Calibre Press

Security footage of a very recent life-or-death struggle in a courthouse sallyport between a correctional officer and a wheelchair-bound inmate spotlights numerous critically important officer survival points. In an effort to learn from this incident, we’re going to take a look at that footage and discuss. Early this week, 55-year-old Frederick Goss was transported to a courthouse in Mount Vernon, IL by a lone correctional officer to face fe... Full Article »

In last week’s newsletter we shared a question from an officer looking for insights into the pros and cons of carrying O.C. on either the strong side or the reaction side. After posting a response from a former Calibre Press instructor, we tossed the question out to our readers. Response was heavy. Here’s a sample of some of what we heard. Thanks for all the excellent feedback! Chief Phil Bostian with the Park City (KS) PD wrote: I h... Full Article »

Calibre Press received the following question we thought we would share for discussion: An officer wrote: “There is a mixed opinion on my department on which hand O.C. should be used with. Many say it should be worn on the strong hand side and used by the strong hand to keep fine motor skills. In contract, other officers say it should be worn on the weak side and used with the weak hand because of the long-standing rule, ‘never put anyt... Full Article »

Several readers shared additional thoughts for protecting yourself from being stalked at home following our “10 Ways to Avoid Being Tracked Down at Home” article. Here are a few: Lt. Michael Modica with the Los Angeles Co. Sheriff’s Department wrote: After reading the article about the officer ambushed at his home there was one glaring issue.  He drove his radio car home and was in full uniform. 1. Maybe not going to your pers... Full Article »

In our last article, we discussed the 360° CQD shooting method which works extremely well in close quarters and is the only one we are aware of that offers Two-handed aimed fire in 360 degrees from inside a vehicle. 360° CQD (close-quarter-defense) requires a couple of modifications to the support side hand and arm from the Isosceles/Weaver positions to perform it optimally. This article will be the first of a short series offered to thos... 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 »

Engaging in an armed confrontation poses extreme challenges and being forced to suddenly defend yourself from an ambush attack while seated in your vehicle offers a myriad of complications on top of that. Although lower in frequency, the number of law enforcement officers ambushed while in their vehicle is on the rise. This unique situation has never been studied before on its own. We are Advanced Force Science® Specialists and are currently ... Full Article »

Calibre Press has uploaded two short videos of officers discharging their firearms in the direction of human beings. The circumstances were very different in so many ways, but each involved making the decision to use deadly force and then actually doing so. This is the most serious of all the decisions officers have to make during their careers. The videos shown below, as with most of the videos we post for your convenience on our YouTube Chan... Full Article »

In Calibre Press’s Street Survival II: Tactics for Armed Encounters—the enhanced and expanded follow-up to the original Street Survival book—authors Charles Remsberg, Lt. Jim Glennon (ret.) and Lt. Dan Marcou (ret.) cover an extraordinary universe of topics; from officer safety & survival concepts to cuffing techniques to building entry to firearms to resiliency and mental preparation. You name it, it’s in there! In addition to sha... Full Article »

An interesting survey of conservation officers in the U.S. and Canada surfaced some important survival truths that are relevant for all officers. The project dove into the details of 379 violent encounters between offenders and conservation personnel during a three-year study sample period. Although focused specifically on conservation officers and conducted some years ago, the study yielded some survival lessons you should remember: 1. Stay a... Full Article »

The everyday experience of cuffing and transporting prisoners can make that often-repeated exercise susceptible to tactical complacency, which can increase the risk of prisoner escape. A “lost” prisoner obviously comes with serious officer and community safety issues and possibly severe legal ramifications. A handcuffed prisoner on the way to a police station, holding facility or jail may desperately grasp at any small crack in the officer... Full Article »

If you confront a threatening suspect who has a large knife Rambo knife in his hand, you’ll see it, right? How about your partner? Don’t be too quick to answer yes. Consider the following actual training experience: The scenario took place in a warehouse where officers were called to investigate a reported nighttime break-in. Upon arrival, they first had to deal with the scared and armed warehouse manager, role-played by a local judg... 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 »

[Editor's note: Be sure to check out the details on our new two-hour online course, available as a rental for your entire agency very soon: Spotting Pre-Assault Indicators] In an earlier article, we discussed 10 non-verbal cues that can serve as warning signs that a subject may be preparing to attack you. In Calibre Press’s popular book, Street Survival II: Tactics for Deadly Force Encounters,  three other important precursors to attack... Full Article »

You confront a suspect you’ve been told may be armed. No weapon is visible, but his hands are hidden in his pockets. You have no cover, no concealment. If he suddenly whips a hand out, he may be gripping a gun…a benign object…or nothing at all. How you react to that pressurized uncertainty —and whether your split-second decision proves to be righteous or a tragic misjudgment—may depend on how you’ve positioned your own firearm in a... Full Article »

The FBI has alerted Chicago-area law enforcement to a threat issued by street gangs who have “formed a pact” to “shoot on-sight any cop that has a weapon drawn on any subject in public.” According to reports, the FBI warning cites more than 30 involved gangs whose members, officials say, have been actively surveilling officers as they work, supposedly to film an officer pointing a firearm at a subject and subsequently being shot by obs... Full Article »

A Midwest drug raid confirmed the wisdom of the adage, “Look before you touch” and surfaced a couple of hidden dangers that serve as reminders to stay alert for dangers from above and below when searching a home or other location. Here’s what happened: Serving a search warrant at the home of a repeat offender suspected of dealing prescription drugs, officers initially encountered a rather conventionally barricaded front door. A metal pol... Full Article »

If you’re like many officers, the idea of being stalked and harassed at home by someone you’ve arrested or someone who has a problem with law enforcement in general may not have been high on your radar, but it should be. It can happen and it’s something you should actively take precautions against. During an interview with Calibre Press’ Street Survival Newsline, an officer who was stalked and harassed at his home shared some excellent... Full Article »

Once you’ve defended your life on the street, how do you now defend yourself in civil court—and win the lawsuit that customarily follows an officer-involved shooting? We put that question recently to veteran attorney Scott Wood, a former cop who’s spent the last quarter-century representing officers and agencies against accusations of excessive force and other alleged wrongdoings. He identified seven critical issues you and your attor... Full Article »

Calibre readers weigh in. Last week, Calibre Press columnist Shane McSheehy’s article, Have You Ever Been Punched in the Face? questioned whether today’s younger officers are really prepared for a fight. The query is one Shane actually uses in his training. “It’s a fairly straight forward question I ask each recruit I instruct during day one of his or her academy defensive tactics block,” Shane says. “Normally, and oftentimes predict... Full Article »