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Showing posts from February, 2014

The Priority of Life: Problems with Oversimplification

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In teaching according to our Model , we learned quickly that our initial layout of the Priority of Life was flawed. It served as an excellent jumping off point for philosophic discussions, but the shortcomings had to be addressed. And as such, we made adjustments. My first exposure to the Priority of Life was in the early 2000s, in an active killer response instructor class. It made total and complete sense. Rank people's lives in the following order: Hostages / Innocent Persons Police Officers Suspects / Offenders This principle was the driving force for (what was back then) a revolution in police response to the (then new) phenomenon of the "active shooter." Because the driving force for this training was the increase in mass school killings, the Priority of Life was an easy sell to patrol officers...especially those with young children. The officers should accept risk/danger to themselves in order to save innocent people inside the building at the mercy of t

Incident Strategy and Tactics: The Baby Diaper Analogy

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Is it more important to be a kick-ass gunfighter? ...or to have the wisdom and understanding on how to stay out of a gunfight in the first place? And on which of these things should police instructors be focusing their efforts? This debate isn't limited to only the use of police deadly force; it's one that permeates law enforcement education and training as a whole. I have two children in diapers. The older one is becoming more and more independent. After 6500+ diaper-changes, he's understanding the operation. So much so, he's now trying to change it himself! As a parent, I thought that was pretty cool and convenient. I even considered some of the "training" I could provide him to expedite the process. Then I came to my senses. A self-diaper-changing toddler might be quite labor-saving. But a teenager in diapers is definitely not attractive (nor cost-effective!). At some point, this kid would have to learn how to not crap his pants. And that time was to be