I had a whole 18 months experience, an inadequate academy, and a laughable FTO program behind me when I was called to assist with a big disturbance.
We decided we’d take the ringleaders away, but they… demurred. I wound up straddling one fella’s back. Sweat and blood made it hard to cuff him. It got harder when the man’s brother jumped on my back and began punching me in the ear.
He then tried to get my gun from its holster, first with one hand, then with both.
The fracas ended with one brother unconscious, the other hog-tied with another officer’s restraints, and blood – thankfully mine – all over my broken flashlight.
The worst part wasn’t the tune-up I got, nor the subsequent court proceedings. It was that I didn’t think to learn from the experience.
I could write a series about what I did wrong: chain vs hinge cuffs, cuff case location, training to fight multiple assailants on the ground, training to put cuffs on a non-compliant suspect… all things I should have considered but hadn’t.
I recognize now that I had insufficient training, sub-optimal gear setup on my duty belt, and an appalling amount of (over) confidence.
In hindsight, I owe a lot to that holster. To retention.
I don’t know exactly how close he came to getting my pistol out, but it was definitely a situation that could’ve resulted in a dead David instead of a live one.
I’m one of thousands with firsthand experience with the value of Safariland’s retention systems.
Modern retention holsters began with Bill Rogers’ company Roger’s Holsters. Safariland bought his company and worked to build on his legacy. Safariland now uses the term Duty Rated to denote their highest standard of retention holster performance.
DUTY RATED vs duty holster
Safariland
Any holster worn on duty is, by definition, a duty holster. Sonny Crocket’s shoulder rig was his duty holster. It didn’t have much in the way of retention and it definitely wasn’t Duty Rated. Not by Safariland’s standards.
Duty Rated holsters lock the gun in the holster and provide retention Safariland marks retention level numbers (I, II, III or IV) based on the number of hand movements necessary to draw the gun. However, it’s not just “keep the gun in the holster.” Duty Rated means the holster must stay on the belt, and the belt must stay on the officer.
Most companies don’t consider the belt or belt mounts. Some claim friction makes a holster Level I (it doesn’t). Since there’s no SAAMI or NIJ or ISO to establish standards it’s not always to dispute such misstatements. Even Safariland, the undisputed leader in retention, hasn’t always done the best job of communicating their terminology.
Retention isn’t enough
What I ultimately learned from my take-away attempt goes beyond the idea of retention. Simply wearing a solid Level III holster may prove ineffective if the person wearing it is unmotivated and unwilling to train properly – or for that matter if they use the holster inappropriately.
Let me throw out some points you might not have considered.
- Staging a holster: If you’re wearing a Level III Safariland holster and you routinely drop the shroud forward, you are wearing a Level I, leaving only the ALS to secure the gun.
- Speed vs. Security: A fast draw is important, no doubt. But what’s the ration of the number of times you are speed-drawing the gun vs. rolling around on the ground with one or more chuckleheads trying to overpower you? Fast for you is fast for them.
- Mounting platforms matter. A holster featuring both ALS and SLS won’t be Duty Rated if they’re worn on a paddle, for instance. That rig will still be a retention holster, but it’s no longer Duty Rated. Happily, Safariland makes numerous Duty Rated belt attachments to mitigate that.
We need to understand our gear. We need to taking responsibility for knowing more than the What; we need to know the Why it was designed that way and definitely the How It Works.
Those are all things that can inform our training – also our individual responsibility.
If you feel it takes too long to get your gun out of the holster, put in more reps. Don’t blame the rig. All those draw strokes will go great with the dryfire we’re supposed to be doing anyway. Speed comes from confidence and muscle memory.
A Level III holster isn’t enough. It must be the right Level III holster, and it must be accompanied by training. Even if that’s on your own time and your own dime.
Perform your due diligence. Do some reading. As an instructor friend often says, train weekly or fight weakly.
