August 2011 Issue

When faced with a barricaded suspect, SWAT officers may want to consider using heavy construction equipment to end the incident.

When a gunfight begins you need to end it, period. But many of you have been taught that your first need is to find cover. Which may be teaching you to run away from a fight instead of doing your duty, which is to "run toward the gunfire."

The rash of police murders and assaults this year is small compared to the body count inflicted on cops during the late 1960s and early 1970s. That era's law enforcement blood bath led to the adoption of better police tactics, more comprehensive police training, and the adoption of ballistic armor as standard police equipment.

Motorola Solutions and Verizon are working closely with public safety agencies in Northern California's Bay Area and Harris County, Texas, to build and operate what will likely be the nation's first public safety broadband network on the LTE (Long Term Evolution) platform.

I had the strangest dream the other night. I was a detective on my way to a homicide and my partner was that big guy from "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" who knows everything about everything.

Our legal system is terribly stacked against law enforcement officers and for plaintiff's attorneys. The U.S. code itself specifies how attorney fees will be set in civil rights cases against cops. That's why so many cases are filed against you and the agencies and government entities that employ you. Lawmakers—mostly lawyers themselves—set up paydays for their colleagues.

POLICE Magazine reviews the Benchmade Triage Knife, 5.11 Tactical/Viking Tactics Training Books, and Tactical Assault Gear Tactical Go Bag.

As you probably have already noticed, the XD(m) 3.8 and the XD(m) 3.8 Compact get their names from their 3.8 inch-barrel, as opposed to the four-inch barrel standard on the original XD Pistols. The Compact designation is assigned to the 3.8 Pistol, which has the short "Compact/Sub Compact" style grip.

Within your first year, however, your experiences tell you that things are not exactly like what your academy instructors said they would be. During your first few days at your agency, you hear words like family to describe your new workplace. And yet somehow, the word dysfunctional is omitted.

On Saturday Nov. 29, 2009, Seattle patrol officer Benjamin Kelly learned about the murders of four Lakewood, Wash., officers. From the time he got up, Kelly kept tabs on the investigation's progress and by nightfall had learned that one Maurice Clemmons was the prime suspect.

Wouldn't it be great if you could prove a suspect had been at the scene of a crime by following a pathway of telltale glowing light found on his clothing or vehicle after the fact? That's what Cyalume's idIRt can do.

Officer John Smith has just spotted a suspicious-looking individual and conducted a field interview. What he doesn't know is that the subject is wanted for felony assault. The field interview quickly becomes a fight and Officer Smith is knocked down. Now his life depends on his ability to fight on the ground.

A young neighbor came to the door of Inspector Anton Sampson of the Federal Protective Service, Department of Homeland Security, and told him a man was holding her friend at gunpoint in the house down the street. He rushed to the girl's aid and brought her to safety.

In J.D.B. v. North Carolina, the Supreme Court didn't really clarify the issue of Mirandizing juveniles. Until further issues are litigated, officers should consult policy advisers to obtain guidelines for Mirandizing and interrogating juvenile suspects.