Flawed Headline: “Lake County Deputies Kill Wrong Suspect”

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Randall

This is an unfortunate set of circumstances.  Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a request for assistance from the Leesburg Police in locating an attempted murder suspect.  The suspect, Jonathan Brown, and his motorcycle were spotted in the Blueberry Hills apartment complex at around 0130 hrs. yesterday.

Not knowing where Brown was, deputies went to the apartment closest to the parked motorcycle.  They knocked on the door without announcing that they were the police.  Andrew Scott, the resident, opened the door and pointed a handgun at the deputies.  A deputy shot and killed Scott.  Brown was later found in an adjacent apartment in the same building.

Blame is already being assigned in both directions.  Of course the Media are questioning why the deputies would knock on the door early in the morning without saying they were law enforcement.  Tip #1:  When looking for a homicide suspect, discretion may be a tactical advantage that leads to an uneventful arrest.

As to knocking on the “wrong door,” LCSO was likely quietly canvassing the building in an effort to find Brown or witnesses as to where he went.  After all, we are expected to find the murder suspect and remove him from civilized society, if we have a good idea of where he is, which they did.  This is part of our duty to protect innocents.

Believe it or not, we knock on doors all the time in the middle of the night in response to complaints, to make all manner of assistance notifications to citizens, and to perform general investigative duties.  It is our job.

Lake County Sheriff’s spokesman Lt. John Herrell said, “The bottom line is, you point a gun at a deputy sheriff or police officer, you’re going to get shot.”  This would be Tip #2.  Even if it were not the police, is it prudent for a citizen to point the barrel of a gun at just Continue reading →

Posted in Media, Street | Tagged , , | 49 Comments

Futuristic Plate Frame from S&S Precision

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Randall

At the SOFIC Show, S&S Precision had their new Plate Frame on display.  It is eye-catching in its high technology look and design.  The Plate Frame itself is a thermally molded polymer that snaps on to the ballistic armor.  The Frame is skeletonized to reduce weight.  Its lattice also provide multiple mounting points.

The Plate Frame is manufactured to fit on specific brand and models of armor plates, but S&S Precision plans to provide frames sized for all popular types of armor..  The plates themselves must be environmentally sealed, especially if used in a maritime context, since the frame does not enclose the plate.

The harness system of the Plate Frame is made up of straps and cummerbund that are polyurethane coated and radio frequency (RF) welded, the latter providing that there is no Continue reading →

Posted in Protective Armor, SOFIC, Technology | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Death Notification Delivery Tips for Law Enforcement

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Randall

I have had the sad duty of delivering quite a few death notifications in my career.  It is one of the more difficult parts of our job from an emotional standpoint.  For me, the worst part of the notification has to be in the moments as you approach the house, or apartment, or room where the unsuspecting family members are.  They have no idea you are about to change their lives in a very significant way…

Knock, knock.

Yes?

I’m Officer Smith and this is Chaplain Jones.  May we come in?

Why, yes–

Please have a seat, ma’am.  I am sorry to tell you your son, John, was killed in a car crash tonight.

(mother’s reaction ensues)

He was driving to a friend’s house from work.  His car was hit by another vehicle at Union Avenue and State Street.  He died at the scene.

Are you sure it was, John?

Yes, ma’am, it was John…

Basic Principles of Death Notification:

  • In Person
  • In Time
  • In Pairs
  • In Plain Language
  • With Compassion

Best Practices:

  • In a timely fashion
  • With certainty
  • Go.  Do NOT Call.
  • Don’t use euphemisms; do use “dead,” “killed,” etc…
  • Never notify a child Continue reading →
Posted in Street | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Rob Pincus on the Evolution of the OODA Loop

Posted on July 8, 2012 by Randall

I.C.E. Training Company owner and Combat Focus Shooting developer Rob Pincus has a unique spin on U.S.A.F. Col. John R. Boyd’s OODA Loop from an instructor’s perspective.  Pincus’ article is over here on the I.C.E. Training Updates:

Evolution of the OODA Loop

I won’t attempt to paraphrase what Mr. Pincus derives from the decision-making cycle conceptualized by Col. Boyd; it speaks for itself.  I found the article thought provoking and a good read.

Randall

Posted in Defensive Tactics, Officer Safety | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

SOG Knives FastHawk Review

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Randall

Some missions require specialized tools.  We are not always loaded down with them.  There is a balance between power and portability that is weighed toward portable in mobile operations, unless your team has a MOLLE-covered Tactical Donkey.  Hmmm…

SOG Specialty Knives & Tool‘s FastHawk is a scaled down version of their popular Tactical Tomahawk.  Light and easy to carry, I found the FastHawk to be a good compromise of size and functionality.  At 12 ½” in length and only 19 ounces, it is a compact package.

The FastHawk can be used to cut, chop, dig, pry, and hammer.  I did these things during some late night T&E sessions.  I started off with some chopping.  That seemed reasonable.  I attacked several discarded pallets.  As a hand axe, the FastHawk worked it way through wood just fine.  At home, I took it to my super-hard aged 2 X 4.  Thunk, thunk, thunk!  Wood chips were flying.  I thought the FastHawk was weighted nicely.

Despite a Rockwell Hardness of only 51-53, the 2” main blade, made of 420 stainless steel, holds a good edge.  The lower hardness helps in its durability.  This is not some expensive high-end hawk head that is differentially heat-treated, nor is it high carbon tool steel.  This is a moderate stainless steel that is being pushed slightly out of its comfort zone.  I found the blade stayed plenty sharp to cut and chop.

Made of Fiberglass-Reinforced Nylon, the handle is ribbed and textured for a positive grip.  My hands became very sweaty while I was chopping (80+ degrees with high humidity at Continue reading →

Posted in Knives, SHOT Show | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Bullet-Free Sky Aims to End Celebratory Gunfire

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Randall

On New Year’s Eve 2012, so called “celebratory gunfire” launched a bullet skyward that struck 13 year old Ruskin resident Diego Duran in the head.  Duran was seriously injured and was rushed to surgery.  He was in a coma for a month.  Duran has spent months after that in recovery and rehabilitation.

Duran’s family has begun a Bullet-Free Sky campaign to raise awareness for the dangers of firing guns into the air and hopefully prevent tragic incidents such as the one that befell Diego six months ago.

On the very same New Year’s Eve night Duran was shot, officers from my squad responded to a call of a child hit by a bullet.  A falling bullet from celebratory gunfire had pierced the Continue reading →

Posted in Misc. | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Redefining Criminology…or I Get the Strangest Correspondence

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Randall

This graphic was sent to me by a reader who asked me to critique it.  In looking at it, I don’t know why she sent it to me.  I had very strong negative feelings (you’ll know why when you read it), and I sent back an email saying I thought it was “misleading.”  Now, where are those damnable blood pressure pills?

Okay, this is the email I sent back:

“In 24 years as a sworn police officer, I have been spit on, punched, kicked, hit with all manner of foreign objects, attacked twice with knives, and shot at half a dozen times.  I am a sergeant in a mid-sized Florida police department.   I worry about my officers every night we work.  A good friend of mine was shot to death on a call thirteen years ago and I found his body with my K9 partner.  I know six other officers who have been shot and wounded in the line of duty.  I have performed first responder medicine on injured officers more times than I can count.

“Every year over 58,000 officers are assaulted.  Roughly 15,000 are injured, as have I been on numerous occasions.   My statistics come from here:

http://www.nleomf.org/facts/officer-fatalities-data/daifacts.html

“While I am concerned for the rights of citizens each and every shift, I am charged with bringing the men and women under my Continue reading →

Posted in Misc. | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

H&K MP5: The Best CQB Weapon I’ve Ever Kicked to the Curb

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Randall

#364

I carried a 9mm Heckler & Koch MP5A2 on SWAT operations and patrol from 1990 until 2009.  My gun was #364 and she was my assigned weapon the whole time.  Together, we went on hundreds of callouts, buy-busts, and warrant services over the years.

I kept #364 stone stock, except for the Surefire light kit up front.  That’s all the technology I needed for close quarters battle.  I loved the three point sling, the curved thirty round mags, SEF trigger group, and the left-side charging handle.  The adjustable diopter rear sight and front hooded post were simple and fast to employ.

I could change those 30 round coupled mags in my sleep:  Cover! Working parts back, mag off, mag on, working parts forward,  Ready!  I first saw the “H&K slap” in the movie Die Hard, where the gun is loaded by slapping the charging handle with the left hand.  It looked cool then and it looks cool now.  It was also taught to us as the proper H&K way to charge the subgun.

My MP5 functioned flawlessly for all those years.  With regular maintenance by our armorers, #364 never failed a function check or real pull of the trigger.  Its accuracy was better than mine.  After many thousands of rounds downrange, I was supremely confident in our combined lethality.

The Heckler & Koch MP5 excels at room clearing, the most important function in hostage rescue.  It is short at 27″ with the fixed stock, extremely light at 5.5 lbs, and a master of control in full auto fire because of its recoil-operated delayed blowback bolt system.

MP5A4 with 3 round burst trigger group

Continue reading →

Posted in Firearms, Street, SWAT | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

RNC Will Bring Delegates and Officers to Tampa

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Randall

The Tampa Bay Times is reporting that as many as 59 different law enforcement agencies will be assisting the Tampa Police Department in the Republican National Convention, this according to Tampa Chief Jane Castor.  A mutual-aid agreement has been distributed to contributing agencies.

A total of $50 million was given to Tampa PD as a convention security grant.  This money is being distributed for salaries, equipment, and training.  A $10 million insurance policy will cover law enforcement claims from July 1 until after the clean-up of the convention.

Most local agencies, including my own, are prepping for the event with staffing mandates and extra training.  Though we are not directly participating in the RNC, our role will be to support neighboring departments who have contingents of delegates staying along the Gulf beaches.

I was at Court today and heard two officers from an adjacent jurisdiction talking about their agency’s participation in the RNC.  It seems as the time grows short, the convention is coming into the forefront of everyone’s discussions.  I have been a bit skeptical about how seriously this event is being taken–in light of the officer safety concerns.

It will take efficient communication, training, and guidance for this many agencies to work seamlessly to provide safety and security to this event.  With the date closing in, preparations are accelerating.  Stay tuned…

Randall

Posted in RNC | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

When the Police Need to Break Glass…

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Randall

You need to have the right information and tools if you are going to break a glass window or door to make an exigent entry into a structure or to rescue a trapped motorist.  There are three types of glass you will encounter:  tempered glass, non-tempered glass, and laminated glass.

Tempered glass is special heat-treated form of glass.  Tempered glass is used where there is a likelihood of human contact and as such is made to shatter into small ¼” pieces when broken.  The small pieces are not very sharp and are relatively safe to handle.

Non-tempered glass is a different animal.  When broken, non-tempered glass makes large, irregular, jagged pieces that are razor sharp.  Non-tempered glass is much more dangerous than tempered glass and should be handled with caution, regardless of its thickness.

Laminated glass has plastic layers sandwiched between glass layers.  Because of the plastic sheeting, laminated glass tends to puncture under impact (see video where Mr. Summers tries to break the double laminate glass).  Although the glass breaks, the plastic will hold the laminate together.  High impact and/or cutting forces are needed to adequately defeat laminated glass.  Fragmentation and spalling will also send glass flakes and powdered glass inward, which can be a danger to those on the opposite side.

Tempered Glass Break Practice

Here are some rough generalizations about glass.  Car side and rear windows, newer storefront windows, and modern sliding glass doors are made of tempered glass.  Many building codes require tempered glass be installed in residential and commercial windows that are within 48” of doors.  Tempered glass normally has manufacturers’ Continue reading →

Posted in Officer Safety, Street | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

St. Petersburg Police Field DeadStop Equalizer Police Shields

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Randall

I was over in St. Petersburg last week and got to see their brand new DeadStop Equalizer Police Shields that were distributed to supervisors less than a month ago.  As you can see, the protective plastic sheets are still over the viewing window.

Made by LCOA Composites, Inc, the DeadStop Equalizer is a NIJ level IIIa ballistic shield with a nice array of features, the most prominent of which is the ultra light weight.  The Equalizer shown above clocks in at 15 pounds for the 24″ X 40″ intermediate coverage shield.  DeadStop calls their composite formulation Feather Plate armor technology.

I really liked the ergonomics of the Equalizer’s grab handle.  It is ambidextrous and provides gripping in the vertical, horizontal, and my favorite, a 45 degree angle of the forearm.  This is a great compromise of stability and comfort when wielding the shield for Continue reading →

Posted in Officer Safety, Protective Armor, Technology | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Shotgun for Home Defense

Posted on June 16, 2012 by Randall

If you don’t cruise by the GunBlast.com website occasionally, then you are missing out on the folksy GunBlog-stylings of Jeff, Boge, and Greg Quinn.  In this video, on-air talent Jeff, whose double-pony-tailed beard is his trademark, talks about different shotgun rounds and demonstrates birdshot as a viable home defense load in a shotgun.

I am a strong proponent of the shotgun as the most devastating close quarter weapon available.  I have a Remington 870, set up with a Speedfeed III stock, Surefire light, and Continue reading →

Posted in Firearms, Humor | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Florida Officer Fired For Writing Too Many Tickets…Well Sorta

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Randall

I’m sure by now everyone has read about the Palm Beach police officer fired for “writing too many tickets.”  It was repeated on numerous mainstream media sites.  Ad nauseum.  You really didn’t need to read between the lines to see it was a two-sided pissing contest.

Really?  The guy was fired for writing 115 traffic tickets in a month?  By some standards that would be a modest four weeks of cites.  At my copshop, one officer who consistently writes over 300 cites a month should be drawn and quartered!

Hopefully, it was plain as day that the termination was a politically motivated action.  The town instituted what amounts to a pay-for-performance plan (which my agency had many moons ago).  Your raise is tied to numbers.  If you pay people by their productivity, expect it to rise.

I am concerned that town officials in this day and age used “conduct unbecoming an officer” and “intimidating the citizenry” as the bases for the firing.  These are obviously subjective catch-all policy violations that show intent on the part of the town and Continue reading →

Posted in Media, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

SWATting Brings Controversy

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Randall

I’m a big fan of Robb Allen over at the blog Sharp as a Marble.  He’s from my neck of the woods and is passionate about the Second Amendment.  Heck, I even put him on my Blogroll.  But I’m annoyed at a recent post about SWATting.

In his entry, he condemns the militarization of the police, and its abuses, which include the practice of sending the police to a fake critical incident (SWATting).  His post was prompted by the SWATting of blogger Patrick Frey.  However, Allen and others assert that apparently SWAT is part of the problem:

“This entire episode has been enabled by the constant militarization of the police force.

SWAT teams should be rarer than hen’s teeth. Instead, every Mayberry has given Barney Fife fully automatic rifles, a tear gas grenade launcher, an APC to drive around town, and riot gear to wear as their daily uniform. Oh, and they get a nice PDF on how to use it all, and use it they must (otherwise they lose their budgets!).

This is a recipe for the exact thing these leftists are dreaming of – A full on police state where anyone who goes against them can be bullied into silence or, barring that, murdered.”

Further:

“Instead of trying to figure out whodunnit, why not make SWATting impossible to perform in the first place? Demilitarize the police and this tactic cannot happen. We don’t need our Continue reading →

Posted in SWAT | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

Mantis Knives Stolen In Atlanta

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Randall

While in Atlanta for The BLADE Show this weekend, Mantis Knives’ rental SUV was broken into and 25 pre-production MK-4 Vuja De balisong/karambits were stolen.  The following letter was sent out to Mantis Militia (knife club) members.  Thanks to ThinBlueFlorida reader M@ for forwarding it.

On Friday June 8th, at about 8:15pm, Mantis’ rental car was burglarized outside of a restaurant on West Paces Ferry Road in Atlanta, GA.

The passenger-side rear window of our SUV was busted out and EVERYTHING of value was taken. My backpack that contained a camera with priceless video footage and still shots of our booth, my iPad, and assorted folders with vast amounts of information were stolen… but perhaps what effects you guys most is that the entire lot of MK-4 “Vuja De” Knives were stolen.

To re-affirm: two Atlanta-area criminals have stolen 25 of the pre-production MK-4 “Vuja De” Bali-Song Karambits.The only one that remains with us is the one that I was wearing in my pocket at the time of the burglary.

I’m so sorry to be the bearer of this news. However horrible this is though, the show must go on.

We’re still traveling at the moment and trying to salvage what’s left of our sales trip,so I’m unable to give an exact ETA on when we’ll get back on track, and get these knives into the twenty new owners’ hands… but you know we will do it just as quickly as possible.

We continue to stay as positive as possible in spite of the recent events and we hope you will to.

Mantis needs your help, guys. I’d like to humbly ask each of you to keep an eye out for these knives being stupidly sold on Craigslist or Ebay…we figure that eventually, these thieves will attempt to turn these knives into cash, and I can’t think of a more vigilant force than the one I’m addressing right now.

Help me find these criminals and bring them to justice.  They’ve stolen from all of us.

The only witness described two black men in a forest green, two door, Honda accord with a lame-looking spoiler on it. The license plate had a “G” and a “B” in it, but that’s all that was legible to her at the distance she was standing. Continue reading →

Posted in Knives | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments