Let's Stop Shooting Each Other

[larrymeyer]

http://www.officer.com/web/online/Operations-and-Tactics/Lets-Stop-Shooting-Each-Other/3$41144

Let's Stop Shooting Each Other
Improving officer safety by reducing accidental shootings


Posted: Friday, April 25, 2008
Updated: April 25th, 2008 08:23 AM EDT


Kevin Davis


Ballistic Containment Systems from Safe Direction. Shown are the Pistol Transport Case for armorers. The composite wall board for pistols and the new composite wall board for rifles.


Kevin Davis


Alternate training devices include: Non-firing Glock Training Pistol; Rings Bluegun; LE Targets inert training rounds; commercially available barrel blocker; and Blade-Tech polymer training barrel for Glock 19. Safer ways to train folks!



KEVIN DAVIS
Tactical Survival Contributor



We're shooting each other. Just this week on Officer.com police related headlines from across the country have reported that officers have: shot themselves, shot other officers and allowed a three year old son access to a live firearm which resulted in the boy shooting himself. Tragedy, stupidity and complacency are to blame. This must stop and here's how we’ll fix it.

Four Firearms Safety Rules

The universal four basic firearm safety rules have stood the test of time and bare repeating. They are:

Treat every firearm as if it were loaded.
Don't point the muzzle at anything you don't wish to shoot, kill or destroy.
Keep your finger off the trigger until you've made the conscious decision to shoot.
Be sure of your target and what's behind it.
And yet we have: Officers that shoot their own hands while "clearing" pistols prior to cleaning; Officers that shoot refrigerators, plasma TVs, through the walls of their homes and into a neighbors; Officers that shoot other officers after conducting firearms training and prior to cleaning; a DEA agent caught on tape shooting himself in the leg after "clearing" his pistol and then proclaiming, "I'm the only one professional enough in this room to carry a Glock .40." Indeed go to any police range or firearms training facility and ask to see the holes from accidental discharges. All manner of table, walls, ceilings and the like have been shot by officers; but property damage is only one aspect. Sadly two officers' names will be added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington D.C. this year who were killed in "accidental shootings" while cleaning after or while conducting some type of firearms training. This is not an aberration and unless we introduce sound protocols and training tools to stop these tragedies, they will go on. Some will say things like, "Well if he kept his finger off the trigger there would not have been a problem." Such statements do nothing to prevent further injury or death and are ignorant. If it was that simple, Zippy, we wouldn't have a problem in the first place.

Familiarity Breeds Contempt

A fellow firearms instructor tells students, "I'm good with a gun. Matter-of-fact I'm so good I'm probably on the verge of having an accidental discharge." His point is that some of us deal with firearms on such a regular basis that when a gun (pistol, subgun, shotgun or carbine) is in our hands it is as if magic happens. So practiced are we that we are beginning to act without conscious thought in terms of safety and this is extremely bad.

To counter-act the possibility of experiencing an accidental discharge we should do things methodically. We should have a methodical system to both:

load from the holster and make ready, and
unload, clear and re-holster.
The first step is to have a safe backstop - something solid that will stop your gunfire. Range backstops are primo but charging barrels, the new Safe Direction™ ballistic containment systems, or even a concrete block wall must be used to properly clear. The system I favor which is taught by my good friend and fellow firearms instructor Chris Cerino is to:
Draw to full presentation;
Bring the Weapon back into your "workspace";
Remove the source of ammunition (magazine) and place it in your pocket;
Lock the slide to the rear;
Visually and manually check to make sure that the chamber and magazine well are empty;
Look away and then visually/manually check the pistol again (ever look at your watch only not see what time it was only to have to repeat it? Same concept...).
If your pistol requires that you press the trigger prior to disassembly then the pistol should be brought back up to eye level, the slide should be sent forward and a sight picture obtained prior to pressing the trigger. If this last step is not done on the line, under control, then officers will press the trigger somewhere unsafe. If you want to be doubly sure, and why not, put a clearing barrel or Safe Direction pad at a point prior to entering the cleaning room.

To load, once again on the line or while pointed at a charging barrel, safe backstop or Safe Direction pad, you:

Draw to full presentation;
Bring the pistol back into the workspace;
Lock the slide to the rear;
Load a magazine from a magazine carrier;
Manually operate the slide or use the slide stop to chamber a round while coming back on target with a good sight picture;
Start breathing and expanding you vision;
Return to high-ready and perform a press check;
Return to the holster.
While methodically conducting the loading and unloading process as mentioned, you give yourself opportunities to develop good sound habits and you learn to "run the gun" - the mark of a true professional.

Training Tools and Devices

Sadly even firearms instructors have fallen victim to the "familiarity breeds contempt" rule which has resulted in instructors wounding and killing students as well as themselves. Sound training devices exist which can reduce the need to demonstrate with live firearms. Rings® Blueguns are available in all makes and models and are closely molded so that they can be holstered (an issue with today's injection molded holsters). Unless the situation calls for airsoft, Simunitions® FX cartridge training or dry fire using real firearms, use Blueguns - they are much safer. Glock, as an example, has the non-functional red framed Training Pistol. This solid barrel training devices can seat a magazine, chamber a training round and has the same trigger press as a standard Glock but can be safely used in the classroom.

Although barrel blocks can be made from electrical zip ties or colored paracord, commercial versions are available. Bladetech® has recently developed a Training Barrel made of polymer that replaces the barrel on many pistols. This yellow solid plastic barrel allows safer dry fire practice in basic firearms programs.

Inert training rounds are a must and I prefer those from Law Enforcement Targets. These metal case training rounds feature orange plastic "bullets" and because of the brass cases can be cycled hundreds of times without damage.

I've already mentioned Safe Direction but I would like to talk about some of their innovative products. With products such as: The Academy Pad (which can fit in a three ring binder); Pro Shooting Bag; Armorer's Transport Cases; and Wall Board for both Pistol and Rifle, Safe Direction offers much to provide easily portable ballistic containment. Safe Direction products are sound, inexpensive and a worthwhile investment for every agency.

Accidental, Unintentional or Negligent Discharge

Let's not get hung up on what we call the incident as it serves no purpose, let's focus on prevention. Let's conduct firearms training and unloading, clearing and cleaning as well as the subsequent loading process methodically and as safely as possible. Let's be victors from our training experience not victims to it. Remember the four firearms safety rules and always handle firearms with conscious thought and with safety in mind at all times.


Kevin Davis is a full-time officer assigned to the training bureau where he specializes in use of force, firearms and tactical training. With over 23 years in law enforcement, his previous experience includes patrol, corrections, narcotics and he is a former team leader and lead instructor for his agency's SWAT team with over 500 call-outs in tactical

[justashooter]

so sad that they feel a need to have training like this. shows that the existing training is not good enough. i have carried guns for 20 years, fired hundreds of thousands of rounds (half a million?) through several hundred guns i have owned, and never accidentally shot anybody.

[Philadelphia]

load from the holster and make ready, and
unload, clear and re-holster.
The first step is to have a safe backstop - something solid that will stop your gunfire. Range backstops are primo but charging barrels, the new Safe Direction™ ballistic containment systems, or even a concrete block wall must be used to properly clear. The system I favor which is taught by my good friend and fellow firearms instructor Chris Cerino is to:
Draw to full presentation;
Bring the Weapon back into your "workspace";
Remove the source of ammunition (magazine) and place it in your pocket;
Lock the slide to the rear;
Visually and manually check to make sure that the chamber and magazine well are empty;
Look away and then visually/manually check the pistol again (ever look at your watch only not see what time it was only to have to repeat it? Same concept...).
If your pistol requires that you press the trigger prior to disassembly then the pistol should be brought back up to eye level, the slide should be sent forward and a sight picture obtained prior to pressing the trigger. If this last step is not done on the line, under control, then officers will press the trigger somewhere unsafe. If you want to be doubly sure, and why not, put a clearing barrel or Safe Direction pad at a point prior to entering the cleaning room.

To load, once again on the line or while pointed at a charging barrel, safe backstop or Safe Direction pad, you:

Draw to full presentation;
Bring the pistol back into the workspace;
Lock the slide to the rear;
Load a magazine from a magazine carrier;
Manually operate the slide or use the slide stop to chamber a round while coming back on target with a good sight picture;
Start breathing and expanding you vision;
Return to high-ready and perform a press check;
Return to the holster.
While methodically conducting the loading and unloading process as mentioned, you give yourself opportunities to develop good sound habits and you learn to "run the gun" - the mark of a true professional.

From all the training I've had from people who I think are among the best at what they do, this is how it's done. In terms of why, do the same thing the same way every time and you are far less likely to vapor lock under high stress. Multiple procedures for the same function lead to bad habits.

The one area where I think practical shooting sports have unsafe procedures is the "hammer down" command. Training shooters to drop the hammer as a matter of habit is bad. To avoid that, just as Davis says, always obtain a sight picture on something OK to shoot before dropping the hammer. Doing that will help you avoid making just dropping the hammer an ingrained habit and avoid an "oh sh*t" moment when your finger wants to drop the hammer but your brain doesn't.

[Chazman321]

The one area where I think practical shooting sports have unsafe procedures is the "hammer down" command. Training shooters to drop the hammer as a matter of habit is bad. To avoid that, just as Davis says, always obtain a sight picture on something OK to shoot before dropping the hammer. Doing that will help you avoid making just dropping the hammer an ingrained habit and avoid an "oh sh*t" moment when your finger wants to drop the hammer but your brain doesn't.

Myself, and the people I shoot with, always point downrange for everything. Breaking the 180, or doing anything remotely considered "unsafe" is a ticket home, and nobody wants that... Shoot with new people... lol


ChazPOOFA"westies"man321

[Philadelphia]

Myself, and the people I shoot with, always point downrange for everything. Breaking the 180, or doing anything remotely considered "unsafe" is a ticket home, and nobody wants that... Shoot with new people... lol


ChazPOOFA"westies"man321

No, no, no. Of course the guns are pointed down range. The dangerous part is training people to "unload, show clear, hammer down, safe, holster" which can quickly become one automatically performed procedure, rather than the series of steps.

Whenever you drop the hammer, sight on something, one of the targets, whatever -- something specific you are consciously willing to destroy -- not just down range. Be thoughtful and conscious about the fact that you are actually pulling the trigger on a functional gun. Do not train your hand to ever pull the trigger just as part of some procedure that tends to become habitual and unconscious.

That's what Davis was getting at -- sight in on something (safe, obviously) before pulling the trigger so your mind is aware of what you're actually doing. This includes if you need to pull the trigger to disassemble the gun.

[Brown-Bear]

so sad that they feel a need to have training like this. shows that the existing training is not good enough. i have carried guns for 20 years, fired hundreds of thousands of rounds (half a million?) through several hundred guns i have owned, and never accidentally shot anybody.

I'm not sure I see the problem with additional training. Perhaps you could elaborate?

Dave