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Author Archives: Randall
New Celox RAPID Hemostatic Gauzes
As I was finishing a half lap of SWAT Round-Up International’s vendor area, I had spied my old friend, an Orange County Sheriff’s Office Master Deputy. My friend introduced me to Dr. William Brooks at the Advanced Trauma Specialties display. Dr. Brooks was demonstrating some new Celox RAPID hemostatic gauzes. The Celox RAPID gauzes come in Z-folded 3″ X 5′ and 1″ X 5′ lengths, the latter of which is called Celox RAPID Ribbon gauze. Celox granules are laminated to the high density gauze material to provide easy packing into a wound for quick bleeding control. Celox is made with Chito-R™ (chitosan from shrimp shells) that binds to red blood … Continue reading
Posted in Medical, Officer Safety, Street, Technology
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Venture Ballistics Introduces New Active Shooter Shields
In addition to watching last Tuesday’s event at SWAT Round-Up International 2013, I trolled the vendors’ show looking for new things. I ran across Todd Garrett at the Venture Ballistic Composites booth. Mr. Garrett chose to introduce their new line of Active Shooter shields at this year’s SRI. Named an AS-3 or AS-3A, Venture Ballistics’ new models are either NIJ Level III or IIIa. They come in 16″ X 20″ (short) or 16″ X 28″ (regular). These shields are very mobile and afford good coverage to the user’s torso. The AS-3A short is specifically designed to give protection in or out of a vehicle.
Posted in Street, SWAT
Tagged SWAT Round-Up International, Venture Ballistic Composites
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SWAT Round-Up International In Orlando This Week
I am in Orlando this week for the Florida Law Enforcement Property Recovery Unit (FLEPRU) conference. On my way over, I just had to stop at the Orange County Sheriff’s Sheriff’s Office Range for the annual SWAT Round-Up International. I competed here in the 1990’s and again one last time in 2006. I visited the vendors and will post some photos of some cool stuff I saw. In the meantime, I was able to see an old friend from my Academy days some 26 years ago. He works out here and is doing well.
Posted in Detectives, SWAT
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Sending Them Out to Play in Traffic
It was my first week back in Detective Bureau. I was getting a slice with some of the guys when I got a call from my lieutenant. “Yeah, Boss?” “You better check on Wheaten and Milner; they requested uniformed back-up,” he said. Day two in DB and I hadn’t even programmed all the investigators’ numbers into my phone. Figured. “Right away, Boss.” Just before lunch, Wheaten told me he and Milner were going to interview and arrest a grand theft suspect for whom he had probable cause at a particular nursing home. At least I knew where they were. I reached Milner on the phone. “All good?” She said, “We … 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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Video Captures Daytona Beach Police OIS
Daytona Beach Police Department released this video of their officers engaging a hostage taker on September 25, 2013. The officer involved shooting was captured on a body camera worn by one of the officers. Former New York Giants player Jermaine Lanier Green, 32, was holding his girlfriend at knife point when the officers entered the home. In reviewing the video of the Daytona Beach OIS, I noted a few things. At the outset, the officers assess the situation from witnesses on scene. The first responders take immediate action based on there being an armed, mentally ill (“Signal 0 with a knife, Signal 20.”) person holding a hostage inside the residence. … Continue reading
Posted in Officer Safety, Street
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New Morphix Technologies TraceX Explosives Detector Kits
Morphix Technologies is releasing a new explosives detector kit, which is made to test for home made explosives (HME) and improvised explosive devices (IED). I received a Morphix Chameleon Chemical Detector kit, which I reviewed in April of 2012. It is good basic technology for the rank and file. The Morphix TraceX HME kit tests for nine different explosive families in under three minutes with a single swabbing. The results are clearly indicated in the window of the test box. The kit is rugged and sealed in its own protective plastic case, which fits in a cargo pocket. No word on pricing for the TraceX, but the Chameleon was running … Continue reading
Posted in Officer Safety, Street, Technology
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FRS Recoups $28 Million in Settlement
The Florida Attorney General’s Office announced a settlement in the qui tam fraud complaint filed against the Florida Retirement System’s custodian financial institution, the Bank of New York Mellon. BNYM is accused of overcharging the FRS by millions of dollars. This should be a relief for those of you in FRS. According to a statement released by AG Pam Bondi: “Every penny that state and local employees entrust to Florida’s pension fund is hard-earned. Today, we announced that we reached a $28 million settlement with Florida’s custodian bank, the Bank of New York Mellon, resolving allegations that the bank overcharged the Florida Retirement System Trust Fund by millions of dollars … Continue reading
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
In the SWAT Van
The guys were loading up the van for a full blown SWAT call a few weeks ago. I was still a street supervisor and working the evening shift. Thinking I might be of some use, I hovered around the equipment room to help. As we collected gas, less lethal, long guns, tools, and the rest of the gear, I told each one of them to “Be careful,” or “Watch your buddies.” Just before the van was pulling out, I waved and told the last pair aboard, “Have fun stormin’ the castle!” Something special to me about serving on SWAT was the camaraderie and shared experiences that unfolded under serious pressure. … Continue reading
Posted in Humor, SWAT
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St. Petersburg Police to Test StarChase Pursuit System
About a year and a half ago, I wrote an article about the StarChase Pursuit Management System. StarChase fires a GPS loaded projectile at a fleeing vehicle. Once the projectile is attached, it allows the police to back off the pursuit and electronically follow the vehicle in hopes of a less volatile ending. Assistant Chief Melanie Bevans has said that the St. Petersburg Police will be trying out the StarChase technology because, “This is something that we have found that we think will make (pursuits) just a little less dangerous.” Police chases resulted in 17 crashes in 2012 for the St. Petersburg Police. St. Pete will be the first police … Continue reading
Tampa Police Department’s Fallen Officers Memorial
I was in downtown Tampa over the weekend and I just had to stop at the Tampa Police Department’s Fallen Officers Memorial in front of One Police Center at 411 N. Franklin Street. I took a few quick photographs. I am always humbled by the sacrifices made by our law enforcement officers. I know a memorial is just a dedicated place, but I am proud that the memorial lives on in our hearts and remembrance. I have a special feeling for this memorial and the one in St. Petersburg because I knew some of the men whose names are engraved on each plaque. There are a total of 31 names … 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
Range Time!
BlueSheepdog Richard and I went to the range yesterday to match fingers to triggers for some R&R. I take any time I can to align the sights and press the bang switch. I brought my SCCY CPX-2 and a new Glock G27 Gen 4, which will be my carry gun in detectives. Richard unpacked a Sig Sauer P290RS, a Bersa BP9CC, and, most intriguing, a Double Tap “two shooter” in .45 ACP/9mm. The photo above, taken expertly by Richard, is of me touching off the ported DoubleTap in .45ACP. Ouch. One round was enough for me, I had to have my hand ready for duty the next night. Richard, sans … Continue reading