Tag Search Result: Officer Safety

From basic training to field training, officers are told, "Watch the suspect's hands." But you are not taught how to do it. Why haven't law enforcement trainers developed an easily understandable method to teach you the specifics of hand-movement awareness? Mike "Ziggy" Siegfried explains how, and shows three scenarios – reaching for a gun, reaching for a knife, and reaching for a wallet to show ID. Also, please view "How to Watch the Hands" for an in-depth article on this topic.

It is imperative that you be able to recognize when suspects are using their hands to access and deploy weapons so you know how to respond. Never bring a control hold to a gun fight.

The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center produced this video, "Shotgun Ammunition: Rounds of Authority" to demonstrate conventional, specialty, and exotic shotgun ammunition. It describes the capabilities and shows the effects of the various rounds on an assortment of substances.

Recent "scientific" studies have shown that officer-involved shootings happen very quickly…DUH! One only needs to talk to any officer who has ever been involved in a shooting to figure that out.

Every year there are newspaper and television accounts of police officers who've made life-threatening mistakes and found themselves being dragged by automobiles. With proper training, mental preparation, and a little common sense, you can avoid many of these scenarios and take your suspects into custody without incident.

Noise is the enemy of communications and tactical awareness. So to improve the performance of law enforcement tactical units and protect the hearing of their highly trained operators, it's time for agencies nationwide to invest in suppressors for the weapons used by their entry teams.

On average, 60,000 officers are assaulted on the job every year. That's an average of 164 per day. The risk level you face on the job makes it important not only to resist complacency and to follow prudent tactics, but also to understand how to ensure that your interactions with suspects are constitutionally justifiable, so that you are never forced to choose between being safe and being sued.

Most attacks on law enforcement officers occur at a range of 10 feet. Are you training for them?

Navigating the dangers of cookers’ “kitchens.”

Most departments forget to train officers for one very dangerous time on the job: the “safe” times, after a suspect has been arrested.

When it comes to apprehending fleeing suspects, understanding the tactics being used by those suspects is as important as understanding the tactics practiced by law enforcement. The criminal element has learned how law enforcement operates and criminals have adjusted their tactics.

Ask risk managers to tell you what causes the majority of vehicular accidents, and they will all sing the same tune: “Backing Up Is Hard To Do.”

As a law enforcement officer, what are the odds that the next person you stop has a concealed weapon within easy reach? Of course the answer depends on the circumstances, but nobody would argue that officers face the potential for harm with every single civilian encounter. The problem is that almost anything on or near a person of interest could conceal a covert weapon.

Departments also need to take steps to prepare their officers to work in and around water.

You can prevent a vehicle attack by taking a sound tactical position.