Calibre Press

It’s impossible to watch the attached video and not be impacted on many levels. The violence. The open warfare. The disregard for the sanctity of human life. The indifference to the law itself in a “civilized” society. But you know what else strikes me about this incident, played out in this day and age where much of the mainstream media, too many politicians and certainly agenda-driven activist groups demonize the police as violent r... Full Article »

In 2004 while I was a lieutenant with 25 years on, I backed up two of my patrol officers on a shoplifting call. A man grabbed a bottle of vodka off the shelf of a liquor store and walked past a store employee who informed him that he would have to stop and pay for the alcohol. He didn’t. The employee followed the man, took down his license plate number and called the police. A rookie cop named Joe got the call. He ran the plate and found tha... Full Article »

We repeatedly talk about speed as a key element to consider when discussing, evaluating and training for force encounters; how quickly someone can pivot to face or flee from an officer, how fast a suspect can close in on an officer after deciding to attack, the time it takes for an officer to perceive and react to a threat, how quickly a suspect can fire a gun. The impact of talking about it, though, pales in comparison to actually seeing dead... Full Article »

“Why do you watch war movies?” My wife regularly asks me that question. We do have some similar interests when it comes to TV and movies, but not much. So, we regularly find ourselves in separate rooms indulging our own particular proclivities. From where she sits, I can hear whiney housewives from various large cities complaining about what a burden their riches are for them and their spoiled, privileged offspring. From mine, well, she... Full Article »

Last month, 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez was shot by a Chicago police officer after several officers approached him and he fled, for the second time in two days. This sparked a foot pursuit. It was apparent that Alvarez had a gun and as one of the pursing officers closed in on him and ordered him to drop the weapon—a command he ignored—he was shot multiple times in the back. Take a look at body cam footage of the incident, then let’s disc... Full Article »

[Editor's note: If you're new to our site and have not subscribed to our free weekly newsletter, you can sign up HERE.] It’s time to ask, “Who actually understands what it’s like to be a police officer?” TV personalities? Office-bound politicians? Sports figures? They are suddenly all experts on law enforcement, controlling violence and making life or death decisions in an instant. At least they are from their comfortable chai... Full Article »

An Oklahoma City police sergeant has been charged with first-degree manslaughter and a lesser charge of second-degree manslaughter for shooting a man in the back three times. A man who seconds before attempted to kill another sergeant, charging him with a knife in hand. The charging document, filed by a homicide investigator, included the following: Mr. Edwards (the deceased) charged Sergeant Duroy with the knife before he changed directions a... Full Article »

A loaded question and a loaded title, right? Calibre Press articles generally focus on police training and decision-making is an essential part of all training. We also address issues that impact the profession and today we find ourselves with no lack of impactful issues. Should You Shoot Someone Breaching the U.S. Capitol? I repeat the title because decisions to use force, especially deadly force, are unquestionably the most critical an... Full Article »

"…the test of reasonableness under the Fourth Amendment is not capable of precise definition or mechanical application." 100% of the people who give their opinions about an officer’s decision-making process and subsequent conduct during an interaction with a citizen captured on video, are giving those opinions in the aftermath. While viewing said video they are experiencing zero stress. As they sit sipping their extra-large Cinnamon Roll F... Full Article »

While on patrol two Phoenix, AZ police officers came across an altercation between a man and a woman in the street. They stopped to investigate in order to find out what was happening. Here's video of the encounter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYsLMeOydTQ Initially, the man involved walked away from the officers as they approached. Now what? Well, I guess it would depend on what they saw and what they believed to be happeni... Full Article »

In Philadelphia, PA on October 26, 2020, police received a call from a woman who advised she was the daughter to a mother and father who were both being abused by their son. She stated on the 911 recorded line that “they called the cops earlier and the cops is not doin’ nothing he’s over there hitting my mother and father. He got a case for being violent and everything, he got a whole record.” The police arrived and immediately encount... Full Article »

https://youtu.be/vZxJnTKsYRc After a short chase, a deputy caught up with the man and tried to keep him calm and deescalate. But once the deputy went to handcuff the man, he produced a knife and stabbed the deputy in the neck. The title may imply that I’m discouraging officers from attempts of deescalation when dealing with disturbed and/or emotionally charged individuals, which of course is not true. Calibre Press has courses that specif... Full Article »

On September 5th Chicago Police officers responded to a stabbing call in a park at approximately 1:40 a.m. Upon arrival, three officers, one of whom was a female sergeant, came upon a 34-year-old man holding a large butcher-type knife. Officers were wearing body cameras that were activated and in the video of the encounter, you can hear officers shout orders at the man, including, “Put your goddamn hands up. Don’t be reaching for nothin... Full Article »

I’m a real emotional guy. My wife says I live in “full color” with my heart and every other passion on both sleeves. My opinions are shared easily with those I’m close to and they often make it into my columns and books. I’ve been asked by loved ones how I—someone so quick to emotion—could function as a commander of investigations and run a major crimes task force. How could I keep those passions, those emotions, so quick to appe... Full Article »

At around noon on 9/11 - the actual 9/11/2001- our homicide task force was called out for a murder that just occurred.  As the Investigations Commander I was apprised of the situation while driving to what would be the command post at the West Chicago, Il PD.  Besides the obvious hell that was breaking loose nationally we had our own coincidental explosion of hell that day. Our murder suspect was a Middle Eastern immigrant.  He had... Full Article »

The Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA decided to boycott their playoff game against the Orlando Magic last week in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man shot by a white officer in Kenosha, Wis. three days before. “Some things are bigger than basketball.” said Alex Lasry, senior VP of the Bucks showing support and solidarity with his players. While the shooting of Jacob Blake captured on video is disturbing—any shooting i... Full Article »

Legislators in both the state and federal governments exist to represent the people. In theory, they hold these positions to pass laws and protect the tenets of the Constitution. The legal decrees they envision, propose, debate, and enact should only become laws if they benefit the citizenry and are designed to keep people safe from negligent and criminal behavior while upholding the framework of the Constitution.  In a nutshell, their... Full Article »

Virtually every time I step in the shower, I start to have the very same thoughts. It begins, not surprisingly, with the water. Once the liquidized combination of hydrogen and oxygen is warmed to what I deem to be the perfect temperature, I step into the ceramic enclosure, stand directly beneath the shower head, and revel in those few moments of heaven. Eventually my eyes open, and for some reason I look up at the shower head and fixate ... Full Article »

Editor's note: We continue to receive heavy feedback on this article and hear it referenced often in national discussions regarding deescalation. In light of its popularity we're republishing this for those who didn't see it the first time it ran. Be sure to register for the new "Deescalation, Intervention & Force Mitigation" courses we're got coming up. Click here for the schedule. ======= Over the past few weeks, we’ve heard the ter... Full Article »

Politicians purposely step into the limelight. It’s a conscious decision.  In most cases, it’s also a calculated decision. They do it for a variety of reasons: power, authority, a desire to enact change, fame, money. Some do it for reasons known only to them. Some are noble; some, well…not so much. Once engaged in the political arena, they expose their entire lives to public scrutiny. Nothing is private anymore. Not their finance... Full Article »