Also by Melanie Basich

It's difficult to find a police officer—or a person, for that matter—who doesn't use a smartphone or tablet today. While these ubiquitous devices can be used to communicate, watch movies, and play games, they have also become serious work tools that many officers depend on.

The Altai Gear research and development team set to work creating a lightweight boot that took advantage of SuperFabric's high durability, breathability, stain resistance, and abrasion resistance to benefit law enforcement.

Sgt. Nate Hutchinson braved gunfire to move two injured team members out of harm's way. He suffered four gunshot wounds and endured a lengthy recovery to return to duty.

QuiqLiteX puts out from 20 to 150 lumens for the dual white LED version and from 20 to 75 lumens for the colored  options: tactical red and white, and blue and white.

Two Florida officers pursued an armed robbery suspect. The driver stopped and engaged the two officers, both of whom survived the ensuing gunfight. The assailant did not.

Soft body armor ballistic vest packages are rated levels 1 through 4 by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) based on how much protection from ballistic rounds they are rated to provide. Similarly, armor plates are available in two different types or classes tested and recognized by the NIJ: type 3 and type 4.

Officer Chuck Law of the Stratham (N.H.) Police Department drove his cruiser directly into the line of fire during a barricade situation to evacuate two downed colleagues and get them treatment.

Attic Clear was developed in response to a customer request. It all began when Micro-Times owner and CEO Tony Leonti got a call from Rich Burdick, a lieutenant with the Palm Beach County (Fla.) Sheriff's Office.

Blauer's first foray into footwear brings something new to law enforcement: the BOA technology snowboarders have been using to securely tighten their boots for decades.

Just five years ago, a 200-lumen flashlight was considered amazingly bright. Now, advances in technology have made it possible to increase the power of even small flashlights to emit beyond 500 lumens of light, which is more than enough to illuminate a room and cause temporary blindness in suspects.

On July 25, Sgt. Kristin Shiner was relaxing at home. However, when she heard shots fired near her house, she quickly switched modes and successfully kept an armed neighbor who'd killed a door-to-door salesman from continuing to shoot.

Maine State Trooper Douglas Cropper got a call that an elderly man was driving the wrong way down I-295 in Portland and was headed in his direction. The trooper was prepared to ram the vehicle, but was able to stop it by edging the nose of his patrol car onto the highway, forcing the driver to crash into him.

To capitalize on the explosion of interest in handheld computers, plenty of companies have launched new tablets, including many specifically designed for police work. These devices are still new, but they are expected to have a major impact on public safety technology.

A police K-9 isn't a simple weapon used to attack suspects. At least not anymore. Temperament, sensory ability, and certain natural drives are just some of the considerations. Not just any dog has what it takes to work in law enforcement.