Ft. Hood

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091107/ap_on_re_us/us_fort_hood_shooting_officers/print

At Fort Hood, international Radical Islam moves in and kills and wounds a large number of Americans. Radical Islam does not have a hierarchical structure. There is no complex table of organization that has a pigeon hole for every member. It is millions of people with only vague connections to each other. What they share is not an organization, but rather an ideology.

The fact that the suspect was acting as an individual does not mean it is an act of individual motivation, but rather an act of terrorism. If there is no organization, then the individual cannot betray others who may be plotting acts of terror against the state.

This is one of the many reasons this type of enemy is so difficult to fight. There is no central control. There is no individual planning the attacks for others to carry out. At any time a radical individual can determine they are in a place to carry out an attack. Against an Army base, against a school, against a shopping center. It is up to us to be ready; that's what the SGT Says.

Suicide by Cop

PoliceOne report

A recent report says that perhaps as many as four out of ten officer involved shootings were a result of an attempt of suicide by cop. The very bad news for police is that people who try suicide for cop will do those things we most train to counter with gunfire. They will shoot at cops, shoot at innocent civilians, take hostages, or simulate weapons they don't have in order to get the police to react with deadly force.

Police work, particularly use of force, is predictable. Shoot to defend against deadly force. So, simply reverse that training. Depict that you are trying to use deadly force against a police officer and they will shoot you. A very logical train of thought.

Police who are forced to shoot a suicide by cop suspect are simply acting out their part in the equation. An officer who plays out his role in this evil game is only responding like he has been trained. He is doing what society, his agency and the suspect all expect him to do in that situation; that's what the SGT Says.

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Officers Hurt in NJ Shootout

Police in New Jersey were working a stake out on two armed robbery suspects. One of the suspects came out with a shotgun and started shooting at the parked car with the two cops in it. Only two cops watching two potentially armed suspects. What's wrong with that picture?

If you were doing a traffic stop on a car that you knew contained two suspects from an armed robbery, how many units would you likely use in the traffic stop? I would think that you would get at least four two officer units, so that would be eight officers, as a minimum.

When doing a surveillance on two armed robbery suspects, you should have at least four, if not eight officers to watch them. Officers should have a numerical advantage of at least four to one whenever possible; that's what the SGT Says.

Range Rules

There are a few rules of range safety that always should be followed in range training.

Treat all guns as if they are loaded all the time. 

I run a hot range and so I expect all guns to be loaded once we start shooting.

Keep your firearm muzzle pointed in a safe direction at all times.

Since the weapon is considered loaded, naturally it must be pointed in a safe direction.

Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target.

The trigger finger needs to come up on the trigger when the target is about to be shot.  The rest of the time the trigger finger needs to be indexed along the slide.

Know what is behind your target.

Unlike the suspects, we are expected to be responsible for every round we fire.  That sometimes means holding fire when it is too dangerous to shoot.

Range rules keep you safe on the range, that's what the SGT Says.

Keep Out of Trouble

Document, document, document. One of the best things you can do to stay out of trouble is to document everything that happens at an incident. More detail is usually better than less detail. Explain why you did what you did. The suspect generally initiates any violent action. Document what the suspect said or did that needed you to respond with violence.

Suspects will generally telegraph what they are going to do to you or to others. Document those telegraphed actions and words. Paint a word picture of your experience, tell others exactly what happened that caused you to have to use force. Police work is frequently reactionary, based on the suspects actions. Police use of force is generally predictable, we use force when it is legal and our agency policy and training tell us it it a good idea to use force when a specific situation happens.

If the suspect says "I am going to kick your fucking ass." The quote him exactly, as best as you can remember. Indicate the tone of voice the suspect was using, he was loud, firm, strong voice. He was less than a foot away from my face when the shouted that to me. He was pointing his index finger at the center of my chest when he yelled at me. The suspects face was flushed red and the veins were bulging out of his forehead and he was spitting as he screamed. Is there any doubt that that suspect needs to be brought under control? Document what happened, that's what the SGT Says.

Do Your Job Right

The Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund

Sgt. Chris Edmondson, Officer Dominguez, and Officer Baca have all been indicted for the involuntary manslaughter of Jesse Saenz. They responded to a domestic dispute, during which the suspect was violent and had to be Tased. The suspect was arrested and transported to the station. When at the station, they realized he had stopped breathing and the paramedics were called.

The autopsy revealed that Jesse Saenz had high levels of cocaine, nemzoylecgonine, cocaethylene and hydroxzione in his blood and died as a result of cocaine intoxication. Over time the community complained and eventually the three officers were charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Every day officers risk their lives trying to keep our communities safe. Sometimes they have to kill people to stay alive or save others. Sometimes people die in custody. Officers have a difficult job to do and they should not be subjected to prosecution for doing their jobs in the manner that they have been trained to do them; that's what the SGT Says.

Gear

My friend Terry sent the following email to the folks at LAPoliceGear.com

"Dear Mr. Frank,

I hope this find you well.

I am writing concerning an order I placed online in 2006. (details follow below)

To sum things up, I placed an order online for 3 shirts.

I never received the items I ordered.

The payment for the order cleared my bank account.

I contacted customer service regarding the matter and was advised they would have to research the matter.

They never called me back.

Since the shirts are probably all gone, I wanted a refund.

I would still like a refund or store credit.

I hate to say it, but I have refused to do business with your company ever since.

I would like to be a satisfied customer and place repeat orders, but the first order I placed went poorly and the issue has yet to be resolved.

I am writing to you to request you verify my concern and issue me a refund or store credit.

Thanks for your time.

Cordially,

Terry "

Naturally, I only have the messages from my friend and like Terry, have not heard from the folks at LAPoliceGear. After reading this message, they won't hear from me either; that's what the SGT Says.