Articles - Patrol

Our profession as police officers places us in that special category of first respon­ders. We often respond to accident scenes where community members have, through stupidity or misfortune, tangled with trains or trolley systems. In all cases, the train wins.

Dealing with the unexpected and unusual are two reasons I became a police officer. If I had wanted a dull job, I would have become an accoun­tant. Yet there are just some things even a 13-year veteran of the LAPD is not ready for.

Great strides have been made in police technology over the last 25 years. Advances are evident in almost every area of police work from the collection of evidence to the use of computers in squad cars. But when it comes to training, one law enforce­ment team has drawn from the past to develop a method for controlling vio­lent subjects.

While police recruits and offi­cers spend many hours of training learning physical methods of arrest, little (if any) time is spent discussing how an officer's actions may affect a subject's behav­ior and thought processes. Aware­ness of officer/sub­ject reaction can be thought of as "tactical psycholo­gy." and it is a valuable tool to include in your overall officer safety profile.

John P. Kary's training program, part of American Combatives Inc., differs from more traditional instruction in that its focus is offensive rather than defen­sive. This offensive approach prevents a grap­pling situation over a weapon and instead diverts the attacker's attention to his own survival.

Responding to calls involving violent, incoherent or uncontrollable subjects is never easy.  Unlike rational individuals who can be taken into custody with little more than a show of authority, irrational subjects are extremely unpredictable.

The Orlando PD is fortunate to have such a conscientious field training offi­cer, whose sincerity and attentiveness will go a long way to mold new recruits into officers who know what it means to serve the community. It's a small gesture with big returns.

On Sept. 28, 1989, a fire truck from the Catlett, Calif., Fire Department was struck by an Amtrak passenger train as the truck crossed a rural railroad right-of-way while responding to a vehicle fire. The truck was totally destroyed, and two firefighters aboard were killed.

With 42 states now allowing civil­ians to carry concealed firearms, there is a good chance this man is acting within the law. You will encounter, civilians legally carrying concealed firearms more often today than ever before. How you should respond is largely determined by the behavior of the civilian and the laws in your state.

New York City is full of diverse people and events, but I have never seen it as I did seven years ago. I had recently graduated from the academy and was assigned to a field training unit in midtown Manhattan. Of the 10 months that I spent in that training unit, there are three memories that stand out.