Prior to a large event, we receive a hard-drive-punishing flow of emailed product press releases. My interest was piqued by a bullet resistant vest company that promised what I thought was a typographical error for their MSRP. I would definitely be paying a visit to the BulletSafe booth at SHOT Show 2014. At the Show, I met Tom Nardone, BulletSafe’s company … [Read more...]
SWAT Attitude
A Few Words on the SWAT Attitude... I have lately been talking with a few SWAT guys about their perspectives of their tactical teams. While I won’t go into politics or particulars, I will say a central theme in my many discussions has revolved around attitude. Not as in Attitude with a capital “I’m a badass SWAT guy, so blah, blah, blah.” Attitude, as it relates to … [Read more...]
Viridian TacLoc Holster
At the Viridian Green Laser Sights booth at SHOT Show 2012, Aaron and I got a look at Viridian’s new TacLoc holster, which is specifically designed to work in conjunction with Viridian handgun-mounted C5, C5L, and X5L green lasers. Viridian Owner Tom Otteson gave us an impromptu demo of the TacLoc holster and their new X5L green laser/light/strobe combo. Thanks, Tom … [Read more...]
Appeals Court Rejects Qualified Immunity in K9 Dog Bite Case
The U. S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit considered an appeal in the Florida case of Edwards vs. Shanley and Lovette (11-11512) that involves the question of whether officers are granted qualified immunity when a Police K9 bites a suspect for five to seven minutes during an arrest. In this incident, Orlando Police Ofc. Justin Lovette initiated a traffic stop on a … [Read more...]
SOG BladeLight Knives
SOG Specialty Knives& Tools attended the SHOT Show this year, and it was on my list of places to visit. I'm glad I did as I got to see all of the new products the company would roll out this year. One of the most interesting new products was the BladeLight series. Typically, a knife with a built-in flashlight is usually a flashlight first with a knife built-in as an … [Read more...]
Armored Mobility Provides Lightweight Level III
Richard, Aaron, and I were meandering around after lunch at 2012 SHOT Show Media Day when we came across the Armored Mobility, Inc (AMI) display. We were able to speak at length with company president Michael Berritto III, who was proud to show us his innovative Mobile Armored Shield (MAS). Quite a few things stood out about this ballistic shield. At NIJ Standard … [Read more...]
Fighting Hallucinogens
Twice in two nights this week, my officers had to fight people who were out of control on hallucinogenic substances. These drugs are a serious cause for concern for law enforcement. In the first instance, an officer rolled up on an unknown situation in the middle of a large intersection. A Good Samaritan was trying to hold down an out-of-control girl who was … [Read more...]
FLIR Debuts Entry Level Thermal Imagers
FLIR Systems, Inc. has released a new line of thermal imagers that are affordable (by thermal imaging standards). The Scout series is initially aimed toward the civilian hunting market, but will branch into the law enforcement and maritime markets this year. I stopped at the FLIR booth here at 2012 SHOT Show and checked out one of their Scout PS24 imagers. This model is an … [Read more...]
SWATSCOPE Surveillance Tool Review
Tony Leonti is the designer of the SWATSCOPE by Micro-Times, LLC. He took time out at his very busy booth at SHOT Show 2012 to give us a tour of his tactical periscope. The SWATSCOPE is a hand held tactical sniper periscope that extends 22 1/2" above the operator and provides a safe view of hostile territory with a 4X to 9X zoom lens. The aluminum body of the scope is … [Read more...]
Coast HP7 Review
Coast Products designs and markets reasonably priced LED flashlights, multi-tools, and pocketknives. I am testing their new HP7 model that has some features I really like in a handheld search light. The HP7 is an LED flashlight with an anodized aluminum barrel, rubber rear switch, and a spot to flood focusing head. The light is larger than most handhelds, measuring 5.54” in … [Read more...]