Get ThinBlueFlorida via Email
Search ThinBlueFlorida.com
Follow ThinBlueFlorida.com!
Popular Articles
- SOG Knives FastHawk Review
- SCCY CPX-2 Pistol Review
- Mil-Spec Monkey/Tactical Tailor Adapt Pack
- Evolution of the Police TASER
- TASER-proof Clothing Project
- The One-Ass-To-Risk Story
- FLIR Entry Level Thermal Imagers for Law Enforcement
- New Gerber Propel Downrange Folding Knives
- Odortec's Skunk for Crowd Control
- New Sig Sauer P224 Review
Category Archives: Media
My Simple Solution to the Flock Dilemma
By way of explanation, I helped negotiate Flock cameras for my last agency. We approached the county sheriff and asked to piggyback on their contract to keep our costs down and to add several cameras to Star-Man’s system. It was mutually beneficial. A few years back, there was no controversy over the existence or use of the automated license plate readers (ALPRs). My first department had been using them going back at least six years. We did not have a single complaint about their use in solving crimes or finding missing persons. I feel the angst over the ALPRs started when their misuse by unscrupulous officers and deputies became known … Continue reading
Walmarts Burden Local Police Departments
Are you “lucky” enough to have a Walmart in your jurisdiction? If so, then the following won’t surprise you much…but it might shock those who don’t work in law enforcement. Tampa Bay Times reporters did a bit of research and found out that Walmart stores are a heavy drain on police agencies and taxpayer dollars. The TBT found that in 2014 there were 16,794 calls for service among the 53 Walmarts in the greater Tampa Bay area, to include Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, and Hernando counties. Fifteen police agencies were asked for data. TBT researchers excluded traffic crashes, medical calls, directed patrols, business checks, and other calls not directly associated with … Continue reading
Posted in Media, Street
Leave a comment
Tampa Police Releases Body Cam Videos
The Tampa Police Department produced this short video of incidents from their recent body camera pilot program. The video shows a bit of what we experience out on the street. Thank you, TPD. Randall
Gun Control Sells More Guns
This is an interesting graphic from the New York Times charting gun sales for the last fifteen years. The tallies come from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. The NYT article posits that firearms sales increase sharply after talk of gun control, as happened in December. I think these numbers show how serious Americans are about exercising and maintaining their Second Amendment rights. In 2014, handgun sales exceeded long gun sales for the first time in the U.S. To me, this is indicative of people purchasing personal self-defense firearms rather than sporting arms. The trends speak to our citizens’ waning sense of safety and security. Gun sales spiked in … Continue reading
Posted in Concealed Carry, Firearms, Media, Misc., Politics
Leave a comment
Uprising in The Villages!
About sixty retired police officers in The Villages turned out at their Rialto Theater this morning to protest the opening of Quentin Tarantino’s new film. You may remember Tarantino infuriated cops with his statements at a Black Lives Matter rally in New York City last October. Said the film director, “When I see murders, I do not stand by. I have to call a murder a murder, and I have to call the murderers the murderers.” The NYPD Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association urged people to boycott Tarantino movies. I do not stand by. Well, thanks Q for being there and putting your life on the line for all of us. Protesting … Continue reading
Posted in Media, Politics
Leave a comment
Gun Violence Remains in Decline
The story here, for me, is the Centers for Disease Control publishing data showing current gun deaths at rates lower than the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. The Mainstream Media would have you believe we are suffering through the worst gun violence in American history. In fact, the Washington Post Blog’s headline for the above graphic was, “Guns are now killing as many people as cars in the U.S.” Wholly suggestive. The Pew Research Center published their own graphics based upon the same CDC information. Although Pew used slightly different measures, the trend was consistent. Gun violence fell in the 1990s and has remained steady at pre-1970
Posted in Media, Misc.
Leave a comment
Chicago PD Murder Charges
I have watched Chicago PD’s officer-involved shooting video from October 2014. A few things come to mind about the totality of the circumstances. Officers are responding to a commercial burglary call where a suspect was detained by a citizen, but is now on foot in the urban area. The suspect is armed with a knife. He is now evading police on the street. The suspect sprinted through a fast food restaurant parking lot, stabbed the front tire of a police car, and damaged the windshield of another. If you forward to 4:53 in the video time (not the PD time stamp), you get to the perspective of a cruiser entering … Continue reading
Posted in Knives, Legal, Media, Misc., Officer Safety, SWAT, Tactics
4 Comments
Florida Open Carry Bills in the Legislature
Imagine you are working road patrol in your uniform and marked squad car at the scene of an urban disturbance when you see a man walking up behind you on a crowded sidewalk. As he moves closer, you see he has a 9mm handgun in plain view, tucked into his waistband over his shirt. You make eye contact, but, despite your unease, you cannot stop and ask him about the pistol because that would be against the law. Does this make sense? Under 2015 Senate Bill 300, and its companion, House Bill 163, open carry of firearms would be legal in Florida if the person possesses a state-issued concealed carry … Continue reading
Posted in Concealed Carry, Firearms, Legal, Media, Officer Safety
Tagged CCW, Kahr Arms, RDR Holsters
17 Comments
News Misinterprets Suspect, Streetwise Readers Split Sides
I almost tumbled off my sectional when I read this journalistic misfire on a television station’s news website. Apparently, something has gone horribly wrong in the Mainstream Media. Cooper then ran from the scene to a nearby church, where the pastor found him hiding in a bathroom, deputies said. Cooper was taken into custody without further incident. Deputies said Cooper, who smelled of alcohol and marijuana, asked who was chasing him and said “you slow as [expletive].” Cooper then said he wasn’t driving the car, according to the report. “My dog was driving that car,” he reportedly said. “I ran ‘cause I wanted to. You ain’t gonna find no drugs … Continue reading
Posted in Humor, Media
Leave a comment
Blue Lives Matter Billboards
Baton Rouge, Louisiana’s Lamar Advertising Company has donated 302 digital billboards with a Blue Lives Matter graphic and #thankublu Instagram link to promote support for law enforcement. Conceived by Memphis branding agency Tactical Magic, the billboards first appeared in that city, but Lamar has expanded their exposure nationwide. Tactical Magic creative director Trace Hallowell said a citizen approached him about honoring those who serve in local law enforcement. The original Tactical Magic billboards, which went up in June showed support for the Memphis PD.
Posted in Media, Misc., Politics
Leave a comment
Murders Spike in Baltimore–Cause and Effect?
The number of murders in Baltimore during the month of May skyrocketed following the indictments of six police officers in the death of Freddie Gray. Baltimore had 42 homicides in May 2015. Of cities with comparable populations, Baltimore’s homicides top those of Boston, Denver, Las Vegas, Louisville, and Nashville–combined! It is also eight more than in New York City, which has more than ten times the number of residents. Since the indictments, arrests in Baltimore have dropped by 56% from the number of arrests in
Miami Beach PD Cracks Down on Messaging
Following a scandal involving 16 sworn officers over racist and sexist emails sent on city accounts, the Miami Beach Police Department has issued new policy requiring the recipients of any inappropriate emails, text messages, or social media postings to immediately report the communications to Internal Affairs. Although a policy had been in place punishing the senders who distribute such banned content, the new directive is aimed at receivers who do not comply and notify IA. The scale of the original violations of policy and professional conduct apparently resulted in the zero tolerance stance. Former Maj. Angel Vazquez and former Capt. Alex Carulo were responsible for sending over 200 inflammatory emails … Continue reading
Dershowitz on Baltimore–Not What You’d Think
The following analysis of the Baltimore police arrests was made by liberal Harvard Law Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz on Newsmax TV shortly after Baltimore State Attorney Marylin Mosby made her announcement to charge the six officers with murder in Freddie Gray’s death. “I understand why the Mayor and State Attorney want to prevent riots, but that’s not the job of the justice system. You cannot allow police officers or any other defendants to become scapegoats for crowds demanding a continuation of rioting. “There’s no plausible, hypothetical, conceivable case for murder under the facts that we now know them. You might say that conceivably there’s a case for manslaughter. Nobody wanted … Continue reading
Posted in Media, Politics
3 Comments
Swab-its Creates News Website
Super Brush LLC manufactures the Swab-its® brand foam products, which are superior, lint-free swabs and applicators specifically tailored for precision gun cleaning. I wrote about them here. Swab-its now has its own website devoted to firearms articles, gun safety, shooting tips, and other useful information at www.swabitsnews.com. Among the engaging articles in the inaugural edition are “Carry Concealed Tips” by gunwriter Jorge Amselle, “Succeeding with the Fundamentals” by shooting instructors Michelle and Chris Cerino, “Knife Sharpening” by outdoorsman Tom Claycomb III, and “To Magnify or Not to Magnify” by writer Sal Palma. Mosey on over and check it out. You might find an article about the history of Smith & … Continue reading
Posted in Firearms, Knives, Media, Misc.
Tagged concealed carry gun, SHOT Show, Super Brush LLC, Swab-its
1 Comment
Police and Modern Communication
Aaron over at BlueSheepdog.com just wrote about the changing perception of police officers in the last half century. It is a nice read and made me think about how law enforcement influences its own public image. Of late, it seems as if the mainstream media has focused on current uses of force and devoted much less airtime to the good work cops do every minute of every day in our communities. In recent years, law enforcement agencies have gravitated to other strategies for positive public outreach. Take the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, for example. They employ five public information officers, two of whom focus specifically on their department’s Facebook page … Continue reading
Posted in Media, Misc.
2 Comments