw your pistol yet?

Sure, it’s super easy to look back at deadly force incidents and offer opinions as to how they should, or should not have been handled. But only the people who were there at the precise moment the trigger was pulled know the real story. They alone know how they perceived and reacted to the threat to them and/or others.

Again, officers often have less than a second to react, and a lifetime to deal with the decision, if the officer survives the encounter.

SU …

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Guns. Whether you love ’em or hate ’em, they’re here and they’re not going anywhere any time soon. As writers, though, you probably handle them, if only in your minds, more often than the average person. Therefore, it’s a good idea to know what it is you’re trusting your characters to carry and use as part of their crime-fighting tool box. So, to help your heroes sound as if they really know their stuff, here are a dozen not-so-well-known firearm facts.

1. Not all firearms require official registration under the National Firearms Act (NFA). Those that do include machine guns, short-barrel rifles (barrel less than 16? in length) and shotguns (barrel less than 18? in length), silencers, gadget-type firearms (pen and cellphone guns, etc.), *destructive devices, and what ATF calls “any other weapons.”

*Destructive devices include Molotov cocktails, bazookas, anti tank guns (over .50 cal.), and mortars. Interestingly  grenade and rocket launchers that attach to military rifles are not considered to be destructive devices. However, grenades and rockets are listed as destructive devices.

*Any other weapons include Ithaca Auto-Burglar guns, H&R Handy-gun, and cane guns.

Violators caught with a non-registered NFA firearm may be fined not more than $250,000, and imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.

2. Dealers who sell gas masks must be registered with ATF. It takes 4-6 weeks for the agency to process the registration paperwork.

3. Parts or devices that are designed to convert a firearm into a NFA firearm must be registered with ATF.

4. The semi-automatic assault weapon (SAW) ban went into effect on September 13, 1994. The law made it illegal to manufacture or possess SAW’s. The law expired 10 years later on September 13, 2004.

5. The ban on large capacity ammunition feeding devices (magazines, belts, drums, etc.) went into effect on September 13, 1994. It, too, expired 10 years later, on September 13, 2004.

6. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, is in place to instantly determine whether a prospective buyer is eligible to buy firearms or explosives (not a convicted felon or otherwise ineligible). The system is utilized each time someone purchases a firearm from a licensed dealer. NICS is maintained by the FBI. More than 100 million checks have been conducted since the system was initiated. 700,000 of those checks resulted in denials.

7. Muzzleloading cannons are NOT classified as destructive devices.

8. Machine guns may be legally transferred (sold) from one registered owner to another. *Note – the firearms you’ve seen in the news, the ones so often incorrectly referred to as assault weapons, are NOT machine guns.

9. It is illegal to manufacture, import, and/or sell armor-piercing ammunition. However, this law does not apply to those who manufacture and sell armor-piercing ammunition to the government of the United States or any its departments or agencies, or to any state government or any department and/or agency thereof. It is also legal to manufacture and sell armor-piercing ammunition for the purpose of exporting to other countries.

ATF defines armor-piercing ammunition as:

(a) projectile or projectile core which may be used in a handgun and which is constructed entirely (excluding the presence of traces of other substances) from one or a combination of tungsten alloys, steel, iron, brass, bronze, beryllium copper, or depleted uranium; or

(b) a full jacketed projectile larger than .22 caliber designed and intended for use in a handgun and whose jacket has a weight of more than 25 percent of the total weight of the projectile.

10. Brandish – to display all or part a firearm, or make it known a firearm is present, for the purpose of intimidating another. “Cops charged my cousin with brandishing a firearm. He’ll do six months in county for this one. It’s the second time he’s done it.”

11. It is illegal for persons convicted of crimes of violence to purchase or possess body armor.

12. Gun sales to foreign embassies on U.S. soil are considered exports; therefore, typical gun sale paperwork is not required. Instead, dealers need to obtain only one of the following – an official purchase order from the foreign mission, payment from foreign government funds, a written document from the agency head stating the weapons are being purchased by the embassy, not an individual. Standard laws apply to individual parties/diplomats.

Bonus – It is illegal to knowingly sell a gun to anyone who is an unlawful user of or addicted to controlled substances. It is also illegal to knowingly sell a firearm to someone has been adjudicated as a mental defective or has been committed to a mental institution.

*     *     *

I’m goin’ home, gonna load my shotgun
Wait by the door and light a cigarette
If he wants a fight well now he’s got one

I’m gonna show him what little girls are made of
Gunpowder and lead

Miranda Lambert ~ Gunpowder and Lead

 

I’ve been writing this blog for over eight years and I admit that it’s sometimes tough to come up with a new topic each and every day. However, I suppose there’ll always be questions that need answering as long as writers continue to write stories about cops and crime. So … here are a few responses to recent inquiries.

(By the way, I’ve seen each of these used incorrectly in at least one book, or on someone’s blog).

1. Do revolvers eject spent brass with each pull of the trigger?

Answer – No, they do not. Spent brass must be manually ejected. Semi-autos, however, do indeed eject individual empty brass casings each time a round is fired.

2. I heard a stupid thing the other day. Someone told me that thermal imagers can “see” through black garbage bags, allowing officers to identify the contents without opening the bag. This is not true, right?

Answer – This is true.

3. How many locks are on a pair of handcuffs? One or two?

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Answer – Two.

4. Speed Loaders are competition shooters who are extremely skilled at loading their weapons in a very short amount of time, right?

Answer – Read about speed loaders here –  https://leelofland.com/dump-pouches-v-speed-loaders/

5. Isn’t it true that cars almost always explode when hit by gunfire.

Answer – No. In fact, the opposite is more likely to happen … no explosion at all.

6. A writer friend told me that DNA evidence is used to convict defendants in nearly every case. Is she correct?

Answer – DNA is rarely the deciding factor in a criminal case. Sure, it’s nice to have, but it’s not always available.

7. The FBI can take over any case, any time, from local police, so why do the locals bother?

Answer – This couldn’t be further from the truth. The FBI does not have the authority to take over a criminal case. Besides, they have a ton of their own cases to work, which, by the way, does not include murder (as a rule).

8. Do the Kevlar vests worn by officers (or similar types) also stop punctures from knives and other sharp objects.

Answer – No, they’re not designed to stop punctures from knives and other edged weapons. There are, however, vests that do guard against stabbing-type weapons, but they are typically worn by officers who work in prisons and jails.

9. Do cops have to release bad guys if they forget to read them their rights the moment they arrest them?

Answer – No, Miranda is required to be read/recited only when suspects are in custody AND prior to questioning. No questioning = no advisement of Miranda. Some departments may have policies that require Miranda advisement at the time of arrest, but it’s not mandated by law.

10. Are police officers required by law to wear seat belts while operating a police car?

Answer – No, not in all states. In fact, some state laws also allow certain delivery drivers to skip buckling up (USPS letter carriers, for example).

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11. Are all deputy sheriffs sworn police officers?

Answer – No. Normally deputies who work in the jails are not police officers. On the other hand, sheriff’s deputies have far more responsibilities than you may be aware of, such as (click the link below to read about the duties of deputy sheriffs):

DEPUTY SHERIFFS: THEY’RE JUST COPS, RIGHT?

12. Coroners have to be medical doctors, don’t they?

Answer – No, in many areas corners are elected officials who have absolutely no medical training whatsoever. Actually, some California sheriffs also serve as county coroner.

13. Isn’t it true that small town police departments never investigate murder cases?

Answer – All police officers are trained to investigate crimes, and small town officers investigate homicides all the time.

14. Robbery and burglary are synonymous. I mean, they’re the same, right?

Answer – No, robbery and burglary are two entirely different crimes.

Robbery occurs when a crook uses physical force, threat, or intimidation to steal someone’s property. If the robber uses a weapon the crime becomes armed robbery, or aggravated robbery, depending on local law. There is always a victim present during a robbery.

For example, you are walking down the street and a guy brandishes a handgun and demands your money. That’s robbery.

Burglary is an unlawful entry into any building with the intent to commit a crime. Normally, there is no one inside the building when a burglary occurs. No physical breaking and entering is required to commit a burglary. A simple trespass through an open door or window, and the theft of an item or items, is all that’s necessary to meet the requirements to be charged with burglary.

For example, you are out for the night and someone breaks into your home and steals your television. That’s a burglary. Even if you are at home asleep in your bed when the same crime occurs, it’s a burglary because you weren’t actually threatened by anyone.

15. I once read that narcotics dogs are fed small amounts of cocaine at an early age to get them used to the drug. This is cruelty to animals and cops should be arrested for doing it.

Answer – This couldn’t be more false. Dogs are never, not ever, given narcotics of any type. Instead, they’re trained to locate drugs by their scents.

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16. Shotguns and rifles are basically synonymous. I know this because my grandfather had both and used both to hunt wild game.

Answer – False. To read about and see the differences, please go HERE.

17. Has there ever been an escape death row?

Yes, and a great example is the escape of the Briley brothers from Virginia’s death row at the Mecklenburg Correctional Center.

18. Is there a gun that allows officers to shoot around corners?

Answer – Yes, and you can read about CornerShot here https://leelofland.com/corner-shot-who-says-bullets-dont-bend/

19. Cops are definitely trained to aim for arms, legs, and/or to shoot a knife or gun from a suspect’s hand. This I know because I read it on a blog written by a popular activist and she should know.

Answer – Officers are taught to shoot center mass of their target. It is extremely difficult to hit small, moving targets while under duress. Therefore, officers DO NOT shoot hands, legs, elbows, or weapons (well, not on purpose). Your friend’s statement is totally incorrect.

20. Why do officers always shoot to kill? Couldn’t they shoot an arm or leg, or something?

Answer – See #19 above, and … Police officers are NEVER trained to “shoot to kill.” Instead, they’re taught to stop the threat. When the threat no longer exists the shooting stops, if it ever starts. Often, the threat ceases before shots are fired.

Shoot to Kill or to Wound? Here’s the Answer

 

 

Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

 

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Officer Endy Nddiobong Ekpanya, 30

Pearland Texas Police Department

June 12, 2016 – Officer Endy Ekpanya was killed when his patrol car was struck head-on by a drunk driver. He is survived by his daughter and fiancee.

police-officer-michael-katherman

Officer Michael Katherman, 34

San Jose California Police Department

June 14, 2016 – Officer Michael Katherman was killed when a vehicle abruptly turned left in front of his motorcycle, causing a crash. He is survived by his wife and two children

deportation-officer-brian-beliso

Deportation Officer Brian Beliso, 34

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

June 8, 2016 – Officer Brian Beliso suffered a fatal heart attack during a foot pursuit of a fugitive in Redwood City, California. He is survived by his wife and three children.

 

2:02 am—Shooting erupts at Pulse nightclub in Orlando.

2:09 am – Pulse pastes a warning on Facebook.

2:22 am – Shooter calls 911.

5:00 am – Orlando SWAT made entry into the Pulse nightclub.

Three hours passed from the time the Omar Mateen pulled the trigger for the first time until police stormed the building to end the situation. During that time period 49 people were killed and 53 were wounded. Many have questioned why police waited so long to engage the shooter.

After all, studies have shown that in a typical mass-casualty shooting, one person is killed every 15 seconds, and we all know that terrorists aren’t likely to let hostages live. And when terrorist do enter into negotiations, it’s merely an attempt to prolong the situation in order to prolong their time before the media.

Some wonder why this was not treated as all other active shooter scenarios where first-responding police officers are trained to not wait and to rush toward the gunfire to hopefully save lives.

So why did police wait so long? Should they have entered the club sooner?

First, it’s important to understand that no two incidents are the same. The motivation behind each situation varies. Surroundings also play a part in how law enforcements reacts to a given scenario.

In Orlando, police knew a shooting situation was underway, yes, but what set this event apart from a typical active shooting situation (it’s a shame that we’ve seen enough active shooting situations that there is now a “typical”) is that the shooter,  Omar Mateen, was in contact with the media and the police throughout, and what he was telling people was that he had hostages, he was armed with explosives, and that he was loyal to ISIS.

He was a terrorist and ISIS has taken credit for his actions.

During the incident, Mateen posted several comments to social media relating to ISIS and his hatred for the U.S., such as …

“You kill innocent women and children by doing us airstrikes..now taste the Islamic state vengeance.”

And …

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Mateen’s Facebook posts and comments to police and the news media were likely factors in the decision-making process of the police on the scene.

Initially police treated the event as a hostage situation. Protocol typically (there’s that word again) suggests that unless people are being killed officers should slow things down and try to communicate with the suspect. In Orlando, obviously the shooting had stopped, at least for a while, so police settled into “standoff” mode. This stance is often necessary because police do not know what’s going on inside and it’s possible the suspect is ready and waiting for police to rush in without any sort of planned course of action.

Besides, a threat of explosives inside the building would be more than enough cause for police to slow things down to give them time to bring in specialized equipment and personnel.

By the way, the equipment needed for these extremely dangerous situations is the very equipment the federal government has taken away from police. But that’s a topic for another day.

Mateen told police that he’d strapped bombs to four hostages and was placing them in the four corners of the building. Calls from people inside the club confirmed that Mateen was talking about the bombs and that he was preparing to put on an explosive vest.

During the three hours, Mateen made at least 16 phone calls.

So, when the armored vehicle arrived along with the SWAT unit, police crashed into the building where they found the dead and the wounded. Mateen was killed by police. When they approached him they saw a battery pack near his body along with a bag of some sort—indicators of an explosive device and detonator.

We cannot second-guess the actions of police on the scene that night because only they know what they were facing at the time, and it’s obvious there was a possibility of imminent death had they rushed into the building unprepared. Dead officers are of no help to anyone. Had there been explosives, well, the end result could have meant a number of deaths far greater than the already devastating loss of the 49 victims.

Did Orlando police make the right call when they elected to wait? Many armchair detectives and Monday morning quarterbacks say no, or yes. Others, who are experts in hostage situations and terrorism also say yes, or no. And the reason for varying responses is that there is no definitive textbook answer to the question.

Hindsight can provide better answers and ideas, of course, Unfortunately, hindsight is not available in the heat of the moment.

Omar Mateen was a terrorist, and his final word to the people of the U.S. was …

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*I offer my condolences to the family and friends of those who lost loved ones in the Orlando shooting. I can’t begin to imagine your pain. I can only hope that you will find a way to move forward and find some sort of comfort now and in the coming days, months, and years.

And, as always, I offer my support and thanks to the officers and other first responders, and our military, who continue to face danger, risking their lives each and every day so that we can remain free and safe. 

*Please remember that this blog is not the place for arguments about politics, gun control, race issues, and other hot-button topics. However, I do welcome and encourage comments and discussion. We deal in facts here, not emotional responses to current events. The latter is often why I wait a couple of days before addressing some issues.

 

Here’s a list of goodies that’ll help the heroes of your books navigate the plot-twistiness of your latest writing project.

  1. Cotton candy machines were the inspiration for a new type of bullet-resistent material. The “spinning” of assorted polymers, both natural and synthetic, produced a light and tough fabric. The goal—a lighter bulletproof vest. Those of you who’ve worn one of those clunky, hot, and heavy things know how fantastic this discovery truly is. I wonder if they’ll be available in assorted flavors …
  2. Research shows that people/witnesses are able to identify criminals and other individuals by smell. Turns out that our sense of smell is aligned with our emotions, which is directly associated with the hippocampus and the amygdala, the part of the brain that processes those emotions and our memory. A controlled testing produced an accuracy rate of 70%.  Okay, bad guys, no lineup today. Instead, it’s time for a “smell-up.”

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3. Using pump-probe microscopy, scientists are now able to differentiate between individual particles of paint. In other words, they can now use these pump-probe microscopes to accurately pinpoint a car involved in a hit-and-run crash. Of course, they’d need  a sample from the suspect car, but this could be huge. And, it’s also a means to examine priceless artwork without compromising the paintings.

4. Risk Assessment Instruments (RAIs) are one of the tools used by the criminal justice system—correctional officials, parole or probation officers, and prison psychologists—to predict/assess the likelihood that a person who’s committed a crime will reoffend in the future (predicting recidivism). RAIs are often used prior to incarceration for consideration during sentencing, intervention, and mandating rehabilitation programs.

5. A Tel Aviv startup’s face-profiling technology is able to analyze photos and videos to detect terrorists. The technology also has the capability to spot geniuses, extroverts, and criminals. Algorithms used in the technology score individuals according to where they fit into a certain classifiers. For example:

  • A white-collar offender tends to have a low self-esteem, a high IQ and charisma. They’re often anxious, tense, competitive, and ambitious. They are risk-takers and have a dry sense of humor.
  • Terrorists tend to be aggressive thrill seekers who are cruel and psychologically unbalanced. They suffer from mood swings, a sense of inferiority, and little self-confidence.
  • Pedophiles exhibit a high level of anxiety and depression.  They’re introverts who lacks emotion. They also have a tendency of pessimism, low self-esteem, low self image and and they suffer mood swings.
  • Academic Researcher are sequential thinkers with high analytical abilities, tons of ideas zipping through their minds. they’re serious, deep thinkers who’re creative. They possess high concentration abilities, a high mental capacity, and are extremely interested in data and information.

So the reflection you see in the mirror is quite telling, huh?

6. Amino acids within a fingerprint are nearly 100% accurate at determining the sex of the person who left it behind. This is so because females have a higher concentration of amino acids.

7. It’s now possible to determine how long a bloodstain has been on a particular item at a crime scene. It’s also possible to test the blood and determine the approximate age of the person who left the stain (the bleeding suspect).

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8. A research team in Belgium has identified seven compounds found in late stages of decomposition that are unique only to pigs and people. The discovery will be particularly useful in training cadaver dogs.

9. Brainwaves are unique to each person. No two are the same, like our fingerprints. Yes, scientific testing has proven that we each have our very own, personal “brainprint,” and the testing was found to have an accuracy rate of 100%. So, a bad guy might be able to fool a polygraph, beat the fingerprint machines, and swap his DNA with that of another person, but he cannot fool the ERP (event-related brain potentials). ERPs are the non-invasive method of measuring brain activity during cognitive processing, the method used for identifying a person’s brainprint.

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10. Scientists at Western Illinois University have found that by separating the oils and waxes in lipsticks (and then using a second solvent to isolate the remaining residue), they can identify a specific recipe for the lipstick brand and make. The next step, analysis of the molecules by gas chromatography, identifies the unique signature of the cosmetic. Therefore, noir writers, you can now use the lipstick on the cigarette butt or coffee cup as a means to nab the femme fatale du jour.