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Category Archives: Misc.
NTOA Partners with KOTA Longboards
The National Tactical Officers Association is joining forces with KOTA Longboards to introduce SWAT-themed skate decks. Although my nephews would probably enjoy these boards, I’m too old to be collecting road rash like I did when I was a teen. Still, you can get them customized with your department patch, unit insignia, or other personalization. Press release from NTOA: Doylestown, Pa. (September 2014) – The National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) is pleased to announce a partnership with veteran-owned KOTA Longboards®. Through this new partnership, NTOA and KOTA Longboards® will bring the members of NTOA three uniquely branded longboard options: NTOA Eagle Edition Nieuport 17 longboard, NTOA Veritas Edition Handley Page … Continue reading
Posted in Misc., SWAT
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FSA 2014 Officer of the Year
The Florida Sheriff’s Association produced this video about their 2014 Officer of the Year, Officer Mario Gutierrez of the Miami-Dade Police Department. All I can say is, Wow. Ofc. Gutierrez’s account and the radio traffic are chilling. It is an outstanding example of courage and staying in the fight. Randall
Posted in Misc., Officer Safety, Street
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Prepaid Card Scams
Please spread the word to your friends, family, co-workers and anyone else who may be vulnerable: Do not fall for prepaid card scams! Every week I read cases where victims have been tricked out of money by suspects on the phone posing as anyone from a local power company, to the IRS, to law enforcement. It is a national problem. The scam occurs when an unscrupulous ne’er-do-well calls a victim. It goes something like this, “I’m Supervisor Smith from Duke Energy. Your business account is in arrears and you need to make a payment by prepaid card before 11 a.m. today or your power will shut off.” Prepaid cards are … Continue reading
Posted in Detectives, Misc.
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Smith & Bradley Sans-13 Watch Review
The Sans-13 from Smith & Bradley Watches is intended for law enforcement and tactical military personnel. Jerommie Smith and Ryan Bradley are the Sidney, Illinois founders of the brand. As their first watch, the Sans-13 was designed with input from those who would be the end users–cops and soldiers. Jerommie is a Police K9 Handler and Ryan is an attorney. I met them both earlier this year at SHOT Show and I can vouch for their genuine passion about timepieces. Shortly after SHOT, I bought a Sans-13 from their website. Since then, I have worn this watch from the drudgery of desk work to search warrant services to dicey homicide … Continue reading
Memorial Day
Here’s to honoring those brave men and women who, in the service of the United States’ Armed Forces, lost their lives to preserve our freedom. I am having a day of reflection and gratitude… Randall
Posted in Misc.
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FHP Trooper Files Lawsuit for Misuse of DAVID
How many times does this have to be repeated to us? DAVID is for official use only. Period. Period, period. The latest shenanigans that involve the inappropriate access of Florida’s Driver and Vehicle Information Database is articulated in a lawsuit filed by Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Donna Jane Watts. Watts is suing 88 law enforcement officers, and the 25 police agencies where they are employed, for a breach of the Federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act of 1994. Following Trooper Watts’ 2011 high speed pursuit of Miami Officer Fausto Lopez, in which Watts ordered Lopez out of his marked police car at gunpoint and arrested him for reckless driving, Watts said … Continue reading
Timberline Tactical Dave Young Combat Breaching Tool
GATCO/Timberline has brought on board police trainer and U.S. Marine Corps veteran Dave Young to design their new Timberline Tactical Combat Breaching Tool. This tomahawk is 17″ overall with a full tang D2 blade at RH 60. Dave explains all its features in the video. MSRP will be $225.00. Dave has over thirty years of experience as a corrections officer, police officer, and Marine. He has dedicated his time to training LE and the Military in officer survival, force on force strategies, and tactics. He is the founder and director of ARMA Training. Thanks for your service, Dave! Randall
Posted in Knives, Misc., SWAT
Tagged GATCO/Timberline, Police Tomahawk, SHOT Show, SWAT Gear, SWAT Tomahawk, Timberline
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Tactical Medical Solutions Uniformed Medical Kit
Tactical Medical Solutions, Inc. provides products and training resources for both combat and tactical medical applications. Their Uniformed Medical Kit allows a police officer to carry vital medical supplies beneath his or her uniform shirt. The pouch attaches with hook side Velcro™ to the loop field on the adjustable strap area of concealed body armor. More loop material on the front of the UMK is available for the strap ends to affix. Tactical Medical Solutions gives the following benefits to the UMK: Central placement provides the officer instant, ambidextrous access to
Posted in Medical, Misc., Officer Down, Officer Safety, Protective Armor
Tagged Officer Safety
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Tactical Tailor Nylon MOLLE Archery Quiver
Back on 4/1/2013, ITS Tactical posted a new archery product from Zulu Nylon Gear called The MOLLE Quiver. H.S.,L.D. for traditional weaponry. When you clicked on the link–waaa, waaaa–it was an April Fools joke. But after readers showed much interest in buying the actual quiver, Zulu started a FaceBook page for the product. It has yet to be released. Having been a recurve bow archer for the last thirty years (on and off), I decided to get an inexpensive nylon MOLLE quiver of my own. After surfing around and finding nothing to my liking, I settled on using a basic Tactical Tailor modular hydration pack. I had written a review … Continue reading
Thank a Veteran
Yesterday, I discovered a very old photograph of my grandfather on my mother’s side. I do not know much about him and he passed away long ago. In the picture I found of him, he was in uniform. I had never seen the photograph before. He fought in the Pacific in World War II. And he was wearing sergeant stripes… I smiled and shared it with my wife. My dad was a Navy PO2 and his father was an infantry sergeant in WWI. I appreciate their service and that of all our military veterans. We owe them all a great debt of gratitude on this Veterans Day. Randall
Posted in Misc.
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Drug Deaths Decline in Florida
In September, the Florida Medical Examiners and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement disseminated the Drugs Identified in Deceased Persons Report for 2012. The report identified 8,330 drug-caused and/or drug-related deaths in the 178,000 Floridians who died in 2012, as reported to the Office of Vital Statistics. The report cited 17.7% fewer drug-caused deaths in 2012 verses 2011, a decrease of 2,090 persons. Drug-related deaths, where at least one legal or illegal drug was present in the decedent’s body but was not necessarily the cause of death, dropped 9.9% to 4,944. Oxycodone killed 41.1% fewer Floridians in 2012. Deaths attributed to alprazolam, diazepam, hydrocodone, and methadone decreased as well. Said … Continue reading
Zebra F-701 Pen Review
Since moving to a plainclothes job, I started to re-examine my daily load out. Seems it no longer qualifies as such. The utility of a duty belt and cargo pockets has given way to the functionally spartan nature of dress shirts and slacks. In both Patrol and CID, a writing instrument is required. I decided I needed something less than a full blown “tactical pen,” but more than a plastic clicky pen. Thus, I bought a Zebra F-701. An Internet darling, the Zebra F-701 is a stainless steel barreled retractable ballpoint pen with a 0.7mm fine writing tip. The pen’s overall length is 5 3/8″ and its weight is 1.1 … Continue reading
Posted in Detectives, Misc., Officer Safety, Street
Tagged Officer Safety, Zebra F-701 Pen Review
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K9 Hijinx
Okay, M@ reminded me of a story. Back when I was in K9, when things were “in black and white” as a snarky friend once observed, a handler from a nearby agency told me about something that happened to him one night. It seems that at this particular department, they found a novel use for the K9 teams. During narcotic buys-busts, a handler and dog would be hidden in the trunk of the undercover car. When the narc dicks up front had completed a drug deal, they would give a short honk on the horn and, Surprise!, the K9 team would pop out to apprehend any runners. Sounds fun, right? … Continue reading
So long, Tahoe!
No, I’m not getting my Crown Vic back. I am accepting an assignment in the Detective Bureau, overseeing Burglary/Pawn, Auto Theft, and Economic/Cyber Crimes. It has been four years since I left DB for another stint on the street. I will miss the K9 Unit, but this is an opportunity I did not think would come around. Later in the week, I will hand over the keys and fobs for this 2013 Chevrolet Tahoe Police Pursuit Vehicle (PPV) to another sergeant. I hope she enjoys it as much as my aging back did. The upright seating and roominess alleviated the need for NSAIDs for the little while that I had … Continue reading
How to Destroy a Police Agency
If you have not been following the dismal events at the Lakeland, FL Police Department, you should. The bra-shaking incident, alleged falsification of official documents, a destructive on-going sex scandal, and the loss of confidence by 10th Circuit State Attorney Jerry Hill have made for a public relations train-wreck for this police agency. Lakeland Police Chief Lisa Womack was even caught admitting that the department sometimes plays “cat and mouse” with the news media over public records requests, a statement which prompted the Lakeland Ledger to delve further into that issue. Today, it was disclosed that the sex scandal involving 10 officers and a civilian crime analyst had burgeoned to … Continue reading