Blue Sheepdog
Police Gear Reviews, Training and Officer Safety Tips.
Updated: 2 days 13 hours ago
Custom Benchmade Knives
Want to build your own custom Benchmade Griptilian knife? Benchmade makes it possible for you to build a knife using different colored handles, blade edges, metals, liners, clips and even custom lasermarks. It is exceptionally easy to use the order form on the Benchmade site to create a completely custom knife. As you make different selections the […]
5.11 TPT R7 Flashlight
5.11 introduced several new flashlights that would appear to be great tools to consider for carrying on duty. One of them is the TPT R7 rechargeable duty light. The TPT R7 is a full size light that is just over a foot long (12.2″) and uses a NiMH D-cell battery pack. The light comes with […]
ArmorWorks UCBA: Ultra-Concealable Body Armor
At last month’s Special Operations Forces Industry Conference (SOFIC) in Tampa, Randall and I had the opportunity to meet with the folks at ArmorWorks and take a look at the new ultra-concealable body armor (UCBA) they are working on. The UCBA is an extremely thin and lightweight solution for people needing a very discreet way […]
Edged Weapons: Dismiss Them at Your Own Peril
For some reason, a lot of police officers do not treat knives and other edged weapons as a serious threat. Yet, on average, 1358 officers each year are attacked with an edged weapon. The breaks down to 3 to 4 edged weapon assaults per day on police officers. I imagine that some of this complacency […]
21 Foot Rule – MythBusters Style
In 1983, Dennis Tueller penned an article for SWAT magazine called “How Close is Too Close?” In that publication, he suggested that being within 21 feet of a suspect armed with a knife was the “danger zone.” Tueller’s thinking was this: MythBusters recently ran an episode where they “test” bringing a knife to a gunfight, […]
Brite-Strike Flashlight Camera
Brite-Strike is now making a flashlight camera for duty use. The “Duty Light Camera” (aka DLC-200-4-MIL-RC) is a handheld LED flashlight that can record standard definition video in addition to throwing up to 200 lumens of light. The flashlight is relatively small at 7.5″ long. This puts it into the same general size category as […]
Review of Beating the Reaper
Tactical Combat Casualty Care is the current US military protocol for treating battlefield injuries. I’ve written previously about how to adapt the military’s protocol for care under fire into something that law enforcement can use for self-care in dangerous situations. I posted a review of the book Beating the Reaper: Trauma Medicine for the CCW […]
SWAT Attitude
A Few Words on the SWAT Attitude… I have lately been talking with a few SWAT guys about their perspectives of their tactical teams. While I won’t go into politics or particulars, I will say a central theme in my many discussions has revolved around attitude. Not as in Attitude with a capital “I’m a […]
ITW MagBoot Review
Aaron reviews the ITW MagBoot, which is a rubber sleeve that covers the lower portion of your AR15/M4 magazines. This gives you better grip purchase on metal mags, and some of the MagBoots have built-in Ghillie Tex IR signature reduction.
StressVest: Next Step in Force on Force Training
StressVest Inc. is looking to revolutionize force-on-force training for law enforcement officers by eliminating many of the traditional problems associated with Simunitions, paintball and airsoft training. The StressVest concept is simple, but the execution would appear to be a real work of technological art. Force-on-force training is where officers to use some type of simulated […]
68W – Combat Medic Skills Book Review
If you are interested in trauma care under fire, then 68W Advanced Field Craft: Combat Medic Skills is an absolute must in your reference library. This book lays out the essential information on Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) in an easy-to-understand format. Written for military combat medics, this book does a very good job of […]
Remington R12 VersaMax Shotgun
Coming to a squad car near you: the Remington R12 VersaMax shotgun. The R12 is a law enforcement version of the popular VersaMax semi-auto shotgun made by Remington. The R12 is currently configured in two different models: the 18″ R12 and the 14″ R12-E. The standard R12 has an 18″ barrel and extended magazine (6+1 […]
Two is One, One is None
It was almost 10 years ago that I started my SWAT experience, and since then I’ve added dozens of new terms and sayings to my vocabulary. Perhaps one of the most enduring, and broadly applicable, is the saying, “two is one and one is none”. The Boy Scout motto is “Be Prepared”, and that is […]
Viridian TacLoc Holster
At the Viridian Green Laser Sights booth at SHOT Show 2012, Aaron and I got a look at Viridian’s new TacLoc holster, which is specifically designed to work in conjunction with Viridian handgun-mounted C5, C5L, and X5L green lasers. Viridian Owner Tom Otteson gave us an impromptu demo of the TacLoc holster and their new […]
Streamlight SL-20L Review
The Streamlight Strion and Polystinger flashlights that have become so popular remain rugged and reliable performers. This is a pre-review of the Streamlight SL-20L: more of an introduction than a full-on review. I’ve had the light for a few weeks now, and have used it on-duty extensively. However, I’d like to get a few more […]
DELTA Light Ball – Flashbang Alternative?
River Rock Designs announced a new distractionary device that may be a suitable alternative to a flashbang in some circumstances. The Dynamic Entry Lighted Tactical Access, or DELTA, light ball uses a “…super-bright strobe effect and steady-light illuminator [to] initially dazzle and confuse the bad guys and then lights up the target area like daylight.” […]
Appeals Court Rejects Qualified Immunity in K9 Dog Bite Case
The U. S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit considered an appeal in the Florida case of Edwards vs. Shanley and Lovette (11-11512) that involves the question of whether officers are granted qualified immunity when a Police K9 bites a suspect for five to seven minutes during an arrest. In this incident, Orlando Police […]
Ammunition Failure Warning
Repeated cycling of ammunition can lead to a critical failure according to a training bulletin released by the Gwinnett County (GA) Sheriff’s Department. According to the bulletin, a Gwinnett County police officer’s pistol failed to fire in a deadly force situation. The officer executed a “tap-rack-bang” drill to get back in the fight and successfully […]
Rapid Containment Baton
Aaron caught up with Vic Morales at the Rapid Containment Baton previously, but Aaron wanted to follow that up with an article on some of the Rapid Containment Baton’s specific advantages. Although new to me, the RCB has been around since 1997. The RCB design was purchased by Winchester and became known as the “Winchester Baton”. […]
CRKT Ultima Knife
Having recently purchased my first CRKT knife I checked out their booth at SHOT Show this year. Although not a new product I was intrigued by the CRKT Ultima fixed blade knife. This fixed blade knife had a lot of new features that made it stand out compared to many other fixed blade knives and […]