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Author Archives: Randall
Sticky Holsters for Concealed Carry
Mike Christoff started Naples, FL-based Sticky Holsters based upon his 25 years of experience as a police officer in Michigan and in Florida. Sticky Holsters use a proprietary material as the outer shell of the holster. I would not characterize it as “sticky” so much as it is “real grabby,” but that would not make for a good company moniker. Sticky Holsters makes 17 different sizes of its signature holster, so finding a fit for your handgun should not be a problem. The range of sizes travels from the tiny Beretta Bobcat to the FN 5.7. These are not only meant as pocket holsters (and you would have to be … Continue reading
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
FBI Publishes Report on Active Shooter Events–2000-2012
Last month, the Federal Bureau of Investigation published the findings of a study of Active Shooter Events (ASE’s) that occurred from 2000 to 2012. One thing is clear from the data, and you can probably guess what it is. Active shootings, injuries, and deaths have all increased during in years examined. The FBI studied a total of 110 active shooter events during this period. Complete data was not available for every instance, but there was enough information for an examination of the trends in several areas of concern. While you might think most of the incidents occurred on school campuses, 40% of ASE’s occurred in businesses, while 29% were in … Continue reading
Posted in Officer Safety, Street, SWAT
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Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy Slain
Orange County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Jonathan Scott Pine was apparently ambushed and murdered during a foot chase last night. Dep. Pine was pursuing an auto burglary suspect that had fled from him, when the suspect shot Pine in a backyard. Dep. Pine, a three year veteran of the OCSO, leaves behind a wife and three children. The murderer was violent felon who had been released from prison in 2012 after serving just three years of a seven year sentence for two bank robberies in Maryland. He committed suicide several houses away from Dep. Pine’s shooting. Our condolences to Dep. Pine’s family and co-workers. Randall
Posted in Officer Down, Officer Safety
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Gradually Detectives
It has been nearly five years since my cell phone rang in the middle of the night and I had to respond out to a homicide as an investigator. Since leaving the both the Detective Bureau and SWAT, I had absolutely reveled in hanging up my on-call status, which had lasted for over 21 years. Having now returned to DB: Ringggg! Back to the salt mines… I woke two of my burglary dicks and told them that we needed to go in to assist. This would be their first full-blown murder as new detectives. No, they were not the primary investigators, just the minors helping out the pros. Still, their … Continue reading
Posted in Detectives
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New Double Tap P-Flex Grip
That ↑ minimizes this ouch ↓ The P-Flex is $25.00 from Double Tap. Randall
Rob Pincus Introduces New Winchester W Series Ammunition
Rob Pincus was once again at SHOT Show Media Day at the Range in the Winchester lane. He was giving demonstrations of the new Winchester W Train and Defend line of ammunition. According to their literature: “The W Train & Defend ammunition system is designed to provide threat-stopping power with less recoil to the shooter. The system pairs its range-ready Train rounds with technology-driven Defend rounds, both designed to limit the recoil felt by the shooter. This system provides a perfect solution for new shooters, especially women, who are interested in training to become proficient with their personal defense ammunition.” Both the Winchester Train and Winchester Defend are ballistically matched … Continue reading
StealthSCOPE by Zistos Video Systems
I spent some quality time with Robert Levine and Michael Sterflinger at the Zistos Video Systems SHOT Show 2014 booth. I was not just impressed with their Made in the USA (Holbrook, NY) products, but with Zistos’ extremely strong customer service attitude. I also got to play with one of their cool new toys—the StealthSCOPE. The StealthSCOPE is a tactical tool that has a small articulating camera head that can be maneuvered into tough, tight spaces for covert video surveillance. I took photos of its sibling, the ExplorerSCOPE. The “wand” of these scopes moves in four directions to be able to place the camera in the desired orientation. A 980 … Continue reading
Karbon Arms Shorts Out, Concedes to TASER
The U.S. District Court, District of Delaware has awarded TASER International $2.38 million in damages from patent infringements by Tampa, FL manufacturer Karbon Arms, LLC. Karbon Arms was also permanently restrained and enjoined from making, using, or selling any MPID or MPID-C, or any “substantial components” of their conducted electrical weapons thereof. TASER International filed its civil action against Karbon Arms in May of 2011. TASER claimed that Karbon Arms infringed on two (later three) patents held by TASER. In December of 2013, District Court Judge Richard Andrews cleared the way for a trial by ruling that Karbon Arms had infringed on TASER’s U.S. Patent 7,800,885. A trial date was … 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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New Smith & Wesson Performance Center 686 Revolver
While I am on revolver kick, Smith & Wesson is releasing a brand new Performance Center version of their Model 686 Distinguished Combat Magnum. This 7 shot L-Frame model will have a 2.5″ barrel, bead blasted finish, unfluted cylinder, and custom wood grips. There is a red ramp front and adjustable rear sight. Other features to the PC 686 are a chrome teardrop-shaped hammer spur, chrome trigger with stop, precision crowned barrel, and a cylinder cut for moon clips. S&W’s Performance Center has tuned the action. Aaron and I shot this gun at Media Day. The trigger in double action was silky smooth. In single action, the hammer dropped with … Continue reading
Posted in Concealed Carry, Firearms, Off Duty, SHOT Show
Tagged SHOT Show, Smith & Wesson, Smith & Wesson police revolver
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New ERGO Delta Grips for S&W J-Frame Revolvers
Overheard at the Show from some GunPressMediaInternetCommandos: “You gotta check out the new ERGO Delta Grips for the J-Frame. They are ultra-high-speed-tactical and probably will show up on immediate-action SpecOps outside of CONUS!” Maybe the word “Delta” fooled them. Maybe I exaggerate. Sigh, I checked the map and wandered down to ERGO’s booth in one of the rabbit warren ballrooms off the SHOT Show main hall. I have an affinity for my .38 Special revolvers and in the environment of .327 SmallBlock chambered AR-15’s and the latest in super Cryptoflage-patterned BDU’s, I could have used a bit of Old School Firearm-ery at that moment. The new Delta Grip by ERGO … Continue reading
Posted in Concealed Carry, Firearms, Off Duty, SHOT Show
Tagged SHOT Show, Smith & Wesson police revolver
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Slide Fire Turns an AR-15 Upside Down!
At SHOT Show 2014’s Media Day at the Range, Slide Fire showed off a fixed mounted upside down semi-automatic AR-15 that mechanically bump-fired to shoot in “full auto.” Watching it chatter elicited much joy from the assembled press, who did not fail to gather when the demonstration dinner bell was rung. There were many remarks from those around me who said that they had thought that Slide Fire was a flash in the pan. There was surprise at the growing popularity of the product line, which kinda turns a semi-automatic rifle or shotgun (AR’s, AK’s, 10-22’s, Saiga’s, etc) into a fully automatic firing weapon. This is done with a modified … Continue reading
Shooting the New Smith & Wesson M&P Bodyguard 380
We got to shoot the new Smith & Wesson M&P Bodyguard 380 at SHOT Show 2014 Media Day at the Range. I uploaded the short video above. Since I have carried a Bodyguard 380 both off duty and as a secondary firearm on duty for the last several years, it was a familiar platform to me. No one I observed had any failure with the M&P 380’s at the range. In the video, I bobbled the trigger reset after the second shot. As a weak defense, I will just testify that I had been shooting a lot of very different guns that day. It is a good reminder, though, that … Continue reading
Posted in Concealed Carry, Firearms, SHOT Show
Tagged SHOT Show, Smith & Wesson, Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380
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TSSI TACOPS New Active Response Breacher’s Kit
TSSI‘s Don Wright showed me their new TACOPS Active Response Breacher’s Kit. It contains a very portable hammer, halogen tool, and bolt cutter, each of which can unfold and telescope to full size for added leverage. The tools are carried in a rugged nylon sling bag so the officer or operator can quickly transition to a handgun or long rifle, if needed. This set of tools and bag was specifically designed for active shooter situations, where, with proper training, an officer can come on to a scene and have breaching capabilities that were formerly only available to a SWAT team. The ARBK is small enough to ride unobtrusively in the … Continue reading