Year end re-cap video

It has been a phenomenal year of training! We got to travel to some new places, form some new partnerships, and train with great folks.

Thanks to Tac*One consulting for being so awesome to work with. We are looking forward to 2015 big time!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a40XSZnN8UQ


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a40XSZnN8UQ

Cody training

Spent the last several day in Cody, WY with Tac*One Consulting putting on a comprehensive Officer Survival class for the Park CSO detentions and courts deputies. We covered combat shooting, edged weapons, ground fighting, and scenarios!  Great group of professionals to train with.

ForceScience Newsletter #270:

Emergency Survival Responses (ESR)

1 hr · 

From ForceScience Newsletter #270:

Controversy sparks anew over alleged risks of prone positioning

A Canadian anesthesiologist has attempted to revive the controversy about alleged risks associated with the prone positioning of arrestees, only to draw an emphatic rebuke from a team of experts on the subject.

The physician is Alain Michaud, affiliated with a hospital in Roberval, Quebec. In published correspondence to the Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, he presents an argument sometimes advanced by plaintiffs' attorneys in lawsuits against police involving arrest-related deaths. Namely, that applying pressure to the back of a proned-out, struggling suspect can compress the inferior vena cava blood vessel to the extent that blood from the legs and abdomen cannot get back to the heart, thus provoking a fatal cardiac disruption. He links the problem especially to individuals experiencing the excited delirium syndrome (ExDS).

INSISTENT CHALLENGE. The anesthesiologist challenges a study published earlier in the Journal which disputed the hypothesis that "weight force" applied to "the center of [a suspect's] back" could cause a "sudden cardiovascular collapse" from significantly diminished blood return to the heart.

That study was too limited, Michaud argues, because, among other things, it did not adequately factor in the impact of physical exertion and psychological stress that invariably accompany ExDS encounters on the street.

Restraining a "hyperactive individual" in the prone position on a hard surface, he insists, "will impede free expansion of the chest and the abdomen" during inhalation and "may interfere with cardiopulmonary" function. Indeed, he says, even the weight of one knee applied to the back of a subject in the throes of ExDS "should alter the venus [blood] return significantly."

Moreover, he writes, a "tight hogtie position could also reduce the venous return directly and indirectly by different mechanisms."

Citing several papers written by others, Michaud concludes that the prone position should not be ruled out "as a contributing or precipitating factor in fatal ExDS." Police, he says, should consider "developing restraint techniques that would not impede abdominal and chest expansion...in the lateral position."

Michaud's letter can be read in full, for a fee, by clicking here

SHARP REBUTTAL. Four researchers involved in the study Michaud criticizes have fired back with a lengthy letter of their own. This team--Drs. Gary Vilke, Theodore Chan, Davut Savaser, and Tom Neuman--are physicians with the Dept. of Emergency Medicine at the University of California-San Diego.

"It is highly doubtful that Dr. Michaud's letter would ever survive peer review," they write, because he "relies on speculative theories" supported mainly by "reports of questionable applicability and no true experimental literature" and also "mischaracterizes many of his cited references,...often leaving out key details" to support his assertions.

The team points out that Michaud presents "no data" to support his claim that a single knee to the back of an excited delirium subject can significantly hamper blood flow. Although this is presented as fact, it appears in reality to be merely his "conjecture" and "speculation," they write.

"Dr. Michaud completely fails to mention five other experimental papers," in addition to their own study, "that directly contradict his thesis," the researchers continue. These studies dealt with back weight up to 225 pounds, "with no reports of any adverse effects such as blood pressure drops" or heart distress symptoms "that would be consistent with marked reductions in cardiac output....

"To be blunt, Dr. Michaud ignores common sense. Were as little as one knee in the back sufficient to cause such a dangerous reduction in cardiac output, there would be significant death rates among rugby or football players."

In contrast, the team notes, "there is now abundant evidence that even relatively minor degrees [of structural heart disease] is associated with an increased incidence of sudden death." This risk factor, they conclude, is far more worthy of focus and exploration than the "unfounded and unsupported theory" of prone positioning adversely affecting blood flow.

The rebuttal can be accessed in full, for a fee, by clicking here.

An abstract of the study at the core of the Journal's letter exchange can be viewed free of charge by clicking here. The title is "The effect of the prone maximal restraint position with and without weight force on cardiac output and other hemodynamic measures."

ANOTHER VOICE. Another observer weighing in recently on the alleged risks of prone positioning is Dr. Michael Graham, a professor of pathology at St. Louis University and chief medical examiner for the city of St. Louis. Graham includes the subject in a broad, 24-page review of factors often associated with arrest-related deaths published in Academic Forensic Pathology, the official journal of the National Assn. of Medical Examiners.

In light of existing research on the subject, Graham concludes that "in the vast majority of cases, it is unlikely" that the extent and duration of compression of an arrestee's chest, back, or abdomen during prone positioning "are sufficient to cause or contribute to death."

Sophisticated studies, he notes, have failed to confirm a risk of fatal breathing or cardiac problems induced by prone positioning with either hogtying or weight force.

In another section of his report, Graham explores research findings regarding the role of CEWs in arrest-related deaths, again concluding that no causal relationship has been established. He also describes relevant factors in deaths associated with neck restraint, excited delirium, and short-term physical exertion by suspects with the sickle cell trait.

spread the word

TRAINING OPPS
We have a variety of classes coming up; both Law Enforcement and Civilian. If you know LEOs who might be interested, please share the info below. If you are interested in civilian self-protection courses, please share the relevant info below. 

You can message me here for ore info or forward inquiries to my email at CQCtactics@msn.com. Thanks and GHOGH

Classes: _______
Officer Survival & Duty Knife @ Tac*One in Cody, WY
December 04-06, 2014

Tactical Knife Options - Civilian @ Tac*One (Denver)
December 12, 2014 (17:30-21:30)

Tactical Knife Options LE @ Douglas, WY
December 17, 2014

Tactical Knife Options Level II - civ @ Centennial Gun Club
December 19, 2014 (17:00-21:00)

Tactical Knife Options - Duty Knife @ Broomfield PD
January 09, 2015

Tactical Knife Options - civ @ BluCore Shooting Center
January 10, 2014 (09:30-13:30)

Tactical Knife Options - civ @ Centennial Gun Club
January 16, 2015 (17:00-21:00)

Patrol In-Service @ Camp George West
January 26-30, 2014

Tactical Knife Options - LE @ Santa Fe, NM
February 05, 20

Class-new location

All:

I hope this email finds you doing well and enjoying the Fall weather...:) 

I have a Tactical Knife Options-civilian class on November 15 at a new location. If you know anyone who could benefit from the training please let them know.

The class will be held at : 5770 Clarkson St. Denver, CO 80216 at the Tac*One training center. To register call 720-425-5687.

If you happen to be in the area, come check out this facility. It is where we will be conducting the advanced training course in Feb which will cover hand-to-hand, knife, and SIMs force on force training where we work on transition from one weapon system to another..

Oldie, but goodie

Archive Video:
Here is an old vid from the vaults circa early 1990s. Outside of the “disarms” and that it is completely geared towards SPECOPs profs, pretty solid stuff from a fundamental standpoint. What do you think?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4aZ2x8P-rI&feature=youtu.be

LEO Poem

In lieu of the horrific week that LE has seen, I wanted to re-post this:

 

"I’ve driven these City streets ten thousand times. I know every street, alley, nook and cranny. The hot-spots, low-spots, the upside and the underside.

I roam the streets and prowl the shadows. Upholder of the peace; protector of the sheep. Highly tuned to sense danger; yet fearless in the face of my enemies.

I am a hard charging, hairy chested, scootin-shootin, flashbang tossin, double-tappin sheepdog warrior. When I vow to do a thing, there is not a thing in the world I cannot do.

No door too tough for kick’n, no car too fast for pit’n.

I’ve learned many lessons in my journey towards impeccability, some the hard-way:

Luck favors the prepared; so prepare for the worst.

Keep one in the chamber and there is no such thing as too much ammo.

Its not the size of the bullet, but its placement that counts.

Life is for the bold, pain fades, and glory lives forever.

Courage-Honor-and Compassion usually travel together and the "Right" thing is never the easy thing.

While others run from danger, I hunt it down and stand on its throat. I am a Man, a husband, a father, a lover and a fighter. I fight for life, what is good, family and tribe. Anything worth doing is worth doing 110%. Procrastination and moderation are for the weak."

Pain? Which type do you choose?

Pain:

 

 



Why take a knife to a gun fight?

I am a veteran firearms instructor and HUGE proponent of firearms and CCWs.  I get asked the above question a lot when people find out I teach the Tactical Knife Options course. If you know me, then you know I am all about being prepared and that the correct mindset drives preparation.  You also know that I am all about stacking the deck in your favor. So with that said, here is a short video about training with knives… 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7RNQ2SkJE4

 

 

2 park rangers stabbed

 

2 park rangers stabbed on Boston Common:

A homeless man was arrested Tuesday in what police say was the unprovoked stabbing of two park rangers on Boston Common

“…a 46-year-old sergeant, suffered life-threatening injuries and was in surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital.”

Read full story here:

http://www.policeone.com/edged-weapons/articles/7674496-Police-2-park-rangers-stabbed-on-Boston-Common/

New North location

New north location!!

I am very excited to announce that the Tactical Knife Options –civilian course has a new North-of-Denver location: 

Tac*One Consulting (http://www.taconeconsulting.com), located at 5770 Clarkson St. #E

 Denver, CO 80216; just east of the I-25 / 58^th Ave. exit, will host the civilian TKO class on :

·         November 15^th (15:00-19:00)

·         December 12^th (17:30-21:30) AND

·         A level II class on January 10 (10:00-14:00)

 Come check out this centrally located, state of the art training facility. To register or for more information, message me here or call 720-364-4278. And remember “Luck favors the prepared…”

Comfort Zone - Growth Zone - Panic Zone

The Comfort Zone: 

Prior to the Panic-Zone and the Growth-Zone is the “Comfort-Zone”. This is where most people choose to exist. 

The Comfort-Zone is for safe-feelings, planning, re-groping and complacency.  What the Comfort-Zone is NOT for is: Growth; being a BadAss, Winning, Being a champ or exhibiting  courage, overcoming adversity…

The above only takes place when you step/jump out of your Comfort-Zone; when you embrace fear; hit the pain barrier full-tilt-boogie. This is where greatness takes form; where courage is demonstrated; where winning happens….

 

 

Tactical Knife Options civilian class

There are still slots open for the Level II class (TKO-civilian) class on 17 October from 17:00-21:00 hours. Hosted by the Centennial Gun Club. Visit the link below to register:

http://centennialgunclub.com/training/edgedweapons/tactical-knife-options-civilian-concepts-level-ii/

Goals...

Saw this earlier and wanted to re-post.

There is nothing in Nature that is static. Everything is either growing or dissolving. The same is true for us. If we are not getting better – developing, then we are slowly eroding. Our brains and bodies were intended to be used, pushed, to grow. We have to make a conscious effort daily to grow and get better. The alternative is that we slowly crumble. Complacency and procrastination are the natural assassin of progress and success. That is why it is so critical to have goals….

Slots still open for the Greeley class

Weapon Retention in close quarters....

Weapon Retention and Secondary Deadly Force Options:

 

In class we discuss that a weapon-retention situation is the most likely scenario that warrants deadly force as the appropriate level of response to a deadly-threat. This story exemplifies several things:

1.    The victim-officer faced an sudden immanent deadly threat and in fact suffered serious bodily injuries.

2.    The victim-officer did not have (or was not trained in) a secondary deadly-force option(s) to neutralize the threat/attack. (Had another LEO not been present and armed; how many people might have been injured and or died?)

3.    Re-action time: This attack occurred in a confined/close-quarter area with other LEOs present. Yet a restrained suspect was able to attack – disarm – and shoot the victim-officer before anyone else could process and respond to the dynamic and evolving threat. (I would be interested in knowing how much time elapsed between initial active aggression and neutralization of the threat).

 

Inmate killed, officer wounded in Ga. court shooting

The cuffed inmate managed to grab the detective's gun and open fire, and a second officer returned fire

“…suspect managed to get a DeKalb County police detective's gun and shoot him before another officer (shot and) killed the prisoner/suspect..”

http://www.policeone.com/Officer-Safety/articles/7631123-Inmate-killed-officer-wounded-in-Ga-court-shooting/

Funny guy - good message

Matt is normally a very funny guy and I enjoy his vids.. He sends out a solid message today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLqgrQ3hNxY

Why we flinch

Why do we flinch? Is it possible to use the natural flinch as a protective or offensive measure?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcPpQ1XUBj8

Revisiting the "21-foot rule"

From Policemag.com

The Tueller Drill is often evoked as justification by officers after a shooting…But is it scientifically defensible?

http://www.policemag.com/channel/weapons/articles/2014/09/revisiting-the-21-foot-rule.aspx

NJ Officer stabbed; suspect sho after attempted gun grab

Full story here:
http://www.policeone.com/officer-shootings/articles/7612367-NJ-cop-stabbed-suspect-shot-after-attempted-gun-grab/

Support Darren Wilson

IMHO: I think we should all purchase one of these and show support and to send a message officers are people too who should be able to show support for each other. If people choose to be offended at the sight of these bracelets, that is their decision and problem. I also think that this police chief should seek employment elsewhere; maybe as a wet-nurse somewhere.

http://www.policeone.com/officer-shootings/articles/7608410-Ferguson-police-barred-from-wearing-I-am-Darren-Wilson-bracelets/

Suspect shot after stabbing two officers

http://www.policeone.com/edged-weapons/videos/7595755-Terror-suspect-killed-after-stabbing-2-Australian-officers/

Great class at CGC

Another great Civilian class last night. While most people were out at dinner, the movies or a club... This group of hard-chargers were learning and honing self-protection skills.

Man beheads woman in OK

Good job for the CCW holder/former LEO for taking swift action and neutralizing the threat. I am sure he wished he could have acted sooner...

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/09/muslim-beheads-woman-in-oklahoma-grocery-store-after-failing-to-convert-her/

Body Cams: from ForceScience

10 limitations of body cams you need to know for your protection

A special report from the Force Science Institute

The idea is building that once every cop is equipped with a body camera, the controversy will be taken out of police shootings and other uses of force because "what really happened" will be captured on video for all to see. Well, to borrow the title from an old Gershwin tune, "It Ain't Necessarily So."

There's no doubt that body cameras--like dash cams, cell phone cams, and surveillance cams--can provide a unique perspective on police encounters and, in most cases, are likely to help officers. But like those other devices, a camera mounted on your uniform or on your head has limitations that need to be understood and considered when evaluating the images they record.

"Rushing to condemn an officer for inappropriate behavior based solely on body-camera evidence can be a dicey proposition," cautions Dr. Bill Lewinski, executive director of the Force Science Institute. "Certainly, a camera can provide more information about what happened on the street. But it can't necessarily provide all the information needed to make a fair and impartial final judgment. There still may be influential human factors involved, apart from what the camera sees."

In a recent conversation with Force Science News, Lewinski enumerated 10 limitations that are important to keep in mind regarding body-camera evidence (and, for the most part, recordings from other cameras as well) if you are an investigator, a police attorney, a force reviewer, or an involved officer. This information may also be helpful in efforts to educate your community.

1. A camera doesn't follow your eyes or see as they see.

At the current level of development, a body camera is not an eye-tracker like FSI has used in some of its studies of officer attention. That complex apparatus can follow the movement of your eyes and superimpose on video small red circles that mark precisely where you are looking from one microsecond to the next.

"A body camera photographs a broad scene but it can't document where within that scene you are looking at any given instant," Lewinski says. "If you glance away from where the camera is concentrating, you may not see action within the camera frame that appears to be occurring 'right before your eyes.'

"Likewise, the camera can't acknowledge physiological and psychological phenomena that you may experience under high stress. As a survival mechanism, your brain may suppress some incoming visual images that seem unimportant in a life-threatening situation so you can completely focus very narrowly on the threat. You won't be aware of what your brain is screening out.

"Your brain may also play visual tricks on you that the camera can't match. If a suspect is driving a vehicle toward you, for example, it will seem to be closer, larger, and faster than it really is because of a phenomenon called 'looming.' Camera footage may not convey the same sense of threat that you experienced.

"In short, there can be a huge disconnect between your field of view and your visual perception and the camera's. Later, someone reviewing what's caught on camera and judging your actions could have a profoundly different sense of what happened than you had at the time it was occurring."

2. Some important danger cues can't be recorded.

"Tactile cues that are often important to officers in deciding to use force are difficult for cameras to capture," Lewinski says. "Resistive tension is a prime example.

"You can usually tell when you touch a suspect whether he or she is going to resist. You may quickly apply force as a preemptive measure, but on camera it may look like you made an unprovoked attack, because the sensory cue you felt doesn't record visually."

And, of course, the camera can't record the history and experience you bring to an encounter. "Suspect behavior that may appear innocuous on film to a naive civilian can convey the risk of mortal danger to you as a streetwise officer," Lewinski says. "For instance, an assaultive subject who brings his hands up may look to a civilian like he's surrendering, but to you, based on past experience, that can be a very intimidating and combative movement, signaling his preparation for a fighting attack. The camera just captures the action, not your interpretation."

 3. Camera speed differs from the speed of life.

Because body cameras record at much higher speeds than typical convenience store or correctional facility security cameras, it's less likely that important details will be lost in the millisecond gaps between frames, as sometimes happens with those cruder devices.

"But it's still theoretically possible that something as brief as a muzzle flash or the glint of a knife blade that may become a factor in a use-of-force case could still fail to be recorded," Lewinski says.

Of greater consequence, he believes, is the body camera's depiction of action and reaction times.

"Because of the reactionary curve, an officer can be half a second or more behind the action as it unfolds on the screen," Lewinski explains. "Whether he's shooting or stopping shooting, his recognition, decision-making, and physical activation all take time--but obviously can't be shown on camera.

"People who don't understand this reactionary process won't factor it in when viewing the footage. They'll think the officer is keeping pace with the speed of the action as the camera records it. So without knowledgeable input, they aren't likely to understand how an officer can unintentionally end up placing rounds in a suspect's back or firing additional shots after a threat has ended."

4. A camera may see better than you do in low light.

"The high-tech imaging of body cameras allows them to record with clarity in many low-light settings," Lewinski says. "When footage is screened later, it may actually be possible to see elements of the scene in sharper detail than you could at the time the camera was activated.

"If you are receiving less visual information than the camera is recording under time-pressured circumstances, you are going to be more dependent on context and movement in assessing and reacting to potential threats. In dim light, a suspect's posturing will likely mean more to you immediately than some object he's holding. When footage is reviewed later, it may be evident that the object in his hand was a cell phone, say, rather than a gun. If you're expected to have seen that as clearly as the camera did, your reaction might seem highly inappropriate."

On the other hand, he notes, cameras do not always deal well with lighting transitions. "Going suddenly from bright to dim light or vice versa, a camera may briefly blank out images altogether," he says.

5. Your body may block the view.

"How much of a scene a camera captures is highly dependent on where it's positioned and where the action takes place," Lewinski notes. "Depending on location and angle, a picture may be blocked by your own body parts, from your nose to your hands.

"If you're firing a gun or a Taser, for example, a camera on your chest may not record much more than your extended arms and hands. Or just blading your stance may obscure the camera's view. Critical moments within a scenario that you can see may be missed entirely by your body cam because of these dynamics, ultimately masking what a reviewer may need to see to make a fair judgment."

 6. A camera only records in 2-D.

Because cameras don't record depth of field--the third dimension that's perceived by the human eye--accurately judging distances on their footage can be difficult.

"Depending on the lens involved, cameras may compress distances between objects or make them appear closer than they really are," Lewinski says. "Without a proper sense of distance, a reviewer may misinterpret the level of threat an officer was facing."

In the Force Science Certification Course, he critiques several camera images in which distance distortion became problematic. In one, an officer's use of force seemed inappropriate because the suspect appears to be too far away to pose an immediate threat. In another, an officer appears to strike a suspect's head with a flashlight when, in fact, the blow was directed at a hand and never touched the head.

"There are technical means for determining distances on 2-D recordings," Lewinski says, "but these are not commonly known or accessed by most investigators."

7. The absence of sophisticated time-stamping may prove critical.

The time-stamping that is automatically imposed on camera footage is a gross number, generally measuring the action minute by minute. "In some high-profile, controversial shooting cases that is not sophisticated enough," Lewinski says. "To fully analyze and explain an officer's perceptions, reaction time, judgment, and decision-making it may be critical to break the action down to units of one-hundredths of a second or even less.

"There are post-production computer programs that can electronically encode footage to those specifications, and the Force Science Institute strongly recommends that these be employed. When reviewers see precisely how quickly suspects can move and how fast the various elements of a use-of-force event unfold, it can radically change their perception of what happened and the pressure involved officers were under to act."

8. One camera may not be enough.

"The more cameras there are recording a force event, the more opportunities there are likely to be to clarify uncertainties," Lewinski says. "The angle, the ambient lighting, and other elements will almost certainly vary from one officer's perspective to another's, and syncing the footage up will provide broader information for understanding the dynamics of what happened. What looks like an egregious action from one angle may seem perfectly justified from another.

"Think of the analysis of plays in a football game. In resolving close calls, referees want to view the action from as many cameras as possible to fully understand what they're seeing. Ideally, officers deserve the same consideration. The problem is that many times there is only one camera involved, compared to a dozen that may be consulted in a sporting event, and in that case the limitations must be kept even firmer in mind.

9. A camera encourages second-guessing.

"According to the U. S. Supreme Court in Graham v. Connor, an officer's decisions in tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving situations are not to be judged with the '20/20 vision of hindsight,' " Lewinski notes. "But in the real-world aftermath of a shooting, camera footage provides an almost irresistible temptation for reviewers to play the coulda-shoulda game.

"Under calm and comfortable conditions, they can infinitely replay the action, scrutinize it for hard-to-see detail, slow it down, freeze it. The officer had to assess what he was experiencing while it was happening and under the stress of his life potentially being on the line. That disparity can lead to far different conclusions.

"As part of the incident investigation, we recommend that an officer be permitted to see what his body camera and other cameras recorded. He should be cautioned, however, to regard the footage only as informational. He should not allow it to supplant his first-hand memory of the incident. Justification for a shooting or other use of force will come from what an officer reasonably perceived, not necessarily from what a camera saw."

10. A camera can never replace a thorough investigation.

When officers oppose wearing cameras, civilians sometimes assume they fear "transparency." But more often, Lewinski believes, they are concerned that camera recordings will be given undue, if not exclusive, weight in judging their actions.

"A camera's recording should never be regarded solely as the Truth about a controversial incident," Lewinski declares. "It needs to be weighed and tested against witness testimony, forensics, the involved officer's statement, and other elements of a fair, thorough, and impartial investigation that takes human factors into consideration.

"This is in no way intended to belittle the merits of body cameras. Early testing has shown that they tend to reduce the frequency of force encounters as well as complaints against officers.

"But a well-known police defense attorney is not far wrong when he calls cameras 'the best evidence and the worst evidence.' The limitations of body cams and others need to be fully understood and evaluated to maximize their effectiveness and to assure that they are not regarded as infallible 'magic bullets' by people who do not fully grasp the realities of force dynamics."

Another great class today

Tactical Knife Options - Lakewood PD

Another great TKO class. Had LEOs from Lone Tree PD, Broomfield PD, State Parks, Lakewood PD, Aurora Marshals, and Auraria PD. Awesome group of enthusiastic professionals. Thank you!

Training in the Virgin Islands

St. Croix Police Training

Great training with TAC*ONE Consulting, Joe Deedon, Robert, Chris, and John. Over 200 officers on the island. We rotated groups through from Tactical Knife Opitons, ground tactics, TEMS, and range time... Only scratching the surface. We will be back later this year...