Are you training officers to win up close and personal violent encounters?
Are you training officers to shoot a subject from inches away, who poses a threat of death or grievous bodily harm to the officer or someone else?
Are you training officers to shoot a subject in the back to save the life of a fellow officer or a citizen?
Are you training officers to shoot a subject in the back of the head from inches away to save a life?
Are you training officers to shoot a subject from inches away to save the life of a fellow officer who is engaged in an up close and personal struggle with the subject?
If you answered yes to all these questions congratulations are in order. You are doing a great job. Unfortunately, you are in the minority. As I travel around North America and talk to officers about Harnessing the Winning Mind and Warrior Spirit we always engage in this conversation. The reality is few agencies are training officers in these vital life saving skills. Failure to train these skills has cost officers their lives and it is unacceptable.
There are a lot of excuses for not doing this training, but no valid reasons. Close quarters tactics can be covered during control tactics training using red guns. Shooting up close in personal and shooting in the back can be done at the range, can be done during the scenarios and can be done in control tactics classes. The important thing is you have to do it.
Firearms instructors and control tactics instructors need to sit down and talk about how they can all integrate this type of training into their programs. You cannot assume someone else is addressing it only to find out after an officer is murdered that no one was covering these tactics. This issue is about mindset as much as it is about actual tactics so make sure you address both the physical and mental aspects.
Take care.
Brian Willis
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