Archive for Off Duty Concerns
Officer Victim of Arson
Posted by: | CommentsAs if we needed another reminder of officer safety off-duty, a Watkinsville, GA police officer’s truck was torched while he slept in his home. Fortunately, he awoke before the fire engulfed his house.
Pay attention to who is around your home. Invest in motion activated lights. Get a fence and dogs. Take those reasonable steps to protect your family and property, because there are people who would like to visit harm upon you.
Stay safe!
Have gun, have handcuffs
Posted by: | CommentsLong time readers of this site know I am a vocal advocate for carrying a firearm (or two) off duty. An off-duty deputy sheriff demonstrated why this is so important Monday when he stopped a mass stabbing at a store.
The woman was running through a California Target store, stabbing people with two knives she was carrying. An armed off-duty deputy chased and confronted the woman, stopping the attacks.
The incident highlights several points:
- Having a firearm allowed the deputy to respond to the violent attacker.
- Once the deputy was involved, no one else was stabbed.
- The deputy had handcuffs, which allowed him to secure the attacker once he confronted her.
- Some customers thought the deputy was the attacker because they saw him with a firearm.
Moral of the story? Have gun, have handcuffs, and identify yourself clearly to others in the area. I hope the deputy’s department recognizes how many lives he probably saved by having a firearm and getting involved.
Stay safe!
Basics
Posted by: | CommentsBasics. They can be boring to teach and tedious to practice. But, the basics have to be mastered and practiced to enhance your odds in a tough situation. If you think of your training as a pyramid, the basics are the foundation for the skill set. Without strong basics, the structure will collapse under pressure.
Take handgun skills. The basics include trigger control, sight alignment, drawing and safe handling. More advanced skills would include shooting with your non-dominant hand, low light shooting and weapons transition drills. At the very top of the pyramid would be the typical Bruce Willis movie: taping a 92F to your back, jumping off of buildings while firing your MP5 and killing multiple terrorists with one shot. The fact is you can never become proficient in advanced skills if your fundamental skills are lacking. Read More→
PoliceOne Off-Duty Carry Survey: Dismal Results
Posted by: | CommentsPoliceOne did a survey of law enforcement officers and their off-duty carry choices. The results were unfortunately indicative of how complacent a lot of police officers are.
According to the survey, less than half (only 43%) of the respondents always carry a firearm while off-duty. While another 15% “rarely” or “never” carry off duty. I guess this means that less than half of the responding police officers believe that they can encounter a deadly force situation while they are away from the job…a situation in which the lives of their families and their own can hang in the balance. Read More→
Information on H.R. 218: Breaking it Down
Posted by: | CommentsThe Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004, or H.R. 218, allows all sworn all sworn law enforcement officers to carry a concealed firearm, anywhere in the country…or does it? Actually, no. It allows some law enforcement officers to carry in some places, some of the the time. Read More→
SureFire E1B Backup Tactical Flashlight for Plainclothes and Off Duty
Posted by: | CommentsSureFire manufactures high-performance flashlights and tactical gear that helped revolutionize lighting tools and techniques in law enforcement. Following their 
traditions of innovation, SureFire has introduced the E1B Backup flashlight for officers in plainclothes assignments and off-duty carry.
The E1B is very compact: only 4″ long and weighing a mere 2.8 ounces. The flashlight has a reversible clip so it can be carried in a pocket or on a belt with the bezel either up or down depending on your preference. SureFire also designed the E1B with a “melted styling,” meaning there are no knurling or rough edges to snag on clothing when you need it.
Even though the Backup is very compact, it still is extremely powerful. Using a high performance LED, the E1B emits 80 lumens of blinding white light, for up to 1.3 hours on a single lithium 123A battery. Additionally, the E1B flashlight has a secondary light mode of 5 lumens for more mundane tasks like maneuvering through your garage at night. Run time on the low power mode is an outstanding 37 hours.
“We wanted to create a light for our customers that wear a suit every day while making that same product purposeful for a law enforcement officer to wear on their duty belt,” says Matthew Hemenez, Director of Product Management. “The officer could immediately utilize the Backup if a primary light is not available or no longer useful.”
Stay safe!
