Calibre Press

After our article, Active Shooter: Coming to a Theater Near You? Advice From the Front Line, we received the following response from recently retired Director of Public Safety, Richard Fairburn in Canton, IL. Richard's insights come backed with 40 years of expansive law enforcement experience. That said, we felt it was important to share his thoughts with all of you. He writes: When the mass shooting at the Century 16 theater in Aurora occ... Full Article »

The mass shooting at the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, CO in 2012 stands as one of the most murderous events in recent memory. 12 people were killed and 70 were injured after tactically clad active shooter James Holmes opened fire on terrified theatergoers during a midnight screening of the Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises. The incident was not only deadly, it was also tactically eye-opening. As law enforcement, EMS and fire responded ... Full Article »

"...he claims he's gonna go rob sombody and stick 'em!" The Jacksonville, FL Sheriff’s Office has released body camera footage of the 2020 shooting of 39-year-old John Ridder after he threatened an officer with a large butcher knife. There are a number of opportunities for learning and discussion offered by this incident so we’re taking a look. The situation began when a man called 911 to report that Ridder, who the caller believed had ... Full Article »

“When/Then” thinking—when this happens, then I will do this—has been recommended for ages as an effective self-training tool that can help you prepare for prompt, definitive, well thought-out action in a variety of situations. Investing in prior thinking into what you will do when faced with a challenging scenario can prove priceless in several ways…among them enhancing your safety. With that, have you thought about how you would rea... Full Article »

I’m starting this with a shout out to our brothers and sisters in corrections. We all know that dealing with people with a penchant for criminal behavior is part of the job for cops. Obviously, those encounters occur frequently on the street, but exposure to those individuals isn’t constant…all shift, every shift, throughout your career. Not so with corrections officers. These men and women are literally sealed off behind towering walls ... Full Article »

Want to see how incredibly fast someone can go from being completely turned away from you, walking away, to pivoting and charging right at you? Watch this video! One afternoon about a month ago, two Albuquerque officers spotted a man walking down the middle lane of a three-lane street openly carrying a knife. In the footage posted below, you’ll see that his back is squarely turned away from the first officer tailing him as he walks at a mode... Full Article »

The concept of having social workers respond to emergency calls involving mentally ill subjects is—excuse the understatement—complex. These are highly unpredictable contacts often characterized by rapidly changing levels of confrontational behavior and overall threat to the responding parties which until now, in some places, have always been law enforcement officers. They can involve irrational thinking, paranoia, explosive anger and a ... Full Article »

Picture this. You find yourself face-to-face with a guy who’s holding a gun against his thigh. He’s not pointing it at you. He’s also not going to give it up. How do you know? Because he’s told you so. Twice. He’s sexually assaulted a woman, stolen her car, fled from police and he’s right in front of you, just a few feet away with no barriers between the two of you. What are you going to do? What can you do? Shoot him? ... Full Article »

Many cops share two common nightmares. One is related to their sidearm; the gun is stuck in their holster, the trigger won’t respond no matter how hard the officer pulls and/or the bullets just fall out of the gun.   The other is shooting someone who’s bearing down on them, intent to kill, and their rounds have no effect. This video is a real-life example of that second nightmare. Watch this clip and then we’ll discuss: ht... Full Article »

If You Think So, You’re Out of Your Mind. A Christmas concert outside a Manhattan church this week ended in an encore of gunfire when a gunman with a lengthy criminal record, brandishing two semi-autos—one in each hand—and carrying a backpack with a can of gasoline, rope, wire, tape, knives and a Bible inside, began firing rounds, sending terrified concertgoers scrambling to get out of range or find some kind of cover. One elderly man... Full Article »

Since the development of the tire deployment device (TDD), not a year has passed without the loss or serious injury of officers involved with their use—be it preparing for deployment, executing deployment, or post-deployment retrieval. Already, after just four months, 2020 has proven to be no different. These tragedies should make us rethink how we end high speed chases. Before diving into this subject, I will admit that in my younger years I, ... Full Article »

Recently, Calibre Press hosted a widely popular one-hour Webinar titled, “Lockdown Leadership: Evolving Issues That Impact Safety, Morale & Public Confidence.” More than 4,000 officers registered for the program, which featured Calibre Press’s Jim Glennon and a team of three Chiefs of Police who also instruct for Calibre. The recording is now posted for viewing. Click here to watch. In this video you’ll our powerhouse team will ... Full Article »

Recent stats from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) show that autism rates in children grew 10% from 2016 to 2018, currently standing at 1/54 children. A unique and challenging characteristic of autism is wandering, commonly known as “fleeing,” “bolting” or “eloping” events -- similar to what are known as “wandering events” in the Alzheimer’s community. For reasons not entirely known, roughly half of children with autism wi... Full Article »

Listen as Calibre Press CEO Scott Buhrmaster gives an update on new resources we're offering now and an exciting new Calibre Press Video Training Division launch coming very soon. https://youtu.be/6-o_K6qxLsM    ... Full Article »

Back in 2008, on the milestone of my being involved in the law enforcement training community for 20 years, I was asked to craft a retrospective for one of the leading national police publications. Interestingly, as I now stand at my 30th year of having the honor of working with and for officers like you, I just happened to stumble on that piece. After reading it, 10 years later, it struck me that time hasn’t changed a thing as far as what I... Full Article »